Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling is a deserved winner of the Player of the Year awards, according to several of the country’s best journalists.
The England international has enjoyed a superb season for Pep Guardiola’s side, scoring 23 goals in all competitions, and is one of the frontrunners alongside Liverpool’s Virgil Van Dijk for the Player of the Year accolades.
The 24-year-old’s stunning season has been acknowledged by both his peers and the media, with Telegraph journalist Sam Wallace confirming his vote for the winger in the Football Writers Player of the Year award.
“I voted for him, I just think he has had a brilliant season,” Wallace said on Sky Sports Sunday Supplement programme.
“Of course I admire what he has done off the pitch, but he has been sensational in terms of his consistency.
“And that got forgotten midweek. That hat-trick goal that was disallowed… it would have been a very different story [against Tottenham in the Champions League].
“He scored two goals in what people are now saying is one of the greatest games they have ever seen.
“And, yes, his principled stand is crucial, but he has been superb in terms of his development as a player.
“He is one of those young English players, and he is still young, but, like with Wayne Rooney, it feels like he has been around forever.
“So we do not look back on his development as much as it is taken for granted a little bit.”
Henry Winter, Chief football writer at the Times, agrees with Wallace and says Sterling is now ‘England’s most important player’.
“He is also England’s most important player,” Winter added.
“For the young players, for the fans, I understand that Harry Kane is incredibly important.
“But Sterling, particularly in this 4-3-3 which Gareth Southgate seems to be wanting to push towards, really suits him, rather than the version England played with wing-backs in the summer.”