Premier League Young Player of the Year shortlist is announced - with Chelsea striker and £50m star in the running for prestigious award

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  • Six players are in the mix to win the PFA Young Player of the Year award
  • A Chelsea striker and a £50m ace have made the cut alongside two Arsenal stars
  • LISTEN to Whistleblowers: Are Arsenal fans right to feel aggrieved by the fixtures?

By SAM BROOKES

Published: 10:16 BST, 19 June 2025 | Updated: 10:16 BST, 19 June 2025

The six candidates in the running for the PFA Young Player of the Year award have been announced.

Players who are aged 21 or under at the start of the season are eligible for the prestigious gong which was won by Cole Palmer last year.

He is now too old to be in contention after turning 23 last month, but one of his Chelsea team-mates has made the cut. 

Liam Delap has received a nomination after scoring 12 league goals for Ipswich Town in the 2024-25 season.

Ipswich were relegated after finishing 19th, but Delap did enough to catch the eye and completed a £30m move to Chelsea earlier this month.

He has already made his debut for the Blues at the Club World Cup and registered an assist in a 2-0 win over LAFC on Monday. 

New Chelsea striker Liam Delap (left) is on the PFA Young Player of the Year shortlist

He is joined by Dean Huijsen, who left Bournemouth to sign for Real Madrid in a £50m deal earlier this month

Myles Lewis-Skelly (left) and Ethan Nwaneri (right) have been nominated for the award

Delap is joined on the shortlist by another player who has made a big-money transfer this summer.

Dean Huijsen flourished at Bournemouth last season, earning himself a £50m switch to Real Madrid.

The 20-year-old Spain international stepped out for Real for the first time on Wednesday, but his new club could only manage a 1-1 draw against Al-Hilal.

Arsenal duo Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri are also in the mix after breaking into Mikel Arteta's first team squad.

Lewis-Skelly, 18, was an unknown quantity at the start of the campaign and famously clashed with Erling Haaland in September when the Norwegian forward asked him 'Who the f*** are you?'

He went on to make a name for himself, though, establishing himself as Arsenal's first-choice left back by the end of the season.

He also won his first England cap in March, scoring on his debut in a 2-0 win over Albania. 

Nwaneri, also 18, got his chance to impress when Bukayo Saka picked up a serious hamstring injury in December, and he took it.

The exciting forward netted nine times across all competitions, and is currently representing England Under-21s at the Euros. 

Liverpool target Milos Kerkez is one of six candidates after impressing for Bournemouth

Aston Villa's Morgan Rogers completes the six-player shortlist

Cole Palmer won the Young Player of the Year award in 2024 after shining at Chelsea

The final two nominees are Bournemouth's Milos Kerkez and Aston Villa attacking midfielder Morgan Rogers. 

Kerkez was arguably the best left back in the Premier League last season as he settled in alongside Huijsen.

He is expected to join Liverpool this summer, with his father and agent claiming recently that it is a 'done deal'.

Rogers will be 23 next month but is still eligible for the award and is in the running after going from strength to strength at Villa Park.

He scored eight league goals last term and also found the net on four occasions during Villa's run to the Champions League quarter-finals.

After making his international debut in November, he now has six caps to his name and looks set to be part of England's squad at next year's World Cup. 

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