So in the Premier League this season there has been amazing football, with a massive group of players laying claim to being the best in the league. Here are the players we believe deserve to be here and are our top picks of the season. Welcome to the first ever Lace ‘Em Up’s Premier League players of the season and our ultamate dream team of the 21/22 season.
Goalkeeper Of The Year: Alisson Becker
So there has been a group of amazing goalkeepers this year, such as Jose Sa for Wolves, Ederson for Man City, and Edouard Mendy for Chelsea. There can only be one goalkeeper to take our spot tho and that is Alisson Becker for Liverpool, the Brazilian shot-stopper has been unbeatable for Liverpool this season, producing 20 clean sheets in all competitions and being very important to Liverpool’s quadruple chasing season.
Defensive Player Of The Year: Virgil Van Dijk, Christian Romero, Joao Cancelo & Trent Alexander Arnold
As Sir Alex Ferguson once said attack wins you games and defense wins you trophies, and it’s no different with these four players. We will start with our left-back Joao Cancelo who has been integral to City’s season with 18 clean sheets and also chipping in with a few goals and assists.
The two players in the center of our defense are Virgil Van Dijk and Christian Romero, who have both been absolutely world-class this season for Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur respectively, With Romero surprising a lot of people with how good his performances have been. The opposite to Cancelo is our right-back Trent Alexander Arnold who has been a real tool in the Liverpool machine this season with 12 assists helping Liverpool join Manchester City in what has been an incredible title race.
Midfielder Of The Year: Thiago Alcantara, Conor Gallagher & Phil Foden
The midfield should be full of players with fluidity and skill but also football brains and amazing ball control, and there’s no lack of those attributes in our midfield. We will start with Conor_Gallagher who has been an integral part of a high flying Crystal Palace team, on loan from Chelsea, he is proving that he can find a way into Thomas Tuchel’s team next season if Palace Don’t buy him permanently.
The next Player is Thiago Alcantara who has shown every bit of the player he was at Barcelona and Bayern Munich, a pivotal part of an ever-changing Liverpool midfield he has controlled the pitch like his own dance floor, especially with amazing performances against Manchester United.
The final player is my young player of the year, Phil Foden who has been extraordinary this season even by his standards helping Man City be the team they have been with important performances against Liverpool and Arsenal, Phil Foden is proving he can be a future Balondor winner.
Forward Of The Year: Bukayo Saka, Mo Salah and Harry Kane
And we get to the final three players, the ones who are responsible for putting the ball in the back of the net, and that is not a problem for these three. We start with Bukayo Saka who since he missed a penalty in the Euros final has revitalised his career and been an integral part of a strong Arsenal team who are fighting for Europe this year.
On the other wing, we have the Egyptian king Mo Salah, who has been playing like he was an alien this season contributing 22 goals and 13 assists leading the charts in both. A Hatrick against Man United and a goal against Man City has Salah in for Balondor shouts. In the center of our attack is our Striker, Harry Kane who after a rough start to the season has refound the form which has made him England Captain. Big goals against Man City amongst others, and a record-breaking partnership with Heung Min Son means there was no doubt on who could be our striker in this team.
Our 5 Honorable Substitues In The Premier League
I felt like we have to name 5 substitutes who didn’t quite make the team but still deserve to be talked about, Kyle Walker-Peters has been brilliant for Southampton this season. Declan Rice and Jarod Bowen have both helped West Ham fight for Champions League football. A premier league legend Christiano Ronaldo is Man United’s top scorer and the only shining light within a declining team, the final mention is Diogo Jota who has found his feet in an ever-changing Liverpool attack.