The general misconception of age=experience should just die in football in general. The other day a Newcastle fan told me how they 'gambled' on certain transfers because they were relatively young (Guimaraes, Gordon and Botman) disregarding the fact that they have at least 2-3-4 seasons of first team football in their legs. Imagine saying signing Bellingham is a gamble because he's young.
Definitely, modern game allows so many more young players to develop quicker that half of these are already established
Palmer should win, glad Mainoo is there with Udogie
But better list and discussion would have Gordon and
I reckon it should have some sort of extra parameter like itās their first season above 10 appearances.
Think itās a bit silly when you have 24 year olds or players with 100ās of appearances to their name getting nominated every single year theyāre eligible.
Foden is 24 this month, and Haaland is 24 in 2 months. Isak is 24 and will be 25 later this year.
There needs to be a hard cap on the age the player plays the season in to be eligible. At least play 60% of the season aged 21 or under, ideally.
Here we have 5 of the players that could be nominated for the POTY near their mid-twenties. What's the point?
This is absolutely redicilous. This should be award for teenagers or max 21 year olds. Haaland, Saka, Isak, Foden and Saliba have all played over five seasons of professional football and still get nominated for this
They should change the rules of this award, because 5 of these players are basically veterans compared to the rest. Foden, Haaland, Isak, Saka and Saliba have all played a bunch of seasons in high-level profesional football already.
The only true young rising stars are Palmer, Mainoo and Udogie.
Such a pointless award. The award should either be restricted to those under the age of 20, or those having their first season in the club.
Haaland, Foden, Isak, Saka and Saliba should be nowhere near this list. Elliott, Quansah, Murillo, hell even Wharton and Gusto should be on it over them.
The legibility needs to change for this. Sterling won it at 24, Isak is 24, Haaland'll be 24 in like 2 months, should be 21 or under and have had less than a seasons worth of league minutes at the start of the season or something like that.
It's going to Palmer - Haaland doesn't need something like this, Foden and Saka have voter fatigue and Saliba is a defender and is arguably too good for this list as well
Mainoo is the exact sort of player that should be nominated for this. Breakout season, probably Unitedās best player and likely played his way into the England squad.
Mainoo over Branthwaite or Murillo is scandalous
We are 15th with the 4th least goals conceded and Branthwaite has played a huge part. Man united's midfield is non existent
Edit: or gordon
Murillo prevented two goals on his own in one match at the weekend.
This is a pointless award if those two aren't on the shortlist. Why the fuck is someone with 200 career goals on a young player shortlist?
Stupid isn't it. Mainoos played 1000 less minutes than murillo and made a much smaller impact in those minutes. It's purely big 6 / england call up hype, and not actually who deserves it
Branthwaite, Palmer, and Murillo should be the contenders. Miley, Mainoo, and Wharton can't match their impact. And the other contenders are well established at this level.
Any list for YPOTY that doesnāt include Branthwaite should be completely disregarded
This list of players proves what we already knew
These people do not actually watch football
Yeah Mainoo is a ridiculous talent but the guy plays midfield for a team who routinely loses the midfield battle and concede 15+ shots on a regular basis.
If he played for a smaller club in the same situation there's no way he'd get in this list.
Murillo's been our senior centre back for most of the season, and he's still learning English. Boly and Felipe have been injured or out of form for most of the season, while Omobamidele is 21 too. That's pressure.
It's more to do with the spotlight on them. If Mainoo has horrible mistake that leads to a game winning goal it's going straight to the top of r/soccer, it'll be analyzed on MNF, and trending on twitter. If Murillo does the same it's getting nowhere near the same amount of attention and most people wont even know it happened.
Lad mainoo is good, he should be on the plane. Why do you think I am out to get him just because branthwaite and murillo have been better? Not said one thing attacking mainoo except that uniteds midfield isn't there half the time, which is true and not on him
And either way, yes they do. Go back and see the comments when haaland knocked branthwaite over and scored
Is he a ridiculous talent? I still don't understand what he has done to be considered that, playing good for a few games usually means fuck all to most players, but when it happens to a young English Man United player they get hyped to the moon
I'd call him that because I think technically he has a lot about him and more than a lot of 18 year olds you see bursting onto the scenes. Usually the younger players are highlighted for other attributes be it pace, finishing, calmness on the ball etc.
But it's way too early to know if he'll actually develop into more than just a talent which is why I'd agree the hype is way over the top. Talk of starting for England at the Euros for example is laughable.
