Newcastle United fan favourites Les Ferdinand and Andy Cole have been included in the Premier League's shortlist for Hall of Fame entry.
Both Michael Owen and Sol Campbell are also on the list but this is largely down to their efforts at other clubs rather than at St James' Park. The 15 shortlisted players for 2023 are: Tony Adams, Sol Campbell, Michael Carrick, Petr Čech, Andrew Cole, Ashley Cole, Jermain Defoe, Les Ferdinand, Rio Ferdinand, Robbie Fowler, Gary Neville, Owen, John Terry, Yaya Touré and Nemanja Vidić.
A Premier League statement read: "Fans around the world are now invited to place their votes for the three players who will take their place in the Hall of Fame, alongside the 16 previous inductees and Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsène Wenger, who became the first managers to be inducted this week."
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Fans can vote at www.premierleague.com/halloffame and via the official Premier League app. Voting is open until 6pm on Monday 10 April, with the three inductees to be announced on Wednesday 3 May.
Shortlisting takes into account the Premier League career statistics of players who meet the Hall of Fame selection criteria and voting data from previous Hall of Fame shortlists in 2021 and 2022.
Career achievements considered include individual and team honours and a player’s total Premier League appearances, goals, assists and clean sheets.
To be eligible for this year’s Premier League Hall of Fame, players must have been retired by 1 January 2023 and only a player’s Premier League career is considered in their candidacy, not their performances in other competitions during the Premier League era.
Each inductee will receive a personalised medallion, engraved with the year of their induction, and a £10,000 donation will be made by the Premier League to a charity of the player’s choice.
The Hall of Fame launched in 2021, with inaugural inductees: David Beckham, Dennis Bergkamp, Eric Cantona, Thierry Henry, Roy Keane, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and Alan Shearer. In 2022, Sergio Agüero, Didier Drogba, Vincent Kompany, Wayne Rooney, Peter Schmeichel, Paul Scholes, Patrick Vieira and Ian Wright were inducted.
The Premier League Hall of Fame lives online, with unique content available at www.premierleague.com/halloffame. For more information, follow @premierleague and use #PLHallOfFame on social media.
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