Liverpool's Mohamed Salah headlines our list of the biggest PFA awards snubs

As always, some deserving candidates had to be culled to make the final list, with one name in particular a glaring omission as 2017/18 player of the year Mohamed Salah has missed out.

The Liverpool star headlines our list of the biggest snubs from this year’s awards.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Mohamed Salah, Liverpool

Last year’s winner. This year’s current joint-top scorer. There’s no doubting the fact that Salah hasn’t quite hit the levels of last season, but he should be judged on this season only, not what he’s been able to achieve in the past.

Did the Egyptian who’s been constantly compared to Lionel Messi get the Messi treatment here? Missing out for being simply very good instead of magically brilliant?

A seven-game goal drought right when Liverpool were slipping up in the title race may have gone against him, with the wonder goal he scored in a 2-0 win over Chelsea last weekend coming long after his colleagues’ votes had been counted.

Salah will also be entitled to wonder why Silva has made the shortlist ahead of him, with the same number of assists (seven) and three times as many goals (19 to six).

Son Heung-min, Tottenham

The case for Son is similar to that for Salah. The South Korean star recorded 12 goals and six assists in the league this season, again more than Silva – who has the advantage of playing for City, alongside the likes of Aguero and Sterling.

Son has star team-mates as well, but Dele Alli has been injured for long spells this season, Harry Kane has, too, and there have been times when Spurs’ No 7 has been the central figure for his team. Even Salah hasn’t had the same weight of responsibility that the former Bayer Leverkusen playmaker had thrust upon him.

Of course, Son isn’t challenging for a title the way Salah and Silva are. That narrative is already costing one player whose candidacy should be taken more seriously, with Hazard a longshot to win this award despite leading the league in combined goals and assists this season. It’s done for Son as well, if a tad unfairly.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Arsenal

And if Son doesn’t have the benefit of a narrative where he’s driving a title challenge, at least he’s on a team that is many neutrals’ favourite, and allowing Tottenham to stand its own in the big six despite having a budget and wage bill dwarfed by the rest. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang doesn’t even have that going for him.

Yet, the Gabon striker is one of the biggest reasons Unai Emery has been able to take an Arsenal side that seemed in decline when he came in last summer and revitalised them as top-four contenders. He’s a strong contender for winning the Golden Boot in his first full season in the Premier League.

Aubameyang’s tendency to miss big chances may have gone against him – his penalty miss against Tottenham when he could have won the derby for the Gunners was likely fresh on the minds of his colleagues when they voted – but on his goals and their impact, he’d have a case to be included in the six-man shortlist.

YOUNG PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Crystal Palace

The PFA needs to reconsider its criteria for the young player of the year award. Sterling and Silva, both nominated for the senior gong, turn 25 later this year, and though they still qualified for this category because they were 23 at the start of the season, including them in the shortlist robs others of recognition, like Crystal Palace’s talented right-back.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka has withstood every test a young defender can face in the league. Playing for a side battling relegation, the young Englishman has come out of duels against the best wingers from the top six clubs with his reputation enhanced, as he’s rarely beaten defensively and provides an attacking thrust.

The 21-year-old has made more tackles than any other defender in the division. Of the 129 tackles he’s attempted, only nine times has he been dribbled past. And he’s just as good going forward, succeeding in two-thirds of his dribble attempts (54 out of 81) and adding two assists.

Wan-Bissaka should be one of the favourites for this award, not on the outside looking in.

Ruben Neves, Wolves

Ruben Neves isn’t flashy – apart from when he’s scoring spectacular goals. The man who famously has scored all his Wolves goals from outside the box is often occupied with simply ticking over possession, leading to accusations that he’s simply a “sideways-pass merchant”.

Yet Neves’ composure on the ball and ability to control a game for Wolves, who have surprised many sides this season by coming straight up from the Championship and competing to be the best side outside the top six, cannot be valued highly enough.

Much like some of the players who have made his role famous – Michael Carrick and Sergio Busquets come to mind – the young Portugal star doesn’t play too many Hollywood passes, instead choosing to keep it simple. And that’s what Wolves need him to do.

The 22-year-old is being linked with the likes of City and United, so there’s clearly an appreciation for what he brings to his team. For long stretches of the season he was being considered the best player outside the top six. It’s a surprise more of his fellow players didn’t vote for him.

Harry Winks, Tottenham

Like Neves, Harry Winks’ style rarely grabs headlines. However, he’s been instrumental to Spurs’ success this season, as one half of one of the Premier League’s more surprising effective midfield partnerships alongside Moussa Sissoko.

His ability to find space to receive the ball, get into dangerous positions, and keep control under pressure are all hallmarks of a complete midfielder. When he scored his only goal of the season, against Fulham, Winks started the move by winning the ball in his own half before ghosting in to grab an injury-time winner.

He’s also come out of games against the likes of Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund, and Man City having held his own or even, at times, looking the best midfielder on the pitch. Usually, that’s enough to get the hype train going.

Winks hasn’t gotten the recognition he’s deserved this season, but he is set to be a special player.