Mohamed Salah and Son Heung-min were more deserving winners of the Premier League Player of the Season award than Kevin De Bruyne.
That is according to Liverpool legend Phil Thompson, who also told Stats Perform that Erling Haaland will not necessarily make Manchester City a stronger side next season.
City playmaker De Bruyne last week edged out Son, Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joao Cancelo, Jarrod Bowen, Bukayo Saka and James Ward-Prowse for the award.
The Belgium international played a key part in City's successful title defence with 15 goals in 30 league appearances and a further eight assists.
Remarkably, the 30-year-old's 15 goals came from an expected goals (xG) return of just 6.2, meaning he scored nine goals more than expected from the quality of his chances.
However, his 23 direct goal involvements were fewer than Salah (36), Son (30) and Harry Kane (26) managed, albeit having played at least five games fewer than any of those.
De Bruyne ranked above each of those players for chances created (87), though, and was behind only Alexander-Arnold (90) and Bruno Fernandes (89).
But Thompson believes that Liverpool forward Salah and Tottenham's Son – who shared the Golden Boot with 23 goals – were more consistent than De Bruyne over the season.
"I think it has to be Mo. I know the players have all given it to Kevin De Bruyne and he's a wonderful player," Thompson said.
"He's been wonderful for the last couple of months, but it's over a season and people get swayed by people who finish the season well.
"That is still in their minds when they're just putting their name on that form, or whether it's all done on phone now.
"But I would like to think over the whole year, and yes, Mo hasn't been rattling them in for the last six weeks or so, but overall, he has been.
"They were talking around Christmas time that this is the best player in the world. He's not gone from being the best player in the world to playing second fiddle to De Bruyne.
"I'm sorry. Mo Salah was the player of the season and then probably Son has probably been more consistent over the whole nine months."
City's title triumph was their fourth in the past five seasons and they have already moved to bolster their squad with the signing of Haaland from Borussia Dortmund.
Haaland scored 86 goals in 89 games for Dortmund, a tally only bettered by Kylian Mbappe (90) and Robert Lewandowski (123) since January 18, 2020.
But, citing a rather mixed campaign for British record signing Jack Grealish, Thompson questioned whether Pep Guardiola will get the most out of Haaland.
"He is a wonderful player, a great player," said Thompson, who won 17 major honours across 13 years playing for Liverpool, before a stint coaching the Reds.
"Is he a missing piece for the jigsaw for them in the Champions League? They can still do things, but it might upset them a little bit.
"As you see with Grealish, who was £100million, has that worked? He's playing as a left-winger because it's the system that Pep likes.
"So you've got an out-and-out centre-forward who, yes, is full of energy, but he doesn't understand the press that City use. It'll be a change for them. That might change things."
Liverpool, who have seen Luis Diaz hit the ground running since joining from Porto in January, are themselves expected to be active in the upcoming transfer window.
A deal for Fulham teenager Fabio Carvalho is already in place, but Thompson is not sure if signing a big name is really necessary in order to keep pace with champions City.
"We have a set pattern, though I still hope that we'll sign a couple of players," he said.
"I do believe that's what you have to do all the time to give that little bit of a buzz in the dressing room, to change things up on the pitch. And we have just come up short."
The 92 points accrued by Liverpool this season is the joint-eighth most in Premier League history, yet it was not enough to pip City, who finished one point better off.
Thompson added: "We have to find the magic ingredient to go that extra couple of points to win that league, but we don't have to do too much.
"Chelsea signed Romelu Lukaku and he played well those first half a dozen games. They were going to win the league the way the season started and look how that's unravelled.
"It's not necessarily a gimme that it always works."
Robbie Deas ‘determined to kick on’ at Kilmarnock after signing from Inverness
Kilmarnock have made their first summer signing by bringing in centre-back Robbie Deas from Inverness.
The 23-year-old revealed on Saturday that the Scottish Cup final had been his final game for Caley Thistle and Deas has now signed a two-year contract with Killie.
The left-sided defender joined Inverness from Celtic in the summer of 2020 and made 113 appearances, bouncing back from a broken leg earlier in the season to help the club reach the cup final.
The former Scotland Under-21 international told Killie’s website: “I fully understand the size of this club and the demands that will be placed on me as a player, so I’m excited about taking this step in my career.
“It was inspiring to speak with the manager about his ambitions for the club and it became clear that Kilmarnock would be a perfect fit for me.
“I’m determined to kick on and do my best for the manager and supporters over the next two years.”
Killie announced on Saturday that Fraser Murray had agreed a two-year contract and Innes Cameron had signed a one-year deal after returning to fitness before the end of the campaign.
Alan Power, Blair Alston, Chris Stokes, Scott Robinson, Calum Waters, Lee Hodson and Dylan McGowan are all departing at the end of their deals while loan players Jordan Jones, Lewis Mayo, Luke Chambers, Zach Hemming, Ben Chrisene, Christian Doidge, Ryan Alebiosu and Jeriel Dorsett have all left.
