Raheem Sterling Wins PFA Young Player of the Year, FWA Player of the Year Awards
Raheem Sterling has won the PFA Young Player of the Year and the FWA Player of the Year awards amid a stunning campaign for Manchester City this season.
The English forward beat Trent Alexander-Arnold, David Brooks, Marcus Rashford, Declan Rice and City teammate Bernardo Silva for Young Player of the Year honors, while beating Virgil van Dijk for the football writers' top player award. Van Dijk was recognized as the top overall player by the PFA, his peers.
The FWA confirmed in a post on its official website that Sterling had received 62% of the votes, picking up 100 votes more than Van Dijk, who came in second. City teammate Sergio Aguero finished third.
Harry Kane, Eden Hazard, Bernardo Silva, David Silva and Alexandre Lacazette all received votes for the FWA award, but Sterling was the runaway winner by far.
City are currently locked in a tense battle for the Premier League title with Liverpool, with just two matches remaining left of the season. Should Pep Guardiola's men lift the league title at the end of the season it will mean back-to-back league trophies for the Citizens, much due to the outstanding work of Sterling throughout the campaign.
Despite not featuring in every league game for City this season, Sterling has been involved in a staggering 27 goals so far, netting 17 times and producing 10 assists in just 31 matches.
Still only 24 years old, the Englishman has demonstrated his worth to the club on numerous occasions, becoming a reliable source of goals and guiding the club to within touching distance of the Premier League crown.
Improvement in his game through the course of the season has been evident, while dealing with racist abuse in the league and on international duty for England and showcasing a great level of maturity and resolve.
The forward is just one goal and one assist off equaling his tally of last season, but his all-around ability has proved pivotal to the club this season with the Citizens scoring the highest amount of goals in the league on 90, and losing just four times throughout the entire campaign.