The Fantasy Football Scout end-of-season awards are up and running, with the polls for best goalkeeper and defenders now joined by the midfielders.

All three are now open for voting on the sidebar of the homepage, with the midfielders poll also included below.

We’ll be assessing the key candidates in each position in four separate articles, with our summary of the leading goalkeepers and defenders now followed by this piece on the stand-out midfielders.

Overall score, points per match and value in Fantasy Premier League (FPL) were all factors we considered when compiling this shortlist – the rest we’ll leave up to you.

You’re allowed up to five votes for this poll, with the top two definitely making our Team of the Season at the very least; as many as three others could also make the cut and that too will be your call after a run-off vote.

This poll here will be live until Friday at 23:59 BST.

2021/22 CANDIDATES

MOHAMED SALAH/SADIO MANE/DIOGO JOTA

• Points: 265/183/175
• Points per match: 7.6/5.4/5.0
• Start cost: £12.5m/£12.0m/£7.5m
• End cost: £13.1m/£11.8m/£8.3m

Mohamed Salah started the season in scintillating form and despite his post-Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) drop-off, lead the goalscoring charts alongside Son Heung-min with 23 goals.

However, it wasn’t just goals that the Egyptian contributed, as he also produced 14 assists in FPL, more than any other player bar Jarrod Bowen.

As a result, his 7.6 points per match was a league-leading tally among players who featured consistently, while a combined 37 goals and assists in 30 starts is a frankly ludicrous return.

Sadio Mane, meanwhile, finished the campaign as the fifth-highest scoring midfielder, recording 16 goals and five assists in 31 starts. It’s hard to make too much of a case for him over Salah, but he did have his moments and finished strongly, with 10 attacking returns in 14 appearances during the run-in.

As for Diogo Jota, whilst he failed to score as many (15) as Salah and Mane, we need to remember that he started the season at just £7.5m. Add in a very decent 22 attacking returns, and it’s no surprise he provided better value across the season based on points per million than both of his premium team-mates.

SON HEUNG-MIN

• Points: 258
• Points per match: 7.4
• Start cost: £10.0m
• End cost: £11.2m

Son Heung-min has been amongst the top players in the Premier League for several years, but 2021/22 was his best season yet, as he produced 23 goals – none of which were from the penalty spot – and 10 assists.

A record made all the more impressive by Tottenham Hotspur’s difficult start, as they picked up just nine points from nine games under Nuno Espirito Santo.

Often deployed as a more conventional centre-forward under Antonio Conte, Son repaid his manager’s faith by sharing the Golden Boot award with Salah.

Based on chances created, he was also the sixth-most creative player in the division and ranked joint-tenth for actual assists.

What’s also perhaps forgotten about is the starting price of Son. The midfielder began the campaign at a now-unthinkable £10.0m, ending the season having risen by £1.2m, more than any other player bar Joao Cancelo.

If it wasn’t clear already, this season has confirmed that Son is an elite FPL asset, and his price in 2022/23 will surely reflect that status.

KEVIN DE BRUYNE

• Points: 196
• Points per match: 6.5
• Start cost: £12.0m
• End cost: £12.1m

Kevin De Bruyne scored a career-high 15 Premier League goals in 2021/22, whilst also contributing to some of Manchester City’s most crucial victories.

And his form peaked at just the right moment in the title race: after a slow start, he amassed 21 goal contributions in 20 appearances from Gameweek 17 onwards.

The playmaker came to the fore when his team needed him most, and who can forget his four-goal display in the 5-1 win at Wolverhampton Wanderers in Double Gameweek 36, one of the stand-out FPL moments of the season.

Equally adept at scoring goals or pulling the strings from deeper areas, he contributed eight assists, while he was also the best player in any position for bonus (33).

His record against the ‘big six’ is also worth noting, with a brace against Manchester United and goals against Liverpool and Chelsea ensuring City’s destiny was in their own hands.

JARROD BOWEN

• Points: 206
• Points per match: 5.7
• Start cost: £6.5m
• End cost: £6.9m

Jarrod Bowen was one of just five players to break the 200-point barrier in 2021/22, as he produced 12 goals and a whopping 17 assists across the season.

As a result, he ended the campaign with a very decent 5.7 points per match, a tally bettered by only Salah, Son and De Bruyne among midfielders, while no player in his position could beat him for value.

For just £6.5m at the start of the season, 206 points including nine double-digit hauls was an incredible return, and for many FPL managers, he was simply great to own.

His 2022/23 price reveal is eagerly anticipated, and even at £8.0m/£8.5m, he will surely receive plenty of Fantasy interest in pre-season.

