Premier League Player of the Season predictions with firm reminder of unsung heroes and Bruno Fernandes assists

A Portuguese captain from a Manchester club headlines talkSPORT talent’s picks for their Player of the Season.

However, as Bernardo Silva competes in the title race, he has been bested in the individual honours list by compatriot Bruno Fernandes.

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And with Man United third in the table, their skipper Fernandes fittingly dominates but not everyone thinks he is deserving of winning.

The 31-year-old is one assist shy of the Premier League record of 20 in a single season after turning down a £700,000-a-week offer from Saudi Arabia last summer.

His 19th – and seventh in as many matches – came in the 2-1 win over Brentford that put the Red Devils 11 points clear of sixth in their bid to qualify for the Champions League.

Yet with Michael Carrick‘s men not battling for the title, Arsenal and Man City equally have claims to put their star man in the spotlight.

So, without further ado, here’s who our best talkSPORT presenters and star-studded guests name whom they believe should win the 2025/26 Player of the Season.

Dwight Yorke (Former Man United striker)
PICK: Bruno Fernandes

The 1999 Man United treble winner has been more than vindicated in calling for the club to build around Fernandes this time last year.

And the five-time major trophy winner at Old Trafford, Yorke, was keen to laud the playmaker again on talkSPORT Breakfast this week.

He told Ally McCoist and Gabby Agbonlahor: “Certainly, when you look at Bruno’s level of consistency, and he’s not everybody’s cup of tea in some way, the way he behaves, and that always seems to be out there a little bit.

“But let’s not go away from the actual focus of what he brings to United and his creativity. He’s the engineer of that team.

“He really does make United tick on all fronts.

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“And it shows again, because not just with his assists, but his goals, his leadership quality has gotten better.

“I think for me, again, there is a no-brainer there, that he is easily undoubtedly the best player in the league right now on current form.”

Ally McCoist (talkSPORT Breakfast host)
PICK: Bruno Fernandes/ Nico O’Reilly

The face of talkSPORT Breakfast was initially in total agreement over Fernandes, but hasn’t ruled out O’Reilly doing the double.

Speaking first on Man United’s talisman, McCoist told Breakfast on Tuesday: “I’ll tell you who I’m giving it to. Bruno.

“I think he has been outstanding. I expect him to go on, certainly equal and probably beat the assist record that Kevin De Bruyne and Thierry Henry have.

I’ve watched him closely all season. I thought his level of performance, and I mentioned the game at Stamford Bridge [1-0 win over Chelsea].

“He just looked a level above anything else on the pitch. And you think of the talent, there’s really talented players on that pitch.
[Moises] Caicedo, [Enzo] Fernandez, all these boys.”

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Noel Gallagher (Oasis superstar)
Pick: Nico O’Reilly

Die hard City fan Noel has unsurprisingly plumped for a player from his beloved side, who can still win a domestic treble this term.

And it speaks volumes that their latest academy superstar, O’Reilly, is the pick of the bunch following a breakout campaign in 2025/2026.

Primarily a midfielder, the England international has thrived as an unorthodox left-back with five goals and three assists in 31 Premier League appearances.

He also scored a game-deciding double in City’s Carabao Cup final win in March, and looks a shoo-in for the Three Lions’ World Cup squad.

Gallagher, who joined Andy Goldstein and Darren Bent on talkSPORT Drive in April, said: “I don’t know enough about other teams, but surely O’Reilly is a shoo-in for young player of the year.

“I just cannot put into words.

“You know that bit on the touchline where he’s got three players around him, he nutmegs two players [during 2-1 win over Arsenal at the Etihad].

“All before the game is like, are they feeling the pressure? Well, he isn’t. [Rayan] Cherki isn’t. [Abdukodir] Khusanov isn’t.

“[Gianluigi] Donnarumma looked like he was. O’Reilly for sure. O’Reilly could win both [awards for PFA YPOTY and POTY].

Lianne Sanderson (talkSPORT host)
PICK: Bruno Fernandes

Former England forward Sanderson told Kick off with Natalie Sawyer: “People know how much I love Man United, right? But I’m not biased towards Man United. I’m very kind of measured. I’ll give credit where it’s due.

“Bruno Fernandes – separating Cristiano Ronaldo – I think Bruno has been the best Manchester United signing since Eric Cantona.

“And Eric Cantona was the reason why I support Man United. People can say he whinges, people can say shouting at the ref, but who cares?

“People used to shout at the refs all the time. Do you remember Roy Keane and [referee] David Ellery back in the day? Like, football’s changed, we know.

“I just love the fact with Bruno, I don’t think he gets spoken about enough that he turned down like £700,000 a week to go to Saudi [Arabia] to stay at Man United.

“And that’s why every time he plays, I tweet about it, I put it on X, he is my captain. I love everything about Bruno.

“He can whinge all he wants, but he is my player of the year.”

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Adrian Durham (talkSPORT host)
PICK: Rayan Cherki

The 22-year-old underlined why he was Durham’s pick for Player of the Year with his stunning solo goal in Man City’s win over Arsenal.

Cherki is the first player to reach double figures in BOTH goals and assists for a Premier League club in all competitions this season.

And Durham believes fans should forget about Fernandes and Declan Rice in favour of the former Lyon star.

“I’m thinking of the footballer of the year,” Durham said.

“You can’t have any Arsenal players, they’re not footballers, okay? They’re just robots.

“So, you can’t have any Arsenal players as player of the year.”

And on Cherki, Durham continued: “He is the only contender for footballer of the year. “Rayan Cherki has won it already.”

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Sean Dyche (ex-Premier League manager) PICK: Igor Thiago

An outside shout got a mention from the former Burnley, Watford, Everton and Forest boss, who made a case for Brentford’s Igor Thiago.

After missing the majority of his first season in England through injury, the Brazilian has sparked into life in the 2025/26 campaign.

Thiago’s 21 goals in 34 games have fired the Bees into European contention, having been tipped for relegation before a ball was kicked last summer.

He has scored the most goals by a Brazilian in a single Premier League season, while only Erling Haaland has more league goals this term.

And Dyche made sure to throw Thiago’s name in the hat, as he urged people to look beyond the stars of the league’s big-name teams.

Speaking on talkSPORT Breakfast, he said: “He’s not quite under the radar, but obviously the big clubs, you always look for their players. 

“But I must say Thiago at Brentford, I think.”

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Jeff Stelling (talkSPORT Breakfast host)
PICK: Nico O’Reilly

O’Reilly equalled Fernandes in talkSPORT’s votes for Player of the Year by getting Stelling’s seal of approval.

Speaking on Friday’s Breakfast Show, Stelling said: “I’m going to go for somebody who hasn’t gone below the radar.

“I think they’ll definitely be going to the World Cup, probably start for England. 

“I think Nico O’Reilly’s had an incredible season. 

Highlighting what he brings to the team, Stelling said: “[He] gives a different dimension to Manchester City, and he has made so much progress this year.

“People will say: ‘Young Player of the Year’. But for me probably the Player of the Year full stop.” 

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