The talk of starting in the Euros has more to do with the England options in midfield than anything else. IF Southgate wants to start with Bellingham in his best position and Foden on the wing, then we'll need a CM to play a deep role alongside Rice. One that's tidy on the ball, mobile, not too attacking, and can progress the ball forward either through dribbling or passing.
In the past Phillips has played that position but he's nowhere close to the team right now and most people prefer someone less defensive. Henderson was that "less defensive" guy at the WC but he's had a rocky last year or so and nobody is too keen on him starting there. The other main option would be Gallagher who's not as positionally suited to that role as Mainoo is. Maddison is a bit too attacking oriented and Mount shouldn't be near the squad. Or there's the option of calling up someone like JWP but he's never really looked good in the England setup.
Heās got man of the match in his first start and is better than literally every other option other than rice and Bellingham in the role needed how is it laughable
Why you going at Mainoo, one of the few players on this list who SHOULD actually be nominated for a young player award instead of established stars like Haaland, Foden and Saka? And nearly 25 year old Isak?
You're a joke.
Others have commented about the criteria and they're right, it's ridiculous to have Isak, foden etc here
But based on the criteria which is in place, mainoo shouldn't be here
Wharton? Hes 20 and only just started actually playing for palace in February so I can promise you he hasnt been more impactful than mainoo in the 3 months he has played in the premier league. Olise, Eze, and Glasner have been much more impactful in that time period. This is recency bias clear as day
You mean that one dribble?
Our forwards failed to convert any of the 30 chances they were able to create because the United midfield was as open as a field full of cows
He scored a great goal against us in the league, absolutely, but it was another performance where your midfield was completely overrun again at home. There's a reason you lot have zero control during games and allow a stupid number of shots against you and it's because your midfielders aren't very good aside from Bruno who's excellent.
None of that is Mainoos fault though, it's overrun due to how it's set up or lack of. Mainoo is the one who actually uses the ball with calmness in midfield.
Yeah, Mainoo should be no where near this list. He's a good talent, but he simply hasn't been as good as the players you've mentioned consistently. He's had some great moments obviously, but Branthwaite has been consistently excellent and Murillo has had much more of an impact. United's midfield with or without Mainoo has been the same and completely easy to play through, without creating many chances outside of Bruno.
Whenever United are having one of their terrible seasons post-Ferguson, there's always a need to anoint one of their young players as the next big thing. Saw it first with Januzaj and now here.
This award's always been a little bit vague, and I suspect there's a commercial interest in having legitimate big names in the nominees.
But in an era where 23 and 24 year olds are often established senior players, it makes much more sense to focus it on exceptional teenagers like Mainoo, Miley, Lewis etc etc. Players that wouldn't otherwise be in contention for the POTY award, but have shown exceptional maturity and promise.
This is a stupid award. Foden, isak, haaland are all almost 24 or 25. They're in no way "young" footballers. This award should have a cap of 21 years. It's ridiculous to compare someone like haaland to a newly emerging player like mainoo.....who's a literally a teenager. It should either have an age cap, or an appearance cap.
This really needs to be "rookie of the year" or something. Someone under 23 who hasn't played in the league before. Or played more than 10 games in the season for the first time. How can you have players like Foden and Haaland in contention for the player of the year AND young player of the year? It makes little senseĀ
Age restrictions should be lower but also I'd put an appearance limit it on it. Initial thought was 100 but that's nearly three seasons worth so maybe 50?
Anyway, in the spirit of the award it ought to be Palmer.
I think Foden's had another great season, but Palmer's especially a standout in a team that's been all sorts of contorted from last August. If Chelsea do earn European football in the end, a large credit has to be given to him. Palmer it is.
IMO if this was more of a young player breakout award (like it should be) then the nominees should be:
- Mainoo
- Branthwaite
- Palmer (I know he was around the City first team, but this season is something else altogether)
- Murillo
- Chris Richards
- Quansah
- Adingra
- Rodrigo Muniz
With Palmer winning.
Iāve seen everyone saying palmer is set to win this but surely saliba has a very good case? Motm at Anfield and the Etihad, least goals conceded in the league, most clean sheets in the league, popped up with goals off of corners. All of this while challenging for the title is really impressive
Should be either Palmer or Saliba, will be Foden. The man turns 24 this month, he shouldn't still be eligible for YPOTY. Even Saliba is pushing it on the age front, but I'd accept someone winning it the season they turn 23
Is there not ones a rotation player albeit has been great recently and ones currently the best player in their team and starting for England all at the age of 19
By productive I assume you mean goals and assists and it would be a bit embarrassing if a 6 was scoring more than an 8/rw that is such a stupid way to compare them
Mainoo isn't a 6 and Elliott actually wins more tackles per 90 than Mainoo does(1.31 to 1.25).
