"I Can't Yet Choose Between Phil Foden And Mohamed Salah For Player Of The Year"

Peter Crouch can't choose between Manchester City youngster Phil Foden or Liverpool superstar Mohamed Salah for Player of the Year.

The duo have played key roles for their sides this campaign and they're currently locked in an intense Premier League title race, as well as through to the Champions League semi-finals.

Foden rotates with a number of elite forwards in the City frontline and has eight league goals, while Salah is Liverpool's talisman and currently leads the Golden Boot race with 22 goals in the league.

Crouch thinks Foden should win the award over Salah and teammate Kevin De Bruyne if City end the season as Premier League and Champions League winners.

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He wrote in his Daily Mail column: "This year, if Manchester City win the Premier League and Champions League, you would have to pick Phil Foden or Kevin De Bruyne. I’d potentially go for Foden because he has consistently been a shining light for them.

"There are plenty of others you could choose and the same goes for Liverpool.

"The performances of Virgil van Dijk have been an absolute joke. Sadio Mane as well, 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 do seem to be skirting around the fact that Mo Salah — already crowned FWA Footballer of the Year — has the most goals and assists this season.

"Clearly he has to be in there, given how electric he has been throughout the campaign, even allowing for him going off the boil slightly in recent weeks."

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Salah's goal tally has decreased in 2022 but he's still one of Jurgen Klopp's most consistent performers.

The Reds still have a historic quadruple in their sights and Crouch concluded 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 trade trophies, Salah pips the others in my view for his sheer weight of goal contributions."

Liverpool ran out 1-0 winners over Newcastle United on Saturday afternoon to temporarily go top of the league.

Pep Guardiola's men responded by thrashing Leeds United 4-0 later in the day to return to the summit.

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Both teams have four games left and know any slip-up will be costly.

They'll resume their league campaigns next weekend, with the second leg of their respective Champions League semi-finals coming up.

City are set for a blockbuster encounter at the Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday after beating Real Madrid 4-3, while Liverpool take a 2-0 lead to Villarreal on Wednesday.