MASON MOUNT

• Points: 169
• Points per match: 5.3
• Start cost: £7.5m
• End cost: £7.7m

Mason Mount had a fine season in 2021/22, where he registered 11 goals and 11 assists in 32 Premier League appearances.

The 23-year-old was mostly used in the front three by Thomas Tuchel and led the way among team-mates for goals and assists, averaging 5.3 points per match.

Across the season, Mount racked up six double-digit hauls, with his 24-pointer against Norwich City in Gameweek 9 – courtesy of a hat-trick and an assist – a real standout moment.

The fact he remains one of the first names on Tuchel’s teamsheet is appealing, and he’ll be a popular pick in August if Chelsea are handed a kind opening schedule.

JAMES MADDISON

• Points: 181
• Points per match: 5.2
• Start cost: £7.0m
• End cost: £6.9m

It has been another impressive campaign for James Maddison, who contributed 12 goals and 11 assists in the Premier League this season.

That’s an impressive tally given that he had a tricky start and recorded just one attacking return in the opening 12 Gameweeks.

His end to the season was particularly notable, too.

In the final three Gameweeks, the playmaker racked up 46 points courtesy of four goals, three assists and eight bonus, and as a result, proved a decisive player in many mini-leagues.

BUKAYO SAKA/EMILE SMITH ROWE

• Points: 179/125
• Points per match: 4.7/3.8
• Start cost: £6.5m/£5.5m
• End cost: £6.7m/£5.7m

Bukayo Saka played in every Premier League game for Arsenal this season, producing a very decent 11 goals and nine assists.

In the 2021/22 campaign, only six midfielders could beat him for FPL points and bonus overall, while only Bowen offered better value.

And despite his tender age, he has become the club’s talisman, and we’ll surely be looking at a substantial price hike when player prices are revealed for the new campaign.

Emile Smith Rowe’s end-of-season points tally doesn’t look all that impressive on paper but from Gameweeks 6-26 he was one of the best budget midfielders in the game.

In that time, he produced nine goals and two assists in 16 appearances and averaged an impressive 6.6 points per start.

Just one attacking return from Gameweek 27 onwards did underwhelm, but it’s impossible to argue against the value he offered earlier in the season: at one point, he could be scooped up for £5.3m.

WILFRIED ZAHA/CONOR GALLAGHER

• Points: 150/140
• Points per match: 4.5/4.1
• Start cost: £7.0m/£5.5m
• End cost: £6.9m/£6.0m

Wilfried Zaha enjoyed the best goalscoring season of his career in 2021/22, finding the net 14 times in the Premier League.

Only five midfielders – Salah, Son, Mane, Jota and De Bruyne – scored more, while he also added a couple of assists and 11 bonus points.

Meanwhile, Chelsea loanee Conor Gallagher made 34 appearances for Crystal Palace this term, playing a central role in Patrick Vieira’s new-look side.

Averaging 4.1 points across the season, he offered exceptional value, especially between Gameweeks 3-26.

During that period, Gallagher returned eight goals, six assists and 16 bonus points in 22 appearances – not a bad return at all for an outlay of just £5.5m at the start of the season.

A bit like Smith Rowe, the season somewhat petered out for Gallagher, but his impact for two-thirds was very impressive, and it’ll be interesting to see how much game-time he is afforded back at Stamford Bridge next season.

RAPHINHA

• Points: 145
• Points per match: 4.1
• Start cost: £6.5m
• End cost: £6.3m

Without Patrick Bamford for large parts of the season, Leeds United relied heavily upon Raphinha for goals.

And the Brazilian largely delivered, ending the season with 11 plus four assists, averaging 4.1 points per match.

It’s also worth remembering just how good he was in the first half of the season, too, with eight of those goals arriving in 16 appearances before the turn of the year.

Raphinha was a knife-edge inclusion on this list and obviously not quite the bargain he was in 2020/21 as a £5.5m asset, but nevertheless the winger was a decent mid-price midfielder for large parts of the season.

JAMES WARD-PROWSE

• Points: 159
• Points per match: 4.4
• Start cost: £6.5m
• End cost: £6.4m

James Ward-Prowse was Southampton’s standout performer throughout the campaign, scoring 10 goals – his best goalscoring season to date – and assisting a further five in 36 appearances.

Equalling his previous best-ever return of goal involvements (15) in a season, the 27-year-old netted stunning set-piece strikes against Crystal Palace, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Leeds United and Brighton and Hove Albion.

The Saints skipper completed 90 minutes in all but two of his Premier League appearances, and combined the ‘nailed’ status we sometimes take for granted with a decent amount of attacking returns.

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