“Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne is among the six players nominated for the Premier League Player of the Month award for January, with two representatives from Liverpool also making the shortlist.
De Bruyne, who had been sidelined with a hamstring injury since the opening day of the season, made a triumphant return by contributing a goal and an assist in Manchester City’s thrilling 3-2 victory over Newcastle United on January 13th.
Entering the game with Manchester City trailing 2-1 in the final 20 minutes, De Bruyne wasted no time, finding the bottom corner just five minutes after coming off the bench. He then delivered a superb cross for Oscar Bobb to score the last-minute winner.
Following his standout performance at St James’ Park, De Bruyne was included in the starting lineup for Manchester City’s match against Burnley at the Etihad on January 31st, where he provided his second assist of the campaign with a clever free kick to set up Julian Alvarez.
The Belgian midfielder is vying for his first-ever Premier League Player of the Month award along with five other shortlisted players. Meanwhile, Liverpool has received recognition with two nominations for their players’ achievements.
“Twenty-year-old right-back Conor Bradley is in contention for the award after making a significant impact for Liverpool last month, contributing a goal and three assists while deputizing for Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Following his involvement in one of Liverpool’s four goals in their 4-0 victory over Bournemouth, Bradley delivered a standout performance against Chelsea at Anfield, earning man-of-the-match honors as he played a key role in three of his team’s four goals in the 4-1 win.
The Northern Ireland international scored his first goal for Liverpool with an impressive finish across the goal, in addition to providing assists for Dominik Szoboszlai and fellow nominee Diogo Jota.
Portuguese forward Jota had an impressive January, scoring three goals and providing two assists in five appearances for Liverpool. He began the month by setting up Curtis Jones for Liverpool’s second goal in the 4-2 win against Newcastle United on New Year’s Day. Jota then scored twice and provided an assist in the 4-0 victory over Bournemouth, before opening the scoring against Chelsea in the memorable victory over the Blues.
“Among the nominees is rejuvenated Tottenham Hotspur forward Richarlison, who, despite featuring in only two Premier League matches in January, maintained his impressive form by scoring against Brentford and Manchester United.
Across North London, Arsenal’s Gabriel Magalhaes, another Brazilian, is also nominated for the award after netting two goals in two games, including a brace in Arsenal’s 5-0 victory over Crystal Palace. Initially credited as a Dean Henderson own goal, Gabriel’s second strike against the Eagles has now been rightfully attributed to him following an appeal.
Additionally, Luton Town striker Elijah Adebayo is in contention to become the first Hatters player to win the Premier League Player of the Month accolade after his remarkable hat-trick in Luton’s 4-0 triumph over Brighton & Hove Albion on January 30th.
Dominic Solanke of Bournemouth was the most recent recipient of the Player of the Month award, with previous winners this season including Harry Maguire, James Maddison, Son Heung-min, and Mohamed Salah.