Cole Palmer and Mohamed Salah have been left out of the 2023/24 PFA Team of the Year. In an XI dominated by Manchester City and Arsenal players, the pair were glaring omissions in the side voted for by fellow Premier League players.
There was some consolation for Chelsea forward Palmer, who scored 22 top-flight goals last season in his maiden season at Stamford Bridge.
He picked up the PFA Young Player of the Year award, while Phil Foden received the Player of the Year honour.
Salah struck 18 times to take his overall Premier League tally to 155, a number since raised to 156 after striking at Ipswich on Saturday. But like Palmer, there was no place for the Egyptian forward in the front three.
It means he misses out on being named in the XI for the fourth time. He was previously selected in 2017/18, and then in back-to-back sides in 2021/22 and 2022/23.
Instead it was Erling Haaland and Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins who were named alongside Foden. The Norwegian hit 27 goals to help City retain the title, while Watkins was joint fourth in the charts with Foden and Dominic Solanke on 19.
In goal, Arsenal’s David Raya got the nod, but one of Salah’s team-mates was deemed worthy of a place oin the back four. Virgil van Dijk was the only Livepool player in the line-up, joined in the back four by two more Gunners in William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes and City’s Kyle Walker.
The midfield trio followed a similar theme, compromising of City and Arsenal players. Rodri was picked alongside Martin Odegaard and £105million man Declan Rice.
The nominations for the individual awards had been announced last week, with Foden, Palmer, Rodri, Odegaard, Watkins and Haaland all in contention. But the Chelsea man was the only player to appear on both lists.
To win the Young Player award, he beat off competition from Alejandro Garnacho, Kobbie Mainoo, Michael Olise, Joao Pedro and Bukayo Saka. And it made him the first player from the Blues to win the award since Eden Hazard after the 2013/14 season.
Foden’s victory meanwhile, meant the award has now gone to City in four of the past six season. Kevin de Bruyne prevailed in 2019/10 and 2020/21, with Haaland winning it last year.
