As we approach the busy Christmas period and towards the halfway point in the season, now is a good time to take a look at who are the early candidates for young player of the year.

Previous winners include Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney, Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling and last years winner Phil Foden. Now already this year there has been a number of great performances by some of the the youngest talent on show in the Premier league, so why don’t we have a peek at 3 of the early contenders.

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Young player of the year – (Option 1) Conor Gallagher

Conor Gallagher comes into this season off the back of some rave reviews from Charlton fans, the club he recently spent time with on loan. Chelsea decided in the summer to loan out the talented midfielder to London rivals Crystal Palace in order for him to gain the vital top level experience and boy is he showing exactly what he is capable of.

His recent 93rd min winner against Everton was sublime and highlights perfectly why he is included in this list, the boy is good! A captivating player and extremely exciting to see how he develops in the next few years.

Young player of the year – (Option 2) Reece James

Reece James is one of a talented pool of English right backs alongside the likes of Walker, Trippier, Trent, Wan-Bissaka and the emerging talents of James Justin and Tariq Lamptey. James has certainly done no harm to his prospect of securing that right back/wing back position for England based on his blistering start to this season for Chelsea.

Having integrated so well into Tuchel’s plans for Chelsea alongside fellow wing back Chilwell, James has shone in both attack and defence. Should James keep up the early season performances you’d expect him to be in the starting 11 in Qatar next year. (Depending on formation). A great start to the 21/22 season nonetheless.

Young player of the year – (Option 3) Aaron Ramsdale

A summer signing for Arsenal (£25m) Ramsdale joined to much mockery and jibes from football fans across England. Well, those fans are certainly not laughing now, Ramsdale has quickly become a firm fans favourite and has also gained much popularity amongst other fans as his likeable personality has shone through. A talented shot stopper, he has quickly made the number one jersey his own and forced experience Leno to spend most games sat on the bench.

In a team that is currently starting to look like they are making progress, in what seems like their 10th rebuild since moving away from Highbury. Ramsdale has emerged as one of the best signings of recent years. A vocal yet calming influence on the back 4, he has shown the doubters that he deserves to be at Arsenal by his so far faultless performances.

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Summary

I cannot look past Gallagher, on current form I would expect to see him getting a call from Southgate for a spot on that plane next year. A pure joy to watch on the ball and a bag of energy to the last kick of the game, Gallagher is a bit of a throwback to an old all-action Central midfielder, very terrier like in his never say die attitude. Expect very big things from the boy from Epsom.

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