The Premier League have now announced the five youngsters who are in the running for the February 2017 Premier League 2 Player of the Month.
The five players shortlisted for last month’s award have been drawn up following PL2 Managers nominating the best individual performance from each of their opposing teams across the course of the month.
And given February’s action, Derby County’s Mason Bennett, Everton’s Liam Walsh, Manchester City’s Brahim Diaz, West Ham’s Nathan Holland and Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Donovan Wilson find themselves all nominated.
The Premier League have some blurb on each of the nominations for this month.
Mason Bennett (Derby County)
A winning goal at Liverpool came in an impressive month for Mason Bennett
Mason Bennett set up a goal and scored the late winner as Derby County won 2-1 at Liverpool in February, and two weeks earlier he helped the Rams beat Manchester United 5-3, also in Premier League 2 Division 1. In addition, he came on as a substitute in the 1-0 EFL Championship defeat at Aston Villa.
Liam Walsh (Everton)
Liam Walsh netted the opener in front of 5,500 spectators at Goodison Park as Everton cemented their position as Division 1 leaders with a 2-0 victory over Southampton. The midfielder also played in a 1-0 victory over Arsenal in February.
Brahim Diaz (Manchester City)
The 17-year-old stood out with a hat-trick in Manchester City’s 4-3 victory over Chelsea at Aldershot, and he also impressed in a 4-1 success against Sunderland earlier in the month.
Nathan Holland (West Ham United)
West Ham signed Nathan Holland from Everton in January and he made an instant impact, scoring the first Premier League 2 goal at the London Stadium in a 2-0 victory over Division 2 promotion rivals Fulham and getting another in a 3-0 Premier League Cup victory over Nottingham Forest.
Donovan Wilson (Wolverhampton Wanderers)
Donovan Wilson took his tally to 10 goals this season with two strikes in February, one in a 2-1 win over Brighton & Hove Albion and another during a 1-1 draw with Stoke City. He also came on as a substitute in the FA Cup defeat at Chelsea.
The eventual winner will be decided in a couple of weeks by a panel of the Premier League Football Development Department.
2016/17 PL2 Players of the Month
January – Oliver McBurnie (Fulham)
December – Jonathan Leko (West Bromwich Albion)
November – Josh Sims (Southampton)
October – Paolo Fernandes (Manchester City)
September – Rushian Hepburn-Murphy (Aston Villa)
August – Ethan Robson (Sunderland)
