Kevin De Bruyne new favourite with most bookmakers for PFA Player of the Year

There’s no denying that the PFA Player of the Year is one of the most prestigious awards in the Footballing calendar and this year we have seen several favourites in the betting market including both Jordan Henderson and Sadio Mane.
However there’s now a new name at the head of the market in Manchester CIty’s Kevin De Bruyne who is raking up some unbelievable numbers and enjoying his best ever Premier League season.
 

The Belgian celebrated his 29th birthday on Sunday with a goal that was his 10th in the league before converting from the spot once again on Thursday in the 4-0 romping of Liverpool at the Etihad. It’s the first time he has reached double figures in front of goal since joining the club in 2015.

After another superb display against Liverpool last night, the Belgian has now leapfrogged Mane and Henderson to be the favourite with most bookmakers in the betting for PFA Player of the year at 13/10 with Betfair and Paddy Power after being 7/2 the previous day.

The range of passing from KDB this season has been phenomenal and the way he can drive his team forward or thread a through ball through the eye of a needle is ever present to see. He’s become the quickest ever player to 50 Premier League assists during this campaign and is the only player to create over 100 chances.

Now on 17 for the season, Kevin has a realistic chance of breaking Thierry Henry’s stupendous record of 20 assists in a single campaign. There’s six games left for him to do so and with the form he is in, you would give him every possibility of doing so.

In my opinion he’s been by far the most influential member of any squad in the league. Despite the flawless performances from the Liverpool players, I feel De Bruyne is more deserving of the award. Liverpool are a team and there’s no denying they have world class talent in players like Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil Van Dijk and Mo Salah but if you were to ask me who I would watch for the remainder of the season if I could only choose one, it would be Kevin.

There’s no doubt that Jordan’s Hendersons leadership skills have been paramount to Liverpool’s first title in 30 years but for me he does not fit the bill of a PFA Player of the year. His workrate and shifts in the engine room have allowed Liverpool’s full backs to forget about their defensive duties at times and to concentrate on providing service for the front three. Still  as short as 2/1 in places, Henderson remains second favourite, a price which I expect to drift if KDB carries on in the form he is showing.

Third in the betting is Sadio Mane at 7/2 with 888 Sport. Jurgen Klopp has improved the Senegalese forward in all areas and according to website transfrmarket he now has a market value of over £100m. He has 15 goals and nine assists to his name this season and I think he should be second in the betting behind Kev. He’s proved he’s one of the best in the league and has even been linked with a move away to one of the European giants but compared to KDB there’s only one winner for me.

During last night’s game between City and Liverpool, commentators Jamie Carragher, Gary Neville and Martin Tyler raised the question on who should win the award with both Neville and Tyler opting for KDB. It was no surprise to hear Carragher choose a Liverpool player in Sadio Mane and it’s a good job it’s not a vote from the fans that decides this award as we all know how much scousers like to hijack a goal of the month competition on Match Of The Day. After that win City are now even money favourites in the Premier League Betting for next season with Liverpool 6/4 with BetVictor.

It’s worth noting that in the last 10 seasons there’s only been two winners who have scooped the award and won the Premier League title, in 2016 and 2017 with Riyad Mahrez (Leicester) and N’Golo Kante (Chelsea). So history shows that this award is not based on the achievements of the season but the outstanding performer. 

At the time of writing there is still 3/1 available with bet365 for De Bruyne to win player of the year and I’d expect that to go pretty soon with there being such a disparity in prices from several firms. That’s a superb price in my opinion. I'd be willing to back De Bruyne right down to around even money. As always please remember to gamble responsibly.