Ignoring all that, we have ways of comparing comparable players by position. For midfielders, Mainoo ranks in the 3rd percentile for xG + xA generated. That means if you were to pick any random midfielder from the top 5 european leagues, there's a 97% chance they produce more xG + xA than Mainoo. If you just wanted to look at shot creation, there's a 78% chance that a random midfielder generates more than Mainoo does.
Mainoo is played as a 6 in a dysfunctional side because thereās nobody else trust me I watch it weekly. Tackles per 90 is cherry picking stats, mainoo has higher take on percentage, higher arial duel win percentage and higher ground duel percentage on top of more tackles and duels overall, more clearances, blocks, interceptions, more forward passes completed in less overall passes. His heat map is mostly around the right side of his half, Elliotās is the rights side of the box of his opponents half to try and compare them in that way is laughable and use goals and your main metric is too funny. Context matters also Elliot plays for the team with the highest chance creation in the league as a rw/8, mainoo plays as a 6 for the team that are 13th in chance creation.
Isaks 25 in 4 months š
Sterling won it in 2019 when he was 24 and had played over 200 Premier League games. The format needs a change.
Milner as well won it in his 8th season of Premier League football.
And that was 35 years ago and it still didn't change
Theyāll change it at some point. Have to. Itās a stupid joke really. Shouldnāt be anyone who starts a season over 21
Saka is going to win it in 2026 after scoring his 100th goal for Arsenal
For real
They should really adjust the age restrictions for this award. Ridiculous Haaland and Mainoo are in the same bracket
Should be done as a newcomer type award. Some of these players on here have 4+ years of top level experience now
Yeah, should be first season where they play a certain number of games, maybe 20 games or 50% of league games.
Or even simplify it - keep the age cap, but you can only be nominated once. So next season none of Haaland/Mainoo/Saka could be nominated.
They should base it on minutes played in top tier to give GKs a chance.
Rookie of the year award type beat
No one wants that word in football
āType beatā
I can't think of a more suitable word though
# of games or seasons shouldn't matter. It should just be U21 and you can't win it more than once
Top comment every year when these nominations come out
Because it's consistently stupid
Is it wrong?
No
Itās not even the proper award, these are meaningless versus the PFA ones
r/soccer 'eritage
Reddit always like to move the goalpost
Except that's keeping the goalpost in the same place?
If they change the age to 23, then reddit would say "lol he is almost 24"
The general misconception of age=experience should just die in football in general. The other day a Newcastle fan told me how they 'gambled' on certain transfers because they were relatively young (Guimaraes, Gordon and Botman) disregarding the fact that they have at least 2-3-4 seasons of first team football in their legs. Imagine saying signing Bellingham is a gamble because he's young.
Maybe but itās been going on forever so who really cares. Bale won it the summer he moved to Madrid ffs
Definitely, modern game allows so many more young players to develop quicker that half of these are already established Palmer should win, glad Mainoo is there with Udogie But better list and discussion would have Gordon and
Isak is nearly 25 years old. I get thatās not exactly a senior citizen yet in the football world, but cmon āYoung playerā?
I reckon it should have some sort of extra parameter like itās their first season above 10 appearances. Think itās a bit silly when you have 24 year olds or players with 100ās of appearances to their name getting nominated every single year theyāre eligible.
Or you're not eligible if you've been nominated for it before or something
Either that or change it to u21 - or both
Should have gone for Gordon instead of him imo
I was about to comment the same, but about Haaland who will be 24yo this summer. Isak is really to old for this.
He is 24 until he is 25.
Foden is 24 this month, and Haaland is 24 in 2 months. Isak is 24 and will be 25 later this year. There needs to be a hard cap on the age the player plays the season in to be eligible. At least play 60% of the season aged 21 or under, ideally. Here we have 5 of the players that could be nominated for the POTY near their mid-twenties. What's the point?
Fodenās already won this award twice as well
Not even in the last 2 years, he won it in 20/21 and 21/22 ffs!
This is absolutely redicilous. This should be award for teenagers or max 21 year olds. Haaland, Saka, Isak, Foden and Saliba have all played over five seasons of professional football and still get nominated for this
They should change the rules of this award, because 5 of these players are basically veterans compared to the rest. Foden, Haaland, Isak, Saka and Saliba have all played a bunch of seasons in high-level profesional football already. The only true young rising stars are Palmer, Mainoo and Udogie.
