Surprise Premier League star wins PFA Young Player of the Year – beating top-flight rivals including Liam Delap and Myles Lewis-Skelly

A surprise Premier League star has claimed the prestigious PFA Young Player of the Year award after a strong season in the English top flight and in Europe. 

Last season saw a number of young up-and-coming stars burnish their credentials in the top division, with a raft of boldface names making the short list for the award. 

Among them were Arsenal teenage talent Myles Lewis-Skelly, and Chelsea new boy Liam Delap, whose doomed heroics for relegated Ipswich Town helped him secure a blockbuster move to west London ahead of this summer’s Club World Cup. 

Another Arsenal star in Ethan Nwaneri also made the cut, with newly minted Real Madrid star Dean Huijsen, and Liverpool‘s new signing Milos Kerkez rounding out the pack. 

But the winner – as voted for by the association’s membership – was instead Morgan Rogers, on the heels of his impressive campaign for Aston Villa. 

The 23-year-old was hotly pursued by Unai Emery following his break-out campaign for Middlesborough in 2023-24. 

But since his move to Villa Park, Rogers has proven he was everything the Spanish manager had hoped he was recruiting and more, scoring 14 goals across all competitions in his debut campaign, and registering a further 16 assists. 

Rogers also netted his first Champions League hat-trick in the Villans’ 4-2 despatch of Celtic to reach the last 16 in January. 

However, Rogers’ lightning quick transition to the Premier League could yet prove Aston Villa’s undoing. 

The Manchester City academy graduate has attracted attention during the ongoing summer transfer window, with Chelsea thought to be particularly keen to reunite Rogers with his former youth team-mate – and last year’s Young Player of the Year – Cole Palmer. 

Villa are so keen on keeping hold of their young starlet that Daily Mail Sport reported at the end of last month that the club are set to offer Rogers improved terms just one year on from signing his first deal. 

Rogers featured in the first match of Villa’s Premier League campaign, a goalless draw against Newcastle. 

The starlet had been a doubt after picking up an injury in pre-season, but after training with Emery’s squad in the build-up last week, Rogers was able to play the full 90 minutes at Villa Park. 

In the women’s campaign, the PFA honour went to Arsenal’s Olivia Smith, after the star completed her first season in English football last term. 

Once Canada’s youngest senior international, Smith spent the 2024-25 campaign at Liverpool before booking a record-breaking move to their WSL rivals in North London.