Bukayo Saka has been named PFA Men’s Young Player of the Year for his performances throughout the 2022/23 season.
Having previously been nominated three times, the 21-year-old’s achievements last season were too good to be overlooked this time, with members of the Professional Footballers’ Association voting for the winner.
Bukayo received the most votes, finishing ahead of teammate Gabriel Martinelli, who was also a potentially deserving recipient after scoring 15 Premier League goals to tie Martin Odegaard for the season’s leading scorer.
Other candidates for the award includes;
- Manchester City goal machine Erling Haaland
- Aston Villa’s Jacob Ramsey
- Brighton striker Evan Ferguson
- Moises Caicedo, who recently joined Chelsea.
Bukayo Saka wins it one more time
Bukayo won after a stellar season in which he set a career high with 15 goals and 11 assists.
Saka has appeared in all 38 Premier League games for the second season in a row. He played in the 2022 World Cup for England. He scored three goals in four games as the Three Lions went to the quarterfinals in Qatar.
His season came to an end with the announcement that he had signed a new long-term contract with the club where he had played since he was eight years old.
Bukayo had already won the Football London Young Player of the Year title and was third in the Football Writers’ Association Player of the Year vote last season.
Before winning the prestigious PFA award, he was also a finalist for the Premier League’s Player and Young Player of the Season honors.
Bukayo Saka is the 45th different recipient and sixth Gunner to receive the prize in its 50th year, which began in 1973/74.
Tony Adams (1986/87), Paul Merson (1988/89), Nicolas Anelka (1998/99), Cesc Fabregas (2007/08), and Jack Wilshere (2010/11) have all gone before him.
At the Lowry Theatre in Manchester, Jack presented the prize to Bukayo, as the two largest Hale End products shared a beautiful moment on stage together.
