Paul Merson picks Man City star above Man United’s Fernandes for Premier League Player of the Season

Paul Merson has chosen Manchester City defender Ruben Dias as his leading candidate to win player of the season, ahead of Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes.

The former Benfica defender has instantly strengthened City defence making them the division’s best defensive record in the Premier League, with twelfth clean sheet of that winning run, and their 18th successive win in all competitions.

The impact he has made has been comparable to that of when Liverpool signed Virgil van Dijk from Southampton which propelled them towards their first Premier League title.

The €60m-rated defender has made 31 appearances in all competitions this season, having a huge hand in Man City’s 18th win in succession and 25th unbeaten fixture.

Central to such solidity have of course been Dias and resurgent John Stones, but the Portuguese has been the dominant half of the partnership, and Merson admits he has been blown away by Dias’ performances and ‘can’t look past’ the defender as his clear frontrunner to win player of the season.

‘I like to go with someone [for player of the year] who has had an effect on a team winning something,’ Merson said as quoted by Metro.

‘I really do like Bruno Fernandes. I love what he’s done at Manchester United. ‘People say he cannot be compared to Eric Cantona until United do what that side did in terms of trophies, but what more can he do?

‘He is doing his job and doing it unbelievably well. All he can do is create chances and score goals, and that’s exactly what he’s doing, but he can’t defend all at the same time. He’s not the one letting in soft goals every now and then.

‘He can only keep doing his job to the best of his ability and he has carried a massive football club on his shoulders. That takes some doing, believe me.

However, I look at Ruben Dias and think, wow,’ he added.

‘Did you ever see Man City conceding the least amount of goals in a season in this league? I think he’s starting to get the reputation of someone like Virgil van Dijk.

‘When you watch him now, I think players are fearful of him. They get him in a one on one situation, and they think they cannot get past him. He’s got that fear factor.

‘At the moment, I can’t look past him for player of the season. Fernandes has been great, don’t get me wrong. He’s done what he’s had to do and more, but I always think, when you are talking player of the season, you have to pick someone who has won the league.

‘When Kevin De Bruyne won it last year, I just can’t see how a player wins it when another team have won the league by a mile. If you are a Liverpool player, you are sitting there scratching your head thinking about the numbers you’d put together and one of your players is not player of the year. It’s a team game and you’ve got to pick a player from the team that’s won it. You never get man of the match from a losing team.

‘That’s why I’m going with Dias. He has made Man City a far better team than what they were last season.’