Everyone thinks they know how this works. You score a mountain of goals, lift the trophy in May, and then some suit hands you a shiny piece of metal while you look moderately humble in a tailored tracksuit.
But honestly? The player of the season premier league race is never that simple.
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If it were just about the numbers, Erling Haaland would have a closet full of these things by now. Instead, we’re sitting here in January 2026, and the conversation is getting weirdly complicated. We’ve got a mix of legendary veterans having their "one last dance" and young kids who are basically playing real-life FIFA with the sliders turned up.
The Mo Salah Sized Elephant in the Room
Let's talk about what happened last year. Remember 2024/25?
Mo Salah didn't just win; he absolutely demolished the league. We’re talking 29 goals and 18 assists. That’s 47 goal involvements in a single 38-game season. He didn't just lead Liverpool to the title under Arne Slot; he basically carried the entire city of Liverpool on his back.
He became the first person to win the PFA Players' Player of the Year three times.
Fast forward to right now—January 2026. Salah is 33. Most wingers at 33 are looking at lucrative "retirement" packages in warmer climates. Not Mo. He’s still here, still terrifying left-backs, and still very much in the conversation for the player of the season premier league award again.
But there's a catch.
Liverpool is in a dogfight. Arsenal is currently sitting top of the table (as of mid-January), and Manchester City is... well, they’re being City. The "Salah fatigue" is real. Voters get bored of excellence. It’s why LeBron doesn't have ten MVPs.
Why Erling Haaland Is (Surprisingly) Not the Lock You Think
If you look at the raw data for the current 2025/26 campaign, Haaland is doing Haaland things. He’s already sitting on 20 goals.
Twenty. In January.
He’s averaging a goal every 95 minutes. It’s disgusting, really. If he stays fit, he might actually break his own 36-goal record. But here is the thing: does scoring 40 goals make you the best player, or just the best finisher?
Last season, Haaland finished third in the scoring charts behind Salah and Alexander Isak. People started saying he was "just" a tap-in merchant. That’s obviously nonsense, but it affects the narrative. To win the player of the season premier league title, you usually need a "moment."
A goal against a title rival in the 90th minute. A month where you carry a team through an injury crisis. Haaland often feels like a finished product—a machine. Machines don’t always get the "human" vote.
The Arsenal Foundation: Declan Rice vs. Bukayo Saka
If Arsenal finally pulls this off and wins the league in May 2026, the award is almost certainly going to North London. But who gets it?
Jamie Carragher recently called Gabriel Magalhaes the "most influential player in the Premier League." That's a bold shout for a center-back. Usually, defenders only win this if they're literally perfect (think Virgil van Dijk in 2019).
Most experts are looking at Declan Rice.
- He is the heartbeat of that midfield.
- He’s currently the best "number 6" (or 8, or whatever Mikel Arteta wants him to be) in Europe.
- His set-piece delivery has become a cheat code for Arsenal.
Then you have Bukayo Saka. He’s got 4 goals and a handful of assists so far, which doesn't sound like "Player of the Season" numbers compared to Haaland. But watch an Arsenal game. Everything goes through him. He’s the guy who draws three defenders, opens the space, and creates the "pre-assist" that everyone ignores.
The Wildcards Nobody Expected
Football moves fast. A year ago, we were talking about Cole Palmer as the savior of Chelsea. And he was! He dragged them to two trophies last season.
But this year, new names are popping up in the Power Rankings.
- Igor Thiago (Brentford): The guy has 16 goals already. He’s the reason Brentford fans aren't crying about Ivan Toney anymore. If he hits 25, he’s in the conversation.
- Antoine Semenyo (Bournemouth): He’s been a revelation. Ten goals from the wing for a team that isn't supposed to be this good? That’s how you get noticed.
- Rayan Cherki (Manchester City): The "new" creative spark in Pep’s midfield. Replacing Kevin De Bruyne’s influence is impossible, but Cherki is giving it a real go.
The "narrative" is everything
You want to know what actually decides the player of the season premier league winner? It's not a spreadsheet. It's the story.
In 2024/25, the story was Salah’s resurgence and Liverpool’s transition to the post-Klopp era. It was perfect.
This year, the story is either:
- Arsenal finally ending the drought (Rice or Saka win).
- Haaland becoming the greatest goal-scorer the world has ever seen (Haaland wins).
- A "smaller" club star like Morgan Rogers or Igor Thiago doing the unthinkable.
What You Should Actually Look For
If you’re betting on this or just arguing with your mates at the pub, ignore the total goals for a second. Look at Points Won.
Who is the player whose absence would make their team drop five spots in the table?
For City, they’ve proven they can win without Haaland (kinda). For Arsenal, if Rice is out, the floor falls out from under them. For Liverpool, without Salah’s 47 goal involvements last year, they probably finish 4th, not 1st.
Actionable Insights for the Rest of the Season
Keep an eye on the "Big Three" milestones coming up in February and March.
Watch the head-to-heads. If Saka dominates the match against City in March, he’s the favorite. If Haaland scores a hat-trick against Liverpool, it’s his.
Check the "Big Chance Created" stats. Goals are flashy, but the creative hubs like Bruno Fernandes (who leads the league with 8 assists right now) often get overlooked until the very end of the season when people realize they've created 100+ chances.
Follow the injuries. The player of the season premier league is often a war of attrition. Rodri’s injury last year changed the entire landscape of the league. One hamstring tweak in February can end a campaign.
The race for the 2025/26 crown is wide open. Whether it's the clinical efficiency of Haaland, the all-action dominance of Rice, or a late-season surge from someone like Florian Wirtz at Liverpool, we're in for a chaotic finish.
Stop looking at the Golden Boot standings as a proxy for the best player. They aren't the same thing. Start looking at who defines the way their team plays. That's where the real winner is hiding.