Premier League confirm seven nominees for September 2023 Player of the Month award
- Tottenham's James Maddison won the first prize of the season in August
- Team-mate Son Heung-min is among the favourites this month
- Mohamed Salah & Julian Alvarez have also been nominated
By Tom Gott
The Premier League have named the seven nominees for September's Player of the Month prize.
Tottenham Hotspur midfielder James Maddison picked up the award for August but there will be a new winner this time around, with players from seven different clubs all up for nomination.
Here's a closer look at the seven hopefuls.
Julian Alvarez (Man City)
- Appearances: 4
- Goals: 2
- Assists: 2
While Erling Haaland had all the fun last season, this year has been all about Julian Alvarez.
Playing in a slightly deeper role for Manchester City, Alvarez enjoyed a sublime September which saw him notch two goals and two assists in four games for the reigning champions.
Fulham and West Ham United both felt his wrath early in the month, before Alvarez found the back of the net in the 2-1 defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Jarrod Bowen (West Ham)
- Appearances: 4
- Goals: 3
- Assists: 0
There have been plenty of top performers at West Ham this season but it's Bowen who made the telling impact in front of goal in September.
Bowen struck against Luton Town, Liverpool and Sheffield United, with only Man City avoiding conceding to the England forward, who now has five goals to his name this season.
Only two players in the entire division have scored more goals than Bowen this season.
Pedro Neto (Wolves)
- Appearances: 4
- Goals: 1
- Assists: 3
Having lost so much of his young career to nasty injuries, it was a pleasant sight to see Pedro Neto shining for Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Neto created two goals against Crystal Palace and added another assist against Liverpool, before taking a turn as the goalscorer in Wolves' 1-1 draw with Luton. He ended the month with a top performance as Gary O'Neil's side stunned Man City.
90min understands Arsenal are among the suitors for Neto, who also has suitors from mainland Europe and Saudi Arabia.
Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
- Appearances: 4
- Goals: 2
- Assists: 2
Mohamed Salah's excellent campaign continued throughout September as the Liverpool forward contributed to four more goals.
He began the month with a goal in an impressive 3-0 win over Aston Villa but flashed his creative side by setting up two goals in the away victory over Wolves. Salah also managed a goal against West Ham to take his tally to three goals and four assists this year.
14 assists is Salah's personal best in the Premier League but he is on pace to shatter that record this year.
Son Heung-min (Tottenham)
- Appearances: 4
- Goals: 6
- Assists: 0
Looking to keep the trophy at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is Son Heung-min, who enjoyed an outrageous month in front of goal.
Now operating as a central striker, Son finished the month with six goals across four games, banishing any fears that Spurs might struggle for goals following the sale of Harry Kane to Bayern Munich.
Burnley were on the receiving end of a hat-trick before a double against Arsenal and a crucial strike in the victory over Liverpool capped off a dazzling four weeks for Son.
Kieran Trippier (Newcastle)
- Appearances: 4
- Goals: 0
- Assists: 4
Just the four assists for Newcastle United right-back Kieran Trippier in September.
Shaking off an early defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion, Trippier helped Newcastle keep a clean sheet against Brentford but went into hyperspeed with three assists in the mental 8-0 mauling of Sheffield United. He's also create one of Newcastle's two goals against his former side Burnley.
October would get off to a pretty good start for Trippier as well, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.
Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa)
- Appearances: 4
- Goals: 4
- Assists: 1
After a quiet start to the month, Ollie Watkins ended September in hot form for Aston Villa.
He netted the winner against Chelsea but saved the best for last, striking three in the stunning 6-1 thumping of Brighton and even chipping in with an assist for good measure.
Unai Emery has worked his magic with Watkins. Indeed, only Haaland (33) and Salah (32) have more Premier League goal contributions than Watkins (24) since the boss arrived back in England.