Bruno Fernandes and Declan Rice top PFA Player of the Year nominations | Football | Sport

However, Rice is expected to be among the favourites to win the honour, which is voted for by the players, after a Premier League title winning campaign for Arsenal. The two midfielders are not the only ones who have a chance of winning. Manchester City duo Rayan Cherki and Erling Haaland are also in the mix, as are Rice’s team-mates Gabriel Magalhaes and David Raya.

This season, Rice has been integral for the Gunners. He has made 55 appearances for the north Londoners, contributing five goals and 11 assists this season. Meanwhile, Fernandes enjoyed an unprecedeneted campaign for United.

The United magician became the first ever Premier League player to complete 21 assists, surpassing Thierry Henry’s record breaking 2002-03 campaign, when he helped himself to 20. Fernandes’ numbers helped United register a third placed finish, despite the sacking of Ruben Amorim at the start of the year.

Both Rice and Fernandes have now turned their focus towards the World Cup. Rice will not be involved in England’s pre-tournament friendly against New Zealand on Saturday, but may feature against Costa Rica next Wednesday, a week before Thomas Tuchel’s side begin their campaign by facing Croatia on June 17.

Meanwhile, Portugal face Chile on Saturday evening before taking on Nigeria next Wednesday. Their tournament will then kick off with a clash against the Democratic Republic of Congo on June 17.

He is expected to be at the heart of one of the best midfields at the tournament. Fernandes is expected to complete a midfield trio also featuring Paris Saint-Germain duo Vitinha and Joao Neves, while City’s Bernardo Silva is also expected to feature somewhere in the starting eleven.

In regard to Fernandes’ future, he is expected to make a decision when the World Cup is over. He has been linked with a move away from the club, but the midfielder said earlier in the campaign he wants to wait until the tournament finishes.

United are believed to have respected his wishes by shelving contract talks until later in the summer.