Exclusion of Cole Palmer from PFA Team of the Year raises controversy

Palmer was awarded the Young Player of the Year Award

The prestigious PFA’s 51st Anniversary awards happened last night in Salford, Manchester. This edition saw many youngsters claiming glory. To name a few who received the memorable accolades would be Manchester City’s Phil Foden (Player of the Year, Men) and Chelsea’s Cole Palmer (Young Player of the Year, Men).

The glorifying night however caught hold of a big controversy. When PFA announced its Premier League Team of the Year, to everyone’s surprise, Cole Palmer was not in the line-up. Palmer, as mentioned earlier, was judged the “Young Player of the Year”. The 22-year-old attacking midfielder had 33 goal contributions (22 goals and 11 assists), and still couldn’t get a spot.

This controversial call caught the rage of the fans, many expressed their views on social media, criticizing the decision made. Some people joked while some expressed anger. Some even went to the extent of questioning the credibility of the awards. Below are some reactions to the post made by PFA on platform “X”.

Here’s the Premier League Team of the Year, as decided by the PFA:

Goalkeeper: David Raya (Arsenal)

Defenders: William Saliba (Arsenal), Virgil Van Dijk (Liverpool), Gabriel Magalhaes (Arsenal), Kyle Walker (Manchester City)

Midfielders: Rodri (Manchester City), Declan Rice (Arsenal), Martin Odegaard (Arsenal)

Forwards: Erling Haaland (Manchester City), Phil Foden (Manchester City) and Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa)

The line-up decided had four players from the team of the champions, Manchester City. Runners-up Arsenal had the most counts, with five players. The Gunners players were rewarded after having the best defense in last season’s EPL. While Aston Villa and Liverpool each had a player. The inclusion of Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins in place of Cole Palmer did raise a few eyebrows.