Following the first phase of voting, we can now reveal – in alphabetical order – the top five in the running for Fulham’s 2022/23 Player of the Season:
- Bernd Leno
- Aleksandar Mitrović
- João Palhinha
- Tim Ream
- Willian
You can now vote for your favourite at the bottom of this page, with the winner announced next week.
Bernd Leno
After just one season in SW6, fans are already putting Bernd Leno in the same bracket as Mark Schwarzer and Edwin van der Sar as one of the greatest goalkeepers we’ve ever had in the Premier League.
It’s praise which is echoed by Marco Silva, who describes the German as the best signing he’s ever made, and considers him to be one of the top three ‘keepers in the country.
The stats back up those claims, with only David Raya making more saves in 2022/23 – having played two games more – and nobody matching Leno’s ‘goals prevented’ figure of 11.46. (Opta stats show that chances against Fulham should have seen us concede 60.46 times, but Leno only let in 49).
Aleksandar Mitrović
A two-time winner of the Club’s Player of the Season award, Aleksandar Mitrović is now in contention for the hat-trick following a career-best Premier League campaign.
Ending 2022/13 on 14 top-flight goals (15 in all competitions), three more than his previous biggest haul, Mitro silenced those lazy critics who claimed he would never be able to perform at this level.
His tally is all the more impressive when you take into account the fact that he only started 23 matches. Indeed, his goals-per-game figure of 0.6 was bettered only by Harry Kane and Erling Haaland.
João Palhinha
Can you think of a new signing to have made such a big impact in the timeframe that João Palhinha has? There can’t be too many.
Fans were enamoured with their new central midfielder from their first look during our curtain-raising draw with Liverpool, when he completely dominated the visiting trio of Thiago, Jordan Henderson and Fabinho.
That performance was far from a one-off, as Palhinha’s consistency in the middle of the park proved to be a major reason for Fulham’s top-half finish.
Famed for his tackling ability – his 147 tackles was 47 more than his closest Premier League competitor – he also knew where the goal was, scoring bangers against Nottingham Forest and Leeds United, in addition to vital headers versus Brentford and Southampton.
Tim Ream
Another former winner of this accolade – when he claimed the trophy in 2018 by a landslide – Tim Ream enjoyed his best ever Premier League season this time around.
Often wearing the armband, Ream was a composed presence at the back, continuing the form that made him a key part of Marco Silva’s Championship winning side the previous year. He also ticked off a personal milestone, lashing in his first ever top-flight goal in a 3-0 Boxing Day win at Crystal Palace.
Prior to breaking his arm at the end of April, Ream had missed just two minutes of Premier League football in 2022/23, and he surely would have been on course for an ever-present campaign had he not suffered that unfortunate accident against Manchester City.
Willian
Yet another player to have been written off outside of the Club, Willian rolled back the years on his return to London.
In just 25 Premier League starts, the winger registered an impressive 11 goal involvements, scoring five and assisting a further six.
His goals were a mix of critical – the opener against Chelsea and what proved to be the winner in Leeds – and beautiful, such as his stunner at home to Forest and a throwback Willian effort when Leicester visited.
One of those players that it’s a privilege to come and watch every week.
Voting closes at 12pm on Monday 19th June.
Duplicate votes will not be counted.