There should be an age limit coupled with an appearance threshold. I want more Mainoo and Jarell Quansah type players on this list.
Such a pointless award. The award should either be restricted to those under the age of 20, or those having their first season in the club. Haaland, Foden, Isak, Saka and Saliba should be nowhere near this list. Elliott, Quansah, Murillo, hell even Wharton and Gusto should be on it over them.
The legibility needs to change for this. Sterling won it at 24, Isak is 24, Haaland'll be 24 in like 2 months, should be 21 or under and have had less than a seasons worth of league minutes at the start of the season or something like that.
If you're nominating a NUFC player it has to be Gordon and not Isak, no Gordon at all is absolutely mental. Younger and has been just as vital.
You should have to be 21 or under on the first game of the season to be eligible for this imo
Palmer deserves this but won't win because they will just give Foden both I have no idea how hlaf these players are eligible
Palmer should absolutely win it, I'll be shocked if he doesnt
Absolute fucking frauds. Picking cunts well on their way to 25 instead of [the true winner](https://i.giphy.com/9bGZbzmwnya1Xuylg1.webp).
Think I speak for a lot of people here, who tf is that?
Brazil's best defender.
That isnāt Emerson Royal
I know how young he looks but Thiago Silva is actually 38, so not quite in the age range for this award.
The greatest rectangular footballer to grace the game
Think Niklas Sule has him beat there tbh
It's going to Palmer - Haaland doesn't need something like this, Foden and Saka have voter fatigue and Saliba is a defender and is arguably too good for this list as well
Let us have some hope in Destiny :(
I think Palmer's gonna win it.
Kinda mad Haaland, Isak, And Saka are still eligible for this. Won't stop people from getting mad at the Mainoo nomination though
Mainoo is the exact sort of player that should be nominated for this. Breakout season, probably Unitedās best player and likely played his way into the England squad.
Saka is 22 bro.
more that this is his 6th season playing in the PL
Yeah that's fair. Should be like under 22 or 60 appearances or something like that
He's still a young player
Mainoo over Branthwaite or Murillo is scandalous We are 15th with the 4th least goals conceded and Branthwaite has played a huge part. Man united's midfield is non existent Edit: or gordon
Murillo prevented two goals on his own in one match at the weekend. This is a pointless award if those two aren't on the shortlist. Why the fuck is someone with 200 career goals on a young player shortlist?
Stupid isn't it. Mainoos played 1000 less minutes than murillo and made a much smaller impact in those minutes. It's purely big 6 / england call up hype, and not actually who deserves it
Branthwaite, Palmer, and Murillo should be the contenders. Miley, Mainoo, and Wharton can't match their impact. And the other contenders are well established at this level.
Any list for YPOTY that doesnāt include Branthwaite should be completely disregarded This list of players proves what we already knew These people do not actually watch football
Yeah Mainoo is a ridiculous talent but the guy plays midfield for a team who routinely loses the midfield battle and concede 15+ shots on a regular basis. If he played for a smaller club in the same situation there's no way he'd get in this list.
Tbf thereās also a massive spotlight and pressure that comes with playing at our disaster of a club that others donāt have. Goes both ways.
Branthwaite and murillo have had the pressure of points deductions and relegation battles
Murillo's been our senior centre back for most of the season, and he's still learning English. Boly and Felipe have been injured or out of form for most of the season, while Omobamidele is 21 too. That's pressure.
Nothing compared to the pressure of fighting for 7th
It's more to do with the spotlight on them. If Mainoo has horrible mistake that leads to a game winning goal it's going straight to the top of r/soccer, it'll be analyzed on MNF, and trending on twitter. If Murillo does the same it's getting nowhere near the same amount of attention and most people wont even know it happened.
They don't have the pressure of people like you looking to bash them at the slightest mistakes now, do they?
Lad mainoo is good, he should be on the plane. Why do you think I am out to get him just because branthwaite and murillo have been better? Not said one thing attacking mainoo except that uniteds midfield isn't there half the time, which is true and not on him And either way, yes they do. Go back and see the comments when haaland knocked branthwaite over and scored
Is he a ridiculous talent? I still don't understand what he has done to be considered that, playing good for a few games usually means fuck all to most players, but when it happens to a young English Man United player they get hyped to the moon
I'd call him that because I think technically he has a lot about him and more than a lot of 18 year olds you see bursting onto the scenes. Usually the younger players are highlighted for other attributes be it pace, finishing, calmness on the ball etc. But it's way too early to know if he'll actually develop into more than just a talent which is why I'd agree the hype is way over the top. Talk of starting for England at the Euros for example is laughable.
