Premier League Team of the Year: Who Could Feature in the Best XI for 2024?

Another exciting year of Premier League action comes to a close as enter 2025. There was no shortage of twists, drama and exciting individual star performances. Manchester City lifted the title in the summer of 2024 with key performances from Rodri and Phil Foden. As we enter 2025, they find themselves in the race for the top 4. Let us take a look at the potential Premier League Team of the Year.

The Premier League Team of the Year is awarded by the Professional Footballers’ Association. It’s often called PFA Team of the Year. This award is awarded to 55 across the top four tiers of men’s football and the Women’s Super League.

Premier League Team of the Year Predictions

Manchester City have created history by winning the league for the fourth time in a row. Undoubtedly, players from Pep Guardiola’s super team would be expected to make an appearance in this dream team. But an alarming drop in form has thrown a spanner in the works of that.

Arsenal who have been City’s closest competitors have been the best team in the 2024 calendar year. Their ever-solid defence and attack find a space in the Premier League Team of the Year. Chelsea have been a surprise packages and Liverpool are ever solid to have their representations.

A couple of surprise inclusions in the team might raise some eyebrows. Let us take a look at the Premier League Team of the Year predictions and the factors that influenced it.

Prediction Factors

Performance

Consistent performances throughout the year will be the number one factor in determining their spot in the team of the year. Since there were two international tournaments this summer, players needed to be sharp in the old season as well as the new season.

Achievements and Awards

There were a lot of records broken by the players in the Premier League this term. Seasonal awards and international awards were up for grabs too. The winners will definitely get a look into the team of the year.

Most Appearances

Availability will determine the player’s inclusion in this prestigious team. A couple of niggling injuries here and there could be ignored but consistently playing throughout the year is necessary.

Fair Play

The players included in the Premier League Team of the Year should be on their best conduct on the pitch. The players who are classy and uphold the spirit of the game throughout the year stand a better chance of making it into the team of the year.

Importance to the team

A player’s importance to their team will play a key role in their spot in the EPL Team of the Year. If a team is heavily reliant on one player and looks vastly different without him, then he can considered the most important cog in that team. Such players are impact makers of the highest order and deserve a shout-out.

David Raya – Arsenal

David Raya is a vital part of Arsenal’s defence. The Spaniard impressed everyone in London on his loan spell and made his move from Brentford permanent this summer. He fits Arteta’s demand of playing out from the back. Raya is very efficient with his feet and can play under pressure, finding razor-sharp passes for wingers and midfielders.

Raya’s saving and sharp reflexes are another standout. Against Aston Villa in August, he first saved a deflected shot from Amadou Onana before reacting sharply to catch Watkins’ rebound. The double highlighted his concentration in the box. He has 18 clean sheets to his name and holds the line together.

Trent Alexander-Arnold – Liverpool

The English defender is enjoying another fine on Merseyside. He was a swashbuckling full-back under Jurgen Klopp with more emphasis on inverting into the midfield and creating chances. His defensive side was under question but with the arrival of Arne Slot in the summer, it all changed.

Slot made Trent into a regular full-back who does up-and-down shifts on the flank. His defensive side has massively improved as Trent is comfortable defending wingers out wide. His chance creation has also gone up by another level. Trent created 17 big chances in 2024 and should’ve had more assists if his chances were put away.

Also Read: Arsenal and Manchester City players dominate the PFA Premier League Team of the Year

William Saliba – Arsenal

Saliba with another impressive year is aiming to make it into his third straight Premier League Team of the Year. The Arsenal defensive lynchpin played a key role in the Gunners losing only three games in the calendar year.

There was a tight competition between Arsenal’s centre-back duo of Saliba and Gabriel for a spot. Saliba edges Gabriel due to being a leader of the defence and playing more games than Gabriel. Saliba is a master communicator and keeps the entire backline active. He rarely lunges into tackles and makes the best decision every time.

Virgil van Dijk – Liverpool

Liverpool’s veteran centre-back is aging like fine wine and at 33 he is showing no signs of slowing down. The Dutchman is ever-dominant in aerial duels and hasn’t lost a yard of his pace despite his ACL injury in 2020.