The club remain in discussions with Ash Taylor, Liam Polworth, Brad Lyons, Jack Sanders, Sam Walker and Liam Donnelly.
Manager Derek McInnes said: “While discussions are ongoing with a number of players, I would like to take the opportunity to thank departing members of the squad for their effort and commitment.”
Ange Postecoglou agrees to leave Celtic for Tottenham – reports
Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou appears to be moving towards a swift resolution of his future amid reports he has verbally agreed to become Tottenham’s new manager.
Postecoglou admitted on Saturday that his ability to enjoy Celtic’s treble success would soon be disrupted by some decision-making and that seems to have happened even quicker than he anticipated.
The 57-year-old dodged questions on his future before and after Saturday’s Scottish Cup final win over Inverness having emerged as the overwhelming frontrunner to take over at Spurs.
Neither club are commenting publicly but reports claim Postecoglou told Celtic principal shareholder Dermot Desmond on Saturday night that he intended to leave for London and he is now said to be closing in on signing a two-year Spurs deal with the option to extend.
When repeatedly pressed on his future after Celtic’s 3-1 Hampden win over Inverness on Saturday, the Greek-born Australian said: “I anticipate enjoying this moment for the next 24-48 hours, as long as I can, before someone drags me away and takes my attention away from enjoying something that’s been hard-earned.
“The reality is, there’s probably players in that dressing room who won’t be here next year. That’s the nature of football.
“But I want them to enjoy it, I am going to enjoy it, and that’s all I am going to focus on until someone grabs me by the collar and tells me that I have to answer certain questions.”
The former Australia head coach has won five domestic trophies out of a possible six after arriving from Yokohama F Marinos in Japan and was linked with numerous Premier League clubs throughout this season.
Postecoglou became a hero with the Celtic support, not just for resuming their success after a barren season, but also for implementing an attacking style of play and his connection with the fans.
But he looks set to swap Glasgow for another rebuild job as Spurs finally look to appoint a permanent successor to Antonio Conte, who departed on March 26.
Postecoglou is due to go on a family holiday on Tuesday and a deal could be finalised quickly.
Former Hoops manager Brendan Rodgers has emerged as an unlikely favourite to succeed Postecoglou, four years after leaving the club mid-season to take over at Leicester.
Assistant manager John Kennedy is also high up the list but reports claim Postecoglou hopes to take the former Celtic defender to Tottenham.
Kane, Mbappe and Osimhen – A look at Real Madrid’s possible striking targets
Real Madrid are in the market for a new centre-forward after announcing Karim Benzema’s departure.
The France international scored 354 goals in 648 appearances to become Real’s second all-time top scorer, behind Cristiano Ronaldo, during a 14-year stay in the Spanish capital.
Here, the PA news agency runs the rule over the main contenders to succeed Benzema at the Bernabeu.
Harry KaneEngland captain Kane would appear to be a natural fit for Real given his unceasing ability to score goals for Tottenham.
Kane, who has one year left on his Spurs contract, turns 30 next month, but that is unlikely to put Real off a striker who is the Premier League’s second highest goalscorer and will be strongly coveted by Manchester United and others this summer.
Real have tempted Gareth Bale and Luka Modric away from Tottenham in the past and might be hopeful of striking a deal, with Spurs chairman Daniel Levy unwilling to sell Kane to a Premier League rival in the past.
Kylian MbappeThe World Cup winner was seemingly on his way to Madrid last summer before choosing to stay at Paris St Germain and chase Champions League glory there.
Like Kane, Mbappe comes with a goals guarantee as he has scored more than 200 for PSG, but the Frenchman has more time on his side than the England forward as he does not celebrate his 25th birthday until December.
Mbappe is a thrilling spectacle in full flight and releasing him from his eye-watering PSG contract, which runs until June 2025, might take a world record transfer fee.
Victor OsimhenNapoli’s first Serie A title for 33 years was fuelled by the goals of Osimhen.
The 24-year-old Nigeria star scored 26 goals in 32 games, with the 6ft 1in striker’s game based around pace, power and athleticism.
Osimhen has two years remaining on his current Napoli deal and has also attracted interest from Manchester United, with Red Devils boss Erik ten Hag known to be a big admirer.
Kai HavertzOn the face of it, Germany international Havertz would appear to be a strange replacement for goal machine Benzema.
It would not be a like-for-like signing as the 23-year-old Havertz, in a false nine role, struggled to provide the goals Chelsea needed last season.
But his tactical intelligence could enable him to dovetail well with Rodrygo and Vinicius Junior and Real could get a reduction on the £76million Chelsea paid Bayer Leverkusen for Havertz in 2020.
Jonathan DavidCanada striker David has a growing reputation for club and country and seems ready to step on to a bigger stage after spells in Belgium and France.
The 23-year-old has scored over 50 Ligue 1 goals for Lille since joining from Gent in 2020, 24 of them coming this season.
David is known for his pace and versatility, as well his pressing ability out of possession, and can also operate as a second striker.
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