It’s official; the 40-man shortlist for the 2022-23 Premier League Team of the Season has been released; and there are certainly quite a few questions.
Not surprisingly, the likes of Manchester City goalscoring ace Erling Haaland lead the pack in the forward line along with many notable selections the likes of Bukayo Saka, Harry Kane, Gabriel Martinelli, and Ollie Watkins.
A midfield chock-full of exceptional talent is headlined by the co-creative genius of Martin Ødegaard and Kevin De Bruyne, with Bruno Guimarães, Palhinha, Alexis Mac Allister, and James Maddison among those to join.
At the back, there are few if any surprises of those that have been recognized among the forty best players in England’s top flight, with Brentford’s Ben Mee among some illustrious company.
Finally, Aaron Ramsdale and Nick Pope justify their moves to bigger clubs across fantastic performances throughout the campaign, while former Arsenal keeper Bernd Leno’s inclusion in the shortlist shows a player who still had plenty to give, and just needed new surroundings.
But the shortlist is hardly devoid of criticism; quite the opposite. Though no one can be sure why, Brentford’s leading man Ivan Toney has been left off the shortlist despite sitting on 18 goals and only the aforementioned Haaland and Kane ahead of him in the goal chart, though somehow, Chelsea’s Kai Havertz was given the nod.
Questions also surround the inability to include Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes despite the Portuguese star creating more chances from open play than any other player in the Premier League; including De Bruyne and Saka.
Despite the cadre of head-scratching selections, the bulk of the shortlist has been included on merit, and the arduous task of narrowing a list of such unfathomable talent down to just eleven players remains a truly difficult one.