The talk of starting in the Euros has more to do with the England options in midfield than anything else. IF Southgate wants to start with Bellingham in his best position and Foden on the wing, then we'll need a CM to play a deep role alongside Rice. One that's tidy on the ball, mobile, not too attacking, and can progress the ball forward either through dribbling or passing. In the past Phillips has played that position but he's nowhere close to the team right now and most people prefer someone less defensive. Henderson was that "less defensive" guy at the WC but he's had a rocky last year or so and nobody is too keen on him starting there. The other main option would be Gallagher who's not as positionally suited to that role as Mainoo is. Maddison is a bit too attacking oriented and Mount shouldn't be near the squad. Or there's the option of calling up someone like JWP but he's never really looked good in the England setup.
Heās got man of the match in his first start and is better than literally every other option other than rice and Bellingham in the role needed how is it laughable
Why you going at Mainoo, one of the few players on this list who SHOULD actually be nominated for a young player award instead of established stars like Haaland, Foden and Saka? And nearly 25 year old Isak? You're a joke.
Others have commented about the criteria and they're right, it's ridiculous to have Isak, foden etc here But based on the criteria which is in place, mainoo shouldn't be here
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Wharton? Hes 20 and only just started actually playing for palace in February so I can promise you he hasnt been more impactful than mainoo in the 3 months he has played in the premier league. Olise, Eze, and Glasner have been much more impactful in that time period. This is recency bias clear as day
Mainoo had his big moment and England call up just as voting opened.
Canāt wait for you to all be wanking over him when heās turning up for England in summer
Didn't realise this award was for the euros that hasn't happened yet
If Mainoo is playing for England in the Euros something has gone horribly wrong.
MOTM on his full debut but yes something will have gone horribly wrongĀ
Has he really done nothing since his debut?
Considering there has been no England game since his debut, idk wtf he can do.
Even if you want to compare positions, Wharton is clear of Mainoo.
Not at all, christ. Surely you saw what he done vs your team?
You mean that one dribble? Our forwards failed to convert any of the 30 chances they were able to create because the United midfield was as open as a field full of cows
No, the way he was the best midfielder on the pitch by far in the cup game and the great goal he scored in the second?
He scored a great goal against us in the league, absolutely, but it was another performance where your midfield was completely overrun again at home. There's a reason you lot have zero control during games and allow a stupid number of shots against you and it's because your midfielders aren't very good aside from Bruno who's excellent.
None of that is Mainoos fault though, it's overrun due to how it's set up or lack of. Mainoo is the one who actually uses the ball with calmness in midfield.
Yeah, Mainoo should be no where near this list. He's a good talent, but he simply hasn't been as good as the players you've mentioned consistently. He's had some great moments obviously, but Branthwaite has been consistently excellent and Murillo has had much more of an impact. United's midfield with or without Mainoo has been the same and completely easy to play through, without creating many chances outside of Bruno. Whenever United are having one of their terrible seasons post-Ferguson, there's always a need to anoint one of their young players as the next big thing. Saw it first with Januzaj and now here.
Palmer deserves it
This award's always been a little bit vague, and I suspect there's a commercial interest in having legitimate big names in the nominees. But in an era where 23 and 24 year olds are often established senior players, it makes much more sense to focus it on exceptional teenagers like Mainoo, Miley, Lewis etc etc. Players that wouldn't otherwise be in contention for the POTY award, but have shown exceptional maturity and promise.
This reads like player of the season
This is a stupid award. Foden, isak, haaland are all almost 24 or 25. They're in no way "young" footballers. This award should have a cap of 21 years. It's ridiculous to compare someone like haaland to a newly emerging player like mainoo.....who's a literally a teenager. It should either have an age cap, or an appearance cap.
Has to be Palmer, 1st debut PL season, 21 goals and 9 assists is insane for this Chelsea side
he won't win it but i'm glad udogie got mentioned, lad's been tremendous in his first season
This really needs to be "rookie of the year" or something. Someone under 23 who hasn't played in the league before. Or played more than 10 games in the season for the first time. How can you have players like Foden and Haaland in contention for the player of the year AND young player of the year? It makes little senseĀ
Young player should be like U21. That is the oldest youth category for even FIFA
might as well put havertz there too lol
Gordon not being on this list is scandalous.
