adminLONDON. — Leicester City’s England striker Jamie Vardy has been named English Premier League Player of the Season after his pivotal role in the club’s remarkable title-winning campaign.
The East Midlands club, which announced the award in a tweet yesterday, defied the odds to lift their first top-flight crown having begun the season as 5 000-1 outsiders.
The prolific Vardy is also in the race for the golden boot awarded to the league’s top scorer, having netted 24 goals so far, one behind his international team mate Harry Kane of Tottenham Hotspur with one round of matches remaining tomorrow.
Leicester visit last season’s champions Chelsea, while Spurs travel to relegated Newcastle United.
The 29-year-old’s Vardy’s phenomenal form this season led to him winning his first England cap and he is certain to be included on Monday in Roy Hodgson’s squad for next month’s European Championship in France.
Vardy beat Leicester team mates Riyad Mahrez, N’Golo Kante, Kasper Schmeichel and Wes Morgan, as well as Spurs trio Kane, Dele Alli and Toby Alderweireld, Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil and West Ham United’s Dimitri Payet for the Premier League award.
He was also voted Player of the Year by the Football Writers’ Association (FWA), an award he received at a dinner in London on Thursday attended by manager Claudio Ranieri.
Vardy was named in the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) team of the year but Leicester’s Algeria international winger Mahrez won the PFA Player of the Year award.
Meanwhile, Liverpool midfielder Philippe Coutinho picked up four awards at the club’s end of season ceremony on Thursday evening.
The 23-year-old Brazilian has continued to impress for the Reds this season and was named the club’s Players’ Player of the Season, Player of the Year and awarded Goal of the Season and Best Performance of the Season.
Coutinho signed for Liverpool from Inter Milan in 2013 for £8.5m and has gone on to become an integral part of Jurgen Klopp’s side.
The Brazil international has scored eight goals in 26 appearances this campaign, including a composed finish against Manchester United in the Europa League which received the club’s Goal of the Season award.
“Thank you to all the fans,” said Coutinho, who also won a quartet of personal honours at the awards in 2015.
“It was a good goal but the most important thing was that we beat them. And now we have our final.” — Reuters.
Bongani Ndlovu
Online Reporter