DIAS BAGS BEST PLAYER AWARD

Manchester City defender Ruben Dias has been voted the Premier League Player of the Season after a stellar campaign with his club.

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The Portuguese international was named the recipient of the award ahead of topscorer Harry Kane and six others on Saturday. Tottenham Hotspur striker Kane was unlucky to miss out after finishing the season with the most goals and the most assists. Other players like Phil Foden (Manchester City), Tomas Soucek (West Ham United), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United) and Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City) also made the list of nominees.

The feat achieved by Dias is remarkable considering the fact that he only just moved to England towards the end of last year and during a pandemic season.

Manchester City splashed the cash on Dias in September 2020 and he has been worth every penny. The Citizens paid £62m to sign the Portuguese centre back from Benfica in the Portuguese top flight shortly after they had conceded five goals to Leicester City in a game that ended in a 5-2 home defeat for City manager Pep Guardiola and his players.

His arrival led to an improved City defence as he forged a good partnership with England international John Stones at the heart of the defence. Dias became the new leader at the back for Manchester City as the Citizens finally found a replacement for former skipper Vincent Kompany.

Dias is only the fourth defender to win the Player of the Season Award after NemanjaVidic, Vincent Kompany and Virgil Van Dijk.

Manchester United legend Vidic won the award on two occasions thus making him the only defender to achieve that feat. He won it in the 2008/09 and 2010/11 seasons as Manchester United finished each of the two campaigns with the league title.

Vincent Kompany won his own award during the 2011/12 season as he played a big role in the first Premier League title at Manchester City that season. On his part, Van Dijk won the award at the end of the 2018/19 campaign.

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