Peter Crouch can’t choose between young Manchester City Phil Foden or Liverpool superstar Mohammed Salah for Player of the Year.
The duo have played a key role for their teams this campaign and they are currently locked in an intense race for the Premier League title, as well as the Champions League semi-finals.
Foden rotates with several elite strikers in City’s front row and has eight league goals, while Salah is Liverpool’s talisman and currently leads the race for the Golden Boot with 22 league goals.
Crouch believes Foden should win the award over Salah and team-mate Kevin De Bruyne if City finish the season as Premier League and Champions League winners.
He wrote in his Daily Mail column: “This year, if Manchester City win the Premier League and Champions League, you would have to pick either Phil Foden or Kevin De Bruyne. I would potentially pick Foden because he has always been a shining light.” for them.
“There are many others you could choose from and the same goes for Liverpool.
“Virgil van Dijk’s performances have been an absolute joke. Sadio Mane too, coming back from winning the Africa Cup of Nations with Senegal and picking up where he left off. He has to be in the conversation.
“I seem to be dodging the fact that Mo Salah, already crowned FWA Footballer of the Year, has the most goals and assists this season.
“Clearly it has to be there, given how electric he’s been throughout the season, even considering he’s faded a bit in the last couple of weeks.”
Salah’s goal tally has dropped in 2022, but he remains one of Jurgen Klopp’s most consistent players.
The Reds still have a historic quadruple in their sights and Crouch concluded that if City and Liverpool share the spoils, it has to be Salah.
He continued: “Those five names are my list and it has to be one of them. If the two clubs exchange trophies, Salah outranks the others in my opinion by his heavy weight in goal contributions.”
Liverpool beat Newcastle United 1-0 on Saturday afternoon to move temporarily to the top of the league.
Pep Guardiola’s men responded with a 4-0 thrashing of Leeds United later that day to return to the top.
Both teams have four games left and they know any mistakes will be costly.
They will resume their league campaigns next weekend, with the second leg of their respective Champions League semi-final approaching.
City are set for a blockbuster fixture at the Santiago Bernabéu on Tuesday after beating Real Madrid 4-3, while Liverpool take a 2-0 lead against Villarreal on Wednesday.