Bruno Fernandes wins Premier League top player honour after record assist haul

LONDON, United Kingdom  (AFP) — Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes was named Premier League Player of the Season on Saturday.

Fernandes has equalled the record for most assists in a single Premier League campaign with 20, alongside Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne.

The 31-year-old has also scored eight league goals for United this term, helping Michael Carrick’s third-placed team secure qualification for next season’s Champions League.

Fernandes is the first United player to win the award since Nemanja Vidic in 2010-11.

He took the prize ahead of Arsenal’s David Raya, Gabriel Magalhaes and Declan Rice, Manchester City’ Erling Haaland and Antoine Semenyo, Brentford’s Igor Thiago and Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White.

United captain Fernandes had already won this season’s Football Writers Association Footballer of the Year award.

Manchester City defender Nico O’Reilly won the Premier League Young Player of the Season award.

O’Reilly became a regular at left-back for City this season and also featured in midfield, scoring five goals and providing three assists.

The 21-year-old bagged both goals in City’s League Cup final win over Arsenal in March and also started in their FA Cup final victory against Chelsea.

City’s Rayan Cherki, West Ham’s Mateus Fernandes, Newcastle’s Lewis Hall, Brentford’s Michael Kayode, United’s Kobbie Mainoo and Bournemouth’s Alex Scott and Eli Junior Kroupi were the other nominees for the Young Player award.