Odegaard binned by Arsenal as Man Utd duo leave in summer exodus of 10 POTY winners

Will Ford 28 Jan 2026 6:56 AM

Martin Odegaard, Bernardo Silva and Virgil van Dijk.

These 10 Premier League stars who have all won a Player of the Season award for their clubs – some only last season – could be on their way out at the end of the season.

Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)

Pep Guardiola hoping Silva will “stay forever” has inevitably ramped up rumours of his summer exit when his contract comes to an end. He ‘wants Barcelona most’ apparently.

And Guardiola’s claim that he “sleeps better” when he includes the midfielder in his side and that it’s “important to my health” suggests it may actually be better for everyone for them to part ways, lest Silva discover the shrine to him in his manager’s second bedroom before Guardiola uncovers the likeness of him tattooed on his back.

“I’m just a fan, Bernardo, that’s all. Your biggest fan. It took 14 hours! I fainted three times!”

Martin Odegaard (Arsenal)

The new Arsenal scapegoat and it’s hard to question the Gooners’ selection. He wasn’t great when he returned from injury last season but this term – save for the odd decent display – Odegaard looks to have almost entirely lost both the imagination and vision for a pass and the ability to deliver them. Ten-yard passes to Bukayo Saka’s feet isn’t going to cut it as the playmaker in a title-chasing side.

His continued inclusion in the side is particularly galling for those who want to him dropped while Eberechi Eze watches from the bench.

Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)

Footballers blaming the wind as Van Dijk did after his error led to Bournemouth’s opening goal on Saturday will always bring howls of laughter from the 20-stone lager-drinkers down the pub asking “how much does he get paid again?” The wind is a thing though, and does make a clearance from over your shoulder more challenging than it otherwise would be.

What Van Dijk didn’t explain was why he compounded that mistake by not bothering to even attempt to block Alex Jimenez’s cross and why oh why he insists on looking at anyone else to blame for a blunder was his alone. You’re the captain, mate, take responsibility.

It was far from the first example of a lethargy in mind and body this season from a guy it’s becoming increasingly difficult to imagine being at the heart of a future title-winning team.

Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)

Anonymous in defeat to Bournemouth, save for a couple of comically mishit shots, to strengthen the theory that he’s not only taken his foot off the gas having been handed a bumper new contract, but has turned off the engine and thrown the keys from the car.

We would suggest that far more likely explanations for his struggles are Salah being a year older and thus not quite so sharp, him not gelling with the new players in the squad, or – most likely – a combination of those factors.

Whatever the cause, there is simply no place for a footballer contributing so little who brought about such friction by throwing his toys from the pram after being dropped to the bench for two games of football.

Cole Palmer (Chelsea)

Palmer is “very, very happy” at Chelsea despite reports of homesickness and ensuing links to Manchester United, insists Liam Rosenior after “numerous conversations” with the England international in what appears to have been two weeks of what we can only imagine are absurdly positive and intense talks.

Y’know, those ones where the speaker never breaks eye contact as though they believe it to be key to the art of open conversation but actually makes the other person feel incredibly uncomfortable to the point where they will say anything – like their intent to remain at football club – to bring the dialogue (we assume that’s what Rosenior labels these one-to-ones in his Google calendar) to an abrupt end.

READ: Cole Palmer leaving Chelsea for Man Utd would be final BlueCo straw after Rosenior

Luke Shaw (Manchester United)

Shaw has started all 23 of United’s Premier League games this season, with more recent displays lending themselves to the view that the 30-year-old is in yet another period of redemption in an 11-and-a-half-year Old Trafford career featuring more peaks and troughs than a pigsty of unbaked meringue.

With that undulation in mind, with his contract expiring in 2027, a sale when the Shaw going’s good makes a lot of sense.

Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa)

He failed to down tools sufficiently to force through a move to Manchester United in the summer, but Villa – continuously looking for means to boost their coffers – are now said to have set his price tag at £40m for a transfer at the end of the season.

Martinez has saved 76.1% of the shots he has faced this season – the most in the league – but no player has made more than his three errors leading to goals.

Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United)

Fernandes is in a position to hold United over a barrel this summer, when they will have to either offer him a very lucrative new contract before he turns 32 in September or face the daunting prospect of sourcing a replacement.

What they absolutely cannot do is allow him to run down his deal and leave for nothing in 2027 while there are plenty of suitors willing to pay big bucks for his signature.

Micky van de Ven (Tottenham)

Thomas Frank insisting “Micky is a Tottenham player for us now and for the future” is like a house vendor insisting the parquet flooring must remain untouched before handing over the keys to their property.

Spurs setting his price tag at £100m will presumably only strengthen Van de Ven’s resolve to escape the club as soon as possible as it’s evidently no place for a nine-figure centre-back to be playing their football.

Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa)

He’s returned to form of late, scoring seven goals in his last 10 Premier League games, after a shocking start to the season saw him score just one in the first 13 games of the campaign, but rarely a transfer window goes by without him being linked with the exit.

The opportunity for a move to one of the big(ger) guns has perhaps past, but with Villa set to bring in competition for a starting spot this month and thanks to a lingering impression he gives of believing the grass may be greener elsewhere, Watkins may push more vehemently for a move.

F365 Features Cole Palmer