Sky Sports announces December shortlist for PFA Fans' Player of the Month

Monday 4 January 2016 12:32, UK

Sky Sports can now reveal the contenders for the PFA Fans' Player of the Month Awards for December.

This month's shortlist features Leicester's in-form forward Riyad Mahrez, Watford striker Odion Ighalo and Romelu Lukaku of Everton.

Tottenham's 19-year-old midfielder Dele Alli is also included, alongside last month's winner Mesut Ozil, Leicester midfielder N'Golo Kante, Watford forward Troy Deeney and Bournemouth's Junior Stanislas.

The competition is just as stiff in the Sky Bet Football League, with Alan Judge (Brentford), Nick Ajose (Swindon) and Jabo Ibehre (Carlisle) all featuring in the shortlists compiled by the expert panel of judges as they look to follow November winners Lucas Joao (Sheffield Wednesday), Jacob Murphy (Coventry) and Matt Taylor (Bristol Rovers), who is included in the League Two shortlist again for his fine form.

Every month, throughout the English football season, fans will have the opportunity to vote on skysports.com for who they think has been the best player in each of the Barclays Premier League, Sky Bet Championship, Sky Bet League One and Sky Bet League Two, after Sky Sports teamed up with the PFA to be the digital platform for the Awards.

Before the vote opens each month, an expert panel will produce a shortlist of contenders. Fans will then be able to vote for the player they think deserves the award.

One voting fan in each division, who is a resident in the UK or Ireland, will win the chance (subject to terms and conditions) to meet and present the award to each PFA Fans' Player of the Month. And that's not all - one of the winners will join the experts on the following month's shortlisting panel.

The panel includes Sky Sports football pundits Paul Merson, Ian Holloway and Peter Beagrie. The trio will be joined by Mike Riley, general manager of the Professional Game Match Officials, and Malcolm Clarke, chairman of the Football Supporters Federation, as well as the winning fan from each month.

The shortlists for the December awards have been announced and the following players are in contention:

Premier League

Adrian (West Ham)

Dele Alli (Tottenham)

Junior Stanislas (Bournemouth)

Marko Arnautovic (Stoke)

Mesut Ozil (Arsenal)

N'Golo Kante (Leicester)

Odion Ighalo (Watford)

Olivier Giroud (Arsenal)

Riyad Mahrez (Leicester)

Romelu Lukaku (Everton)

Troy Deeney (Watford)

Yannick Bolasie (Crystal Palace)

Championship

Alan Judge (Brentford)

Brett Pitman (Ipswich)

Christian Stuani (Middlesbrough)

George Friend (Middlesbrough)

James Wilson (Brighton)

Jordan Graham (Wolves)

Lasse Vibe (Brentford)

Nelson Oliveira (Nottingham Forest)

Sam Byram (Leeds)

Shane Duffy (Blackburn)

Tom Ince (Derby)

Tony Watt (Cardiff)

League One

Ben Gladwin (Swindon)

Ben Williams (Bradford)

Billy Sharp (Sheff Utd)

Conor Washington (Peterborough)

Damien McCrory (Burton)

David Ball (Fleetwood)

David Mooney (Southend)

Ivan Toney (Barnsley)

Jordan Cook (Walsall)

Mark Duffy (Burton)

Nick Ajose (Swindon)

Tom Aldred (Blackpool)

League Two

Billy Kee (Accrington)

Danny Green (Luton)

Francois Zoko (Yeovil)

Gareth Evans (Portsmouth)

Izale McLeod (Notts County)

Jabo Ibehre (Carlisle)

Jerome Okimo (Stevenage)

Lawson D'Ath (Northampton)

Luke Berry (Cambridge United)

Matt Taylor (Bristol Rovers)

Paul Benson (Luton)

Rhys Murphy (Crawley)

After the final weekend of league action in December, an even shorter list of leading contenders will be announced, however voting will remain open until January 4.

The winner will be announced on January 5.

Have your say NOW - vote at www.skysports.com/pfafanvote

To be eligible for the prize, voters must be 18 or over and be a resident of UK or ROI. Travel costs are not included as part of the prize. Click here to read the full terms and conditions.