PFA Player of the Year odds: Phil Foden, Rodri and Declan Rice lead market

By Joe Townsend

Football

Fri April 26, 2024 · 7M ago

Phil Foden is now odds-on to win PFA Player of the Year after scoring two more goals in Manchester City's 4-0 win at Brighton at Thursday.

Foden first went into favouritism after a stunning hat-trick in their win over Aston Villa in early April and according to the market now looks likely to pip team-mate Rodri to the award.

In previous years, the 23-year-old Foden would've been scrapping it out with his 21-year-old former City team-mate Cole Palmer for PFA Young Player of the Year, an award Foden won in 2020/21 and 21/22, but a change in the rules in 2021 means that is no longer possible.

Players must have been 21 or under as of July 1 immediately prior to the start of the season - a reduction on the previous age limit of 23.

Palmer's stunning four-goal performance for Chelsea against Everton saw some firms slash his odds from 66/1 to 10s.

He has scored 20 and assisted nine goals in the Premier League this season - enough to put him top of the Golden Boot charts - in what has been a breakout top-flight campaign.

Remarkably, the England international had started just three league games prior to this term, with the £42.5m spent on him by an otherwise wasteful Chelsea ownership looking to be the bargain of the season.

PFA Player of the Year odds (via Sky Bet)

Phil Foden - 4/5
Rodri - 9/4
Declan Rice - 8/1
Ollie Watkins - 10/1
Cole Palmer, Martin Odegaard - 12/1

Fantastic Foden

Not quite as out of nowhere as Palmer, this has still been a breakthrough season for Foden.

The England midfielder has cemented his place as a Manchester City regular by not only becoming a more influential all-round player, but by delivering 24 goals and 10 assists for Pep Guardiola's side.

Incredible Rodri

The growing focus on Manchester City's record with and without Rodri means it comes as no surprise he leads the market.

City are unbeaten in 66 games (W53 D13) in all competitions with the midfielder in the team, an incredible run stretching back to February 5, 2023.

Perhaps more incredibly, they have lost five of the 11 matches he has missed in that time.

Combine those irrefutable statistics with the fact the Spain international has not only developed a goal-scoring side to his game, but a reputation for scoring at crucial times, and the 27-year-old would be incredibly unlucky not to win this award come May.

Relentless Rice

Declan Rice was given the captain's armband for the first time in England's friendly with Belgium at Wembley, another step in the career of a player impossible to dislike.

Some eyebrows were raised when Arsenal were willing to part with £105m to bring him to The Emirates in the summer, but few are questioning the fee now after a phenomenal first season in north London.

He has brought the leadership qualities and midfield dynamism many felt was needed for the Gunners to sustain a second Premier League title push and also thrive on their return to the Champions League, but that was almost a given for a player who commanded such an enormous fee.

More impressive is the 25-year-old's own development, going above and beyond what was anticipated by providing six goals and six assists in the top flight; in his previous 204 league games for West Ham, he managed only 10 of each.

Should Arsenal upset the odds and win their first title since 2004, it would be a travesty for Rice not to be voted best player by his peers.

Odds correct at 0905 GMT (26/04/24)

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