As we head down the home stretch of the 20/21 season, it’s time to start thinking about the individual awards that will honor the highest performing players of this campaign. With that in mind, Manchester United midfield maestro Bruno Fernandes did a fan Q&A where he discussed the top footballers who are not on his team.
He listed out a lot of the top names you’d expect to hear, like Harry Kane, Kevin De Bruyne, Mo Salah, Ruben Dias and more, but the more interesting part of the interview is when he listed out some of the less heralded stars who are currently in top form.
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Fernandes mentioned Chelsea’s top tier attacking midfielder, who has made himself pretty much undroppable, in a side that’s absolutely loaded at his position.
“I really like Mason Mount – he’s been consistent from the beginning of the season but, if people will watch numbers he’s not had so many goals or assists as other players but, for me, as a performance he’s been really, really top,” Fernandes said to MUFC club publications.
The Portugese Magnifico also had a lot of nice things to say about Jesse Lingard, the United winger currently on loan at West Ham. The England international, who has opened up about his struggles with mental health after enduring a year long scoring drought, has gotten his groove back in London.
“I think Jesse [Lingard], at the moment, if you watch the last ten games, has been top, top, top-level. For me, if you watch the last ten games, he’s been the best player in the Premier League, scoring and assists in every game,” Fernandes continued.
“Scoring and assists in every game. Everyone here is really, really happy for him. He has confidence back, he has his swag back, because he is feeling confident. We are really, really happy for what he’s doing.”
Fernandes then listed out a couple more slightly under-the-radar Premier League stars”
“[Jack] Grealish, before his injuries, was being really, really good. I think Bamford from Leeds is also scoring a lot of goals, 14 I think this season already [now 15 in the Premier League], which is really good.
“I think it’s difficult to choose one. I will be here for a lot of time doing names, names, names. It’s better I stop or I will forget players and I don’t want to do that.”
Then the former Sporting Lisbon man gave props to the more tried and true PL galacticos:
“Of course, we all know the qualities that our rivals have. I think we can say this season, for me, as everyone knows Kevin De Bruyne is one of the best for me. If we go to the Liverpool squad, for example, I think Salah, if you say he’s playing well or not, he’s still scoring goals.
“Harry Kane is still doing really well in the Tottenham team, for example.”
It will be interesting to see how the PFA and Premier League teams of the year shape up and shape out. Like with every season, there are a lot of tough decisions to make.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and SB Nation. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.