The Premmies
- Daniel Austin-Chukwu
- 7 days ago
- 4 min read
It’s that time again. As we approach the final matchdays of the Premier League season, whilst many things have been decided (i.e., the title race and the relegation places), some teams still have something to play for. Before any last-minute chaos kicks off, I’m dishing out my 2024/2025 Premier League Awards. These aren’t official (though they probably should be), and no, I don’t care if your favourite team feels hard done by. Let’s get into it.
Player of the Season: Mohamed Salah
Let’s get the obvious out of the way. Mo Salah is still that guy. At 32, he was supposed to be slowing down. Instead, he’s played like someone determined to remind the league that he’s still among the very best. He was the catalyst for the Red’s surge to the Premier League title. Salah was a model of consistency, class, and clutch. With goals, assists and general aura, the Egyptian King dragged Liverpool through rough patches and continued to be their match-winner when others went missing.
Liverpool have been the top scorers in the league, but he’s not had the most help from his fellow forwards. Sure, Diaz has chipped in, and Gakpo has been a bright spot for Liverpool, but from an attacking POV, anything good that happens, it is because of Salah. He’s going to add another golden boot to his already stellar Liverpool CV, and his overall influence on Liverpool’s season was undeniable. Vintage Mo, even as he begins to evolve into something a bit more cerebral. Less blistering pace, more frightening precision.
Young Player of the Season: Ryan Gravenberch
If you told me last August that Gravenberch would be the breakout star of this season, I probably would’ve replied with: “Are you sure he’s even going to start?”. But credit where it’s due, the Dutch midfielder has found his groove, and then some. After a weirdly forgettable spell at Bayern, this was the season he finally showed why he was once considered one of Europe’s top young talents. With the right coaching and trust, Gravenberch morphed into the kind of midfielder modern teams crave press-resistant, elegant on the ball, and deceptively tough in duels.
Bought by Liverpool presumably to play as an #8, he’s blossomed as their deep-lying midfielder. He has stood out because this year, he has been quietly and consistently one of their best players, performing week in and week out, for a Liverpool team that demanded a lot from him. If this is what he looks like settled, Liverpool might just have found the next midfield mainstay for the post-Klopp era. And hey, if he keeps progressing like this, that price tag will soon look like a bargain.
Manager of the Season: Arne Slot
Let’s keep it simple. The man came, saw, and conquered. Arne Slot walked into a post-Klopp Liverpool with a fanbase that wasn’t entirely sold on a relatively low-profile Dutch manager replacing a legend. So, what did he do? Oh, nothing much, just went and won the Premier League in his first season. That alone makes this award a formality. But it wasn’t just the title win, it was how they did it. Liverpool were ruthless, relentless, and refreshingly composed across the campaign. The chaotic pressing and high-wire energy of the Klopp era was refined into a side that knew when to go for the jugular and when to take the sting out of games. They didn’t just outfight team. They out-thought them.
Slot deserves massive credit for getting the best out of a squad that many (me included) thought needed a bigger rebuild. Salah continued to thrive, Gravenberch exploded under his watch, and Van Dijk maintained his world-class levels. The man has clearly got something. To win the most competitive league in the world on your first go? That’s outrageous. Arne Slot isn’t just Manager of the Season; he might be on his way to becoming a Liverpool legend.
Best Signing: Dean Huijsen
There were a few shrewd additions across the league this season, but none made quite the immediate impact of Dean Huijsen. Signed from Juventus, the towering Dutch centre-back slotted into the Premier League like he’d been playing here for years. Calm in possession, aggressive in the challenge, and, most importantly, positionally solid. If defenders are supposed to be invisible when they’re doing well, Huijsen was practically a ghost. A 6'4" ghost who also chipped in with the occasional goal from set-pieces.
His arrival shored up a backline that looked a bit leaky the year before. At a time when many top clubs were still rotating between half-fit defenders and midfielders playing at centre-back, Huijsen brought actual reliability. For a teenager, that's seriously impressive. There’s still room to grow, of course, some of the decision-making needs polishing, and he can sometimes be caught too high up the pitch. But in terms of value for money and immediate upgrade, he’s been a revelation. No wonder Real Madrid were so quick to sign him.
Worst Signing: Joshua Zirkzee
It gives me no pleasure to say this (okay, maybe a little), but Zirkzee has been a disaster-class in recruitment. United needed goals. What they got was a striker who looked like he’d won a “train with the first team” raffle and then accidentally ended up on the team sheet. Zirkzee came in with decent hype off the back of a solid Serie A season. But let’s be real, the warning signs were there. He wasn’t prolific in Italy, and his all-round game was never as polished as some made out.
This season? Three goals in the league. One. For a team that couldn’t buy a goal during key periods, his contributions were non-existent. He looked lightweight, out of sync, and unsure of his role. It didn’t help that he was thrust into a struggling United side, but the lack of any meaningful impact is damning. And with Rasmus Højlund still developing, having two raw strikers who don’t score regularly seems… not ideal. In a year where every point mattered, Zirkzee offered vibes and little else. United’s scouting department needs a long, hard look in the mirror.
This Week’s Hot Take
Mohamed Salah’s 2024/25 campaign should change the conversation about “footballing decline.” We’re way too quick to write off players once they hit 30. This season proved that if you're smart, conditioned and still hungry, age is just a squad number. There’s a good chance the best player in the league this year will be turning 33 next season and I wouldn’t bet against him doing it again.
Salah, a phenomenal striker.