You can only wonder whether, when alone with his thoughts at the Lowry Hotel in Manchester, Jose Mourinho thinks about his greatest mistakes in football.

Among them might be that, on his watch as Chelsea boss, Kevin De Bruyne was allowed to leave for Wolfsburg in 2014 and Mohamed Salah for Roma in 2015.

Chelsea got a combined £34million for those sales (£18m for De Bruyne and £16m for Salah) as both were deemed outcasts. Now, they are in a shoot-out to be named Player of the Year.


De Bruyne has been the conductor of the Manchester City orchestra that is blowing everyone away, both in England and in Europe following their 4-0 win in Basle.

Salah's Liverpool won 5-0 away at Porto in the Champions League with the Egyptian scoring the goal of the evening, as he juggled the ball over a helpless Jose Sa.

Both have been worthy of celebrating but only one can take the trophy for the season's best player home. Here, we look at who will put that piece of silverware on their mantlepiece and why.


A CASE FOR KEVIN DE BRUYNE
De Bruyne's ability to spot passes that others have not has been a particular highlight of this season.

It has led to an almost weekly separate segment on Match of the Day. Take last weekend, for example. De Bruyne supplied a hat-trick of assists for Sergio Aguero in their 5-1 embarrassment of Leicester at the Etihad Stadium, including one that defied belief.

Yet as Pep Guardiola later pointed out, this was not just one match when the midfielder felt in the mood. This is something the 26-year-old has been pulling off in the Premier League all season.

The Belgian knows where the likes of Aguero want the ball and he puts it there, even when the pass does not appear on. De Bruyne has created 84 chances in 2017-18 – the most in the top flight and 40 more than Salah.



In terms of assists, he has 14, twice as many as his Liverpool competitor. As Harry Kane has discovered, winning Player of the Year is not determined by total goals scored.

The England striker finished as top scorer in 2015-16 and 2016-17, yet is still empty-handed. Consistency is key and De Bruyne has stood out as City's creative spark while executing it all almost effortlessly.

There is something else, too. In the last three seasons, the team that won the title also saw their stand-out star win PFA Player of the Year – N'Golo Kante with Chelsea, Riyad Mahrez with Leicester, and Eden Hazard with Chelsea.

The ball is in De Bruyne's court.

SUPER STAT: Since making his debut for Werder Bremen in August 2012, De Bruyne has provided 77 assists in Europe's top five leagues – more than any other player in that time, including Lionel Messi on 76.

A CASE FOR MOHAMED SALAH
So cool and composed has Salah been in front of goal this season, the left-footer is breaking Liverpool records that were set in the 1800s.

The Egyptian is the fastest to get to 30 goals in a campaign since George Allan did it in 27 appearances in 1896-1897.

Allan would die from tuberculosis two years later. Salah scored No 30 in the Champions League on Wednesday but he and his skills, strength and low centre of gravity is wreaking havoc in the Premier League too.

You only have to ask Manchester City, Tottenham, Arsenal, Chelsea or Merseyside rivals Everton about that – all of whom have been forced to witness Salah celebrating against them. A man for the big occasion.



While Salah has managed half as many assists as De Bruyne, the 25-year-old has scored more than three times as many as his Manchester counterpart. All in his debut season at Anfield too.

That is the impact his return to England has had. In fact, nine Premier League teams have scored less league goals than Salah has been involved in (29, scoring 22 and assisting seven).

Liverpool lost Philippe Coutinho in January – a move which always appeared inevitable after his head was turned by Barcelona. Salah is their new superstar. The goals he has scored this campaign have contributed 13 points to Liverpool, with his two against Tottenham a fortnight ago turning a 2-0 loss into a 2-2 draw.

In 2013-14, when Liverpool finished second to Manchester City by two points, Luis Suarez won Player of the Year. Sure, City are set to win the title by a landslide this time, but Salah certainly has a chance.

SUPER STAT: Salah has scored 19 goals with his left foot this season, equalling the Premier League record with Robbie Fowler, who likewise struck 19 goals in 1994-1995.