The arrival of Arne Slot unlocked a new dimension in van Dijk’s game. Apart from his long diagonals, he is also finding new angles to pass and break the lines. He has 317 passes into the final third and has 3,327 touches of the ball. Both are the highest of any other player in the Premier League in 2024.

Antonee Robinson – Fulham

Robinson is the first surprise package of the Premier League Team of the Year. The United States international had a breakout in 2024 and is finely regarded as one of the best left-backs in the league.

Robinson is very solid at the back, to begin with. He has a great recovery pace and has no trouble bombing forward and coming back. He has 10 assists in the calendar year and created 39 chances in the league.

Rodri – Manchester City

Okay, Rodri has been sidelined for the final part of 2024 we get it. But it simply isn’t enough to discredit the kind of season he had in 2023/24. He was the heartbeat of Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.  Breaking up attacks, starting counters for them and orchestrating the play, he had it all. He not only starred for City but also for Spain as they lifted the Euro 2024.

Rodri became the first Premier League player to lift the Ballon d’Or after Michael Owen. Rodri’s 24/25 season started supremely as well. But unfortunately, he suffered an ACL injury that ended his season prematurely. Rodri certainly deserves a spot in the Premier League Team of the Year. It is made obvious from the fact that Manchester City is suffering its worst form ever since losing Rodri.

Moises Caicedo – Chelsea

The British record player did take a lot of time to settle into his new surroundings. Caicedo under Mauricio Pochettino was playing in a lot of positions. Anyways in 2024, he found a settled new role and started to show his form from Brighton.

Under new boss Enzo Maresca, he discovered a newfound freedom as he screened the defence and had a free hand in attack. Caicedo has 231 recoveries, is second among midfielders and has 53 interceptions. He has also found an eye for a goal, scoring a crucial equalizer against Manchester United.  

Bukayo Saka – Arsenal

The young winger is getting better with every passing season. He is discovering new peaks and adding finer elements to his game. Saka’s goal-scoring and assisting have been better than ever. He is the most lethal while cutting onto his left foot. r has also developed a stronger weak foot and is bombarding the near post with his right foot.

The most improved part of Saka’s game has been his chance creation. He has been racking up assists from his inswinging corners and razor-sharp pings to the back post from the right half-space. Saka is second only to Mohamed Salah in assists this year. An unfortunate hamstring injury had brought his year to a premature end.

Cole Palmer – Chelsea

Palmer’s meteoric rise should be well documented by his first inclusion into the Premier League Team of the Year. The English attacking midfielder is a throwback to number 10s of the old. He is silky on the ball, has great technique and most importantly translates his skills into tangible output.

van has been spearheading Chelsea’s unlikely title charge under Maresca. Palmer has the second most goals in the calendar year with 26 and has created the most chances from open play. Some might even say Palmer is the most influential player in the world.

Mohamed Salah – Liverpool

The Egyptian king is on course for another record-breaking season. The usually ever-fit Salah had a rare start to the year with an injury. He broke his hip during the Afcon 2024 and it carried into his league season. After a slow end to the Klopp era, Salah has been on fire under Arne Slot.

Unshackled from the wider role, he is arriving in central areas more often and is playing the best football of his life. Salah’s goalscorer rate is almost 1 in 1 at the moment and his chance creation from wider areas is at an amazing rate. Talk of a Ballon d’Or is growing louder each week. If he leads Liverpool to a second Premier League title, that’d be just a mere formality.

Alexander Isak – Newcastle United

We are finally seeing what an injury-free Alexander Isak is capable of. The Swedish international has 25 goals this calendar year and is third on the list. His all-round game has improved massively as he is comfortably playing the target man and running in behind roles. He is developing into one of the best strikers in Europe.

Isak’s end to the year has been sensational as he scored in seven consecutive games. A hattrick against Ipswich has shown how clinical he can be. He has the second-best minutes-per-goal ratio at 107.4.

Premier League Team of the Year Expected Release Date

The Premier League Team of the Year is expected to be released in the first week of January 2025. It might be dropped before January 5, 2025, by the PFA.

Also Read: Fantasy Premier League Team of the Season so far 24/25