The Professional Footballers' Association Young Player of the Year (often called the PFA Young Player of the Year, or simply the Young Player of the Year) is an annual award given to the young player who is adjudged to have been the best of the season in English football. As of 2021, players must have been aged 21 or under as of 1 July immediately preceding the start of the season; in the past the age limit has been 23, which led to criticism in the media over whether a player who was 24 years old at the end of the season could really be considered "young" in footballing terms. The award has been presented since the 1973–74 season and the winner is chosen by a vote amongst the members of the players' trade union, the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA). The first winner of the award was Ipswich Town defender Kevin Beattie. The current holder is Manchester City defender Nico O'Reilly, who won the award on 25 August 2026.

Although the award is open to players at all levels, all winners to date have played in the highest division of the English football league system. In 2018, Ryan Sessegnon of Fulham became the first player from outside the top division of English football to be nominated for the award. As of 2026, only Ryan Giggs, Robbie Fowler, Wayne Rooney, Dele Alli and Phil Foden have won the award on more than one occasion. Only seven players from outside the United Kingdom have won the trophy,The total of seven includes Cyrille Regis, who was born in French Guiana but represented England at international level. compared with 20 winners of the main PFA Players' Player of the Year award. Although they have their own dedicated award, players aged 21 or under at the start of the season remain eligible to win the Players' Player of the Year award, and on three occasions the same player has won both awards for a season.

A shortlist of nominees is published in April and the winner of the award, along with the winners of the PFA's other annual awards, is announced at a gala event in London. The players themselves consider the award to be highly prestigious, because the winner is chosen by his fellow professionals.

Winners The award has been presented on 53 occasions as of 2026, to 47 players. The table also indicates where the winning player also won one or more of the other major "player of the year" awards in English football, namely the PFA Players' Player of the Year award (PPY), the Football Writers' Association's Footballer of the Year award (FWA), the Premier League Player of the Season award (PPS), the Premier League Young Player of the Season award (PYPS), and the PFA Fans' Player of the Year award (FPY).

+Winners of the PFA Young Player of the YearYearNat.PlayerClubAlso wonNotes 1973–74 Ipswich Town 1974–75 West Ham United Day is the only goalkeeper to have won the award. 1975–76 Manchester City 1976–77 Aston Villa PPY First non-English winner, also first player to win two awards in a single season. 1977–78 Nottingham Forest 1978–79 West Bromwich Albion First winner of the award born outside the United Kingdom, although he went on to become an England international. 1979–80 Tottenham Hotspur 1980–81 Aston Villa 1981–82 Southampton 1982–83 Ian Rush Liverpool 1983–84 Luton Town 1984–85 Manchester United 1985–86 West Ham United 1986–87 Arsenal 1987–88 Newcastle United 1988–89 Arsenal 1989–90 Southampton 1990–91 Manchester United 1991–92 Manchester United 1992–93 (2) Manchester United First player to win the award twice, and first to win the award in two consecutive seasons. 1993–94 Newcastle United 1994–95 Liverpool 1995–96 (2) Liverpool 1996–97 Manchester United 1997–98 Liverpool PPS 1998–99 Arsenal First winner of the award from mainland Europe. 1999–2000 Leeds United 2000–01 Liverpool FPY 2001–02 Newcastle United 2002–03 Newcastle United 2003–04 Charlton AthleticChelsea 2004–05 Manchester United 2005–06 (2) Manchester United FPY 2006–07 Manchester United PPY, FWA, FPY, PPSFirst player to win four awards in a single season. 2007–08 Arsenal 2008–09 Aston Villa 2009–10 Aston Villa 2010–11 Arsenal 2011–12 Tottenham Hotspur 2012–13 Tottenham Hotspur PPY, FWA, PPS 2013–14 Chelsea 2014–15 Tottenham Hotspur 2015–16 Tottenham Hotspur 2016–17 (2) Tottenham Hotspur 2017–18 Manchester City 2018–19 Manchester City FWA 2019–20 Liverpool PYPS 2020–21 Manchester City PYPS 2021–22 (2) Manchester City PYPS 2022–23 Arsenal 2023–24 Chelsea PYPS 2024–25 Aston Villa 2025–26 Manchester City

Breakdown of winners

By country +Winners of the PFA Young Player of the Year by countryCountryNumber of winsWinning years England 1973–74, 1974–75, 1975–76, 1977–78, 1978–79, 1979–80, 1980–81, 1981–82, 1983–84, 1985–86, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1988–89, 1989–90, 1990–91, 1993–94, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1997–98, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24, 2024–25, 2025–26 Wales 1982–83, 1984–85, 1991–92, 1992–93, 2001–02, 2012–13 Scotland 1976–77 France 1998–99 Australia 1999–2000 Portugal 2006–07 Spain 2007–08 Belgium 2013–14 Germany 2017–18

By club +Winners of the PFA Young Player of the Year by clubClubNumber of winsWinning years Manchester United 1984–85, 1990–91, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1996–97, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07 Tottenham Hotspur 1979–80, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17 Liverpool 1982–83, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1997–98, 2000–01, 2019–20 Arsenal 1986–87, 1988–89, 1998–99, 2007–08, 2010–11, 2022–23 Manchester City 1975–76, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2025–26 Aston Villa 1976–77, 1980–81, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2024–25 Newcastle United 1987–88, 1993–94, 2001–02, 2002–03Chelsea 2003–04, 2013–14, 2023–24 West Ham United 1974–75, 1985–86 Southampton 1981–82, 1989–90 Ipswich Town 1973–74 Nottingham Forest 1977–78 West Bromwich Albion 1978–79 Luton Town 1983–84 Leeds United 1999–2000 Charlton Athletic 2003–04

References

External links The official website of the Professional Footballers' Association