The PFA Young Player of the Year Odds, Tips & Prediction

PFA Members have finalised their Top Six shortlist for the Men’s 2023/24 PFA Young Player of the Year award and the names are nothing short of stellar. In this piece, we'll dive into all six candidates and the chances surrounding their prospects of landing the prestigious award.

The favourite, and frankly the obvious choice, for this year's crown is none other than Cole Palmer. It would be quite egregious for him not to win this award, really, when you consider that he mustered up a total of 25 goals and 15 assists in his first full professional season, in an entirely new team - and an underperforming one at that - in a completely new environment.

The stats don't even tell the full story: hat-tricks, beautiful goals, pieces of exquisite skill, Palmer's season was as special as they come for a young player.

The one retort some might give against Palmer winning this award is the fact his productivity didn't lead to any silverware for Chelsea. If you're that way inclined then fair enough, but individual performances should not denigrated by a team's outcome in our view, and as far as Palmer is concerned there's little more he could've done to propel his team towards a trophy last season.

He might not win the award, but we wouldn't want to pass up the opportunity to recap the breakout campaign of one of England's most exciting young players: Kobbie Mainoo.

Mainoo entered the frame in United's first team at a time of crisis; results were borderline catastrophic and performances were even worse, and the root of much of the team's peril came in the middle of the park, where the Red Devils were getting outplayed and outfought, week after week.

Enter 18-year-old Mainoo, who waltzed straight into the first team with a fine balance of arrogance, nonchalance and class to provide a degree of quality and composure that exceeded anything provided by a group of significantly more experienced senior internationals before him.

Mainoo's impact was blatant and he provided some unforgettable individual moments: the last-minute winner at Wolves, the screamer against Liverpool and the goal in the FA Cup Final. A genuinely top-class catalogue for a teenager in a debut season, and it even led to him becoming a regular starter for England at Euro 2024 in the summer.

In many other years Mainoo would probably win this award; it's only down to Cole Palmer's freak of a season that he won't. Regardless, he'll likely go on to accumulate a bulky cabinet of individual honours as his career progresses, and there's little doubt it'll be a joy to watch.

Kobbie Mainoo isn't the only Manchester United youngster vying for this award, teammate - and fellow Carrington graduate - Alejandro Garnacho is also in contention.

Garnacho broke onto the scene at United two years ago but it was only last season where he really laid down a marker in the side. The Argentine nailed down a regular starting spot on United's wing, starting a whopping 41 games in all competitions, providing 10 goals and 5 assists.

Garnacho was an extremely reliable outlet for United, providing an unwavering dose of energy, positivity and directness out wide in a side that often needed it, and at times where many of his teammates were not recipricating.

The crowning moment of the 20-year-old's season came in the final game, where he scored the first goal of the FA Cup final against Manchester City at Wembley, a game United went on to win and subsequently lift the trophy.

There's more to come from Garnacho, no doubt, but he'll probably fall short of this award despite an excellent season.

He's no longer a Premier League player, but Michael Olise was pretty phenomenal last season. The Crystal Palace man started only 14 games last season due to an injury sustained in the first half of the campaign, but that didn't stop him from amassing a total of 16 goal contributions - in the shape of 10 goals and 6 assists. In fact, Olise was so good that his performance at the back end of the campaign earned him a move to Bayern Munich in a deal worth well in excess of £50m.

The winger has a wand of a left foot and was a bundle of flair and creativity, displaying an exceptionally high level of decision-making, delivery from all areas of the pitch and 1v1 ability.

Olise went on to earn a call-up to the French Olympic squad and played a huge part in the team's silver medal in the summer. His wait for a major individual honour of his own will likely go on, but given the level he's currently playing at there's a belief he could one day challenge for the Ballon d'Or.

Bukayo Saka is the current holder of this award and is competing for a second successive title. The Arsenal man was once again instrumental for the Gunners last season as they went on to accrue a total of 89 points in the league, impacting the game at both ends of the pitch.

Saka recorded 16 goals and 9 assists in the league, making him Arsenal's most productive and consistent forward. In a team that went so close to beating Manchester City to the league title, that's quite a feat.

There are, though, arguments as to who should qualify for this honour, and despite the fact Saka is young in terms of numerics, he's a very experienced and established player and has likely outgrown this award.

The same can likely be said of 22-year-old João Pedro, who is the final candidate. Pedro has over 150 senior league appearances and sure, he's young in age, but he's clearly too experienced to be considered a peer of the likes of Kobbie Mainoo and Cole Palmer.

That's not to say the Brazilian hasn't had a good season, mind. The Brighton man registered 9 goals and 3 assists in what was his debut season for the club and was one of the team's more consistent performers.

Pedro's performance also earned him a first call-up to the Brazi National Team, as strong a reflection of the quality of his season as any.

The 22-year-old won't win this award, but he's a fine player with a tonne of room to grow, and it'll be interesting to see how he kicks on with the Seagulls this year.

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