Chelsea forward Eden Hazard took home the PFA Player of the Year award in 2014-15. Riyad Mahrez of Leicester City followed in his footsteps the following year. Current teammate N’Golo Kante claimed the honor last season.
The current favorite to win the plaudit this year is an Eden Hazard teammate for country (Belgium), who was once a teammate for club as well. Hazard’s choice is Manchester City tour de force Kevin De Bruyne.
“Kevin is definitely the best player in the Premier League,” Hazard authoritatively told the Evening Standard.
“He plays with a good team but that’s also thanks to him that they play so well. He has been criticized when he has played for Belgium, but I do not always think that’s fair. He always carries out everything and does his best. He’s an excellent player for our team.”
The City playmaker made three appearances for Chelsea, before the Blues sold him to Wolfsburg for £18 million in 2014. This year he’s been as significant a reason as any for the record setting start by Man City. He was ranked the top overall player in NBC’s latest Premier League power rankings (Hazard was seventh) and the most valuable player in the transfer market via the CIES football observatory (Eden Hazard received the highest valuation of anyone on the Blues)
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and the Tribune company’s blogging community Chicago Now.
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