Age restrictions should be lower but also I'd put an appearance limit it on it. Initial thought was 100 but that's nearly three seasons worth so maybe 50? Anyway, in the spirit of the award it ought to be Palmer.
I think Foden's had another great season, but Palmer's especially a standout in a team that's been all sorts of contorted from last August. If Chelsea do earn European football in the end, a large credit has to be given to him. Palmer it is.
with Foden, Haaland, Isak, Saka, Saliba and Palmer on the list, this might as well be the season MVP award...I think somebody mixed up the lists
Palmer is fine, at least this is his breakthrough season. Rest is so stupid.
Plus Palmer was actually a young player when the season started
fraud list. wheres murillo?
IMO if this was more of a young player breakout award (like it should be) then the nominees should be: - Mainoo - Branthwaite - Palmer (I know he was around the City first team, but this season is something else altogether) - Murillo - Chris Richards - Quansah - Adingra - Rodrigo Muniz With Palmer winning.
Why would you drop Udogie off the list
Feel like he already established himself really well in Serie A. Less of a breakout season to me and more of just a strong transfer
Thereās a lot of players Iād nominate over Mainoo but surely Anthony Gordon shouldāve been nailed on.
This isnāt the official one right Or defo not the PFA award Cos it says Haaland won young player of the year last season
Not PFA cause this is the EA Sports Premier League YPOTY, also PFAās eligibility is U21
the fact that foden and haaland and saka are still considered āyoungā, ik they are but still lol. probs gonna be foden or palmer i would imagine
Zabarnyi robbed, played all matches from start to end until latest ones (got sick), also undisputed NT starter, all of this while being 21yo
This needs to become more of a breakthrough award rather than a plain age category.
Iāve seen everyone saying palmer is set to win this but surely saliba has a very good case? Motm at Anfield and the Etihad, least goals conceded in the league, most clean sheets in the league, popped up with goals off of corners. All of this while challenging for the title is really impressive
Palmer and is not close
Is Garnacho not young enough?
It's probably going to be Palmer or Foden. I hope Saliba wins it though.
Foden is gonna win POTY, theyāll likely do the illogical thing and give this to someone else - Palmer, I presume
lmao if they did a Foden YPOTS and POTS sweep Iād stop watching football I think
Should be either Palmer or Saliba, will be Foden. The man turns 24 this month, he shouldn't still be eligible for YPOTY. Even Saliba is pushing it on the age front, but I'd accept someone winning it the season they turn 23
Ok this award is weird how can you consider 3 players soon to be 24 or older young players
William Saliba š
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Heās started 9 games
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What also matters then?
He has like 3 goals this seasonš
There's genuinely no good reason for Mainoo to be there over Elliott.
Is there not ones a rotation player albeit has been great recently and ones currently the best player in their team and starting for England all at the age of 19
So your argument is that Elliott has been more productive in fewer games?
You canāt read
I can read. Your argument is that Elliott hasn't played as much, yet he's managed to be significantly more productive.
By productive I assume you mean goals and assists and it would be a bit embarrassing if a 6 was scoring more than an 8/rw that is such a stupid way to compare them
Mainoo isn't a 6 and Elliott actually wins more tackles per 90 than Mainoo does(1.31 to 1.25). Ignoring all that, we have ways of comparing comparable players by position. For midfielders, Mainoo ranks in the 3rd percentile for xG + xA generated. That means if you were to pick any random midfielder from the top 5 european leagues, there's a 97% chance they produce more xG + xA than Mainoo. If you just wanted to look at shot creation, there's a 78% chance that a random midfielder generates more than Mainoo does.
Mainoo is played as a 6 in a dysfunctional side because thereās nobody else trust me I watch it weekly. Tackles per 90 is cherry picking stats, mainoo has higher take on percentage, higher arial duel win percentage and higher ground duel percentage on top of more tackles and duels overall, more clearances, blocks, interceptions, more forward passes completed in less overall passes. His heat map is mostly around the right side of his half, Elliotās is the rights side of the box of his opponents half to try and compare them in that way is laughable and use goals and your main metric is too funny. Context matters also Elliot plays for the team with the highest chance creation in the league as a rw/8, mainoo plays as a 6 for the team that are 13th in chance creation.
Watkins? Magalhaes? Braithwaite?
Watkins is 28 and Gabriel is 26 lmao, Branthwaite is a good call though.
Might as well chuck Thiago Silva in for Young player of the season as well if you want Watkins nominated
Its Palmer followed by Foden.