Rio Ferdinand believes Bukayo Saka should be named as the Premier League's Young Player of the Season - with Erling Haaland claiming the senior gong.
Saka scored his sixth Premier League goal of the term on Saturday to help Arsenal win 4-2 at Brighton. The Gunners are now seven points clear of champions Manchester City - who could only muster a 1-1 home draw against Everton - at the top of the table.
Saka, 21, is Arsenal's back-to-back Player of the Season and has also played a crucial role in their success this term, providing six assists in the Premier League. For that, Ferdinand thinks the England international should be honoured by the fans come May.
Ferdinand tweeted on Saturday: "Saka is the Premier League's Young Player of the Year already... hand it to him ASAP... and give Haaland the senior award, too, while you're at it!"
Haaland, 22, is also eligible for the Young Player of the Season prize and has put his name in the hat after scoring 21 goals in his first 15 Premier League appearances. No player has made such an instant impact in the competition during it's 31-season history.
Both prizes will be decided via a fan vote during the final weeks of the season, as the Premier League draw up a shortlist of around six players for each category. Haaland's City team-mates Kevin De Bruyne (senior) and Phil Foden (young) won last season's gongs.
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The Premier League has handed out their Player of the Season award since the 1994-95 campaign. Previous winners include Alan Shearer, Michael Owen, Dwight Yorke, Juninho, Wayne Rooney, Vincent Kompany, Gareth Bale, Mohamed Salah and Luis Suarez.
De Bruyne, Thierry Henry and Cristiano Ronaldo are the only players to win the prestigious prize twice. In terms of the Young Player of the Season award, that was introduced ahead of the 2019/20 campaign - with Trent Alexander-Arnold and Foden (twice) claiming it.
The Premier League's award is considered as one of the biggest individual prizes in the English game because it's voted for by the fans. The PFA Players' Player of the Year and Football Writers Association's Footballer of the Year awards are also viewed as prestigious.
No player has ever won the Premier League's senior and young prizes during the same campaign. Although Ferdinand thinks Saka is a shoo-in to become the Young Player of the Season, Arsenal's talisman will have his eyes on the senior prize if they win the title.
The Gunners haven't lifted the Premier League since Arsene Wenger's side went a season unbeaten 19 years ago, such is the pressure on Saka and his team-mates to end their drought. Yet Arsenal fans will concerned of City's ability to put huge winning runs together.
Other earlier candidates for the Premier League's Player of the Season prize include De Bruyne, Harry Kane, Ivan Toney, Miguel Almiron and James Maddison.
