Player of the year: Trippier, Maguire, Martínez or Dier? Vote now

Each month during this latest football season, our journalists have been challenged with selecting an alternative player for the monthly award — a chance to shine some light on an underrated star, an unsung hero and make sure it’s not all about Erling Haaland.

We have seen shout-outs for Fulham’s Harrison Reed, the Everton defender James Tarkowski and the Nottingham Forest goalkeeper Dean Henderson.

So, with 2022 coming to a close, on the latest Game Podcast our team each nominated their Alternative Player of the Year and now it’s your turn to select the winner. Seven choices — read the arguments below and then vote in our poll.

Kieran Trippier (Newcastle United)

Gregor RobertsonWhatever your views of the new regime at Newcastle United these days you can’t argue that, in footballing terms, they have been the team of 2022. They were 19th in the Premier League on December 31 and they’re now third. In my eyes the player who has had the biggest impact is Kieran Trippier who joined from Atletico Madrid in January.

Trippier celebrates scoring his first goal for Newcastle against Everton shortly after his transfer in January

STU FORSTER/GETTY IMAGES

He’s created more chances than his team-mates, scored vital goals, and his set-piece play has been central to their success. He’s also improved defensively due to his time in Spain, he’s had a superb 2022 and so he gets my vote.

Harry Maguire (Manchester United)

Hugh WoozencroftNow Harry Maguire is a man that I have been critical of in the past and indeed he’s been ridiculed by many football fans of late, often too harshly in my opinion as sometimes that ridicule went beyond football.

But his form had not been good enough. The whole country was screaming for him to be dropped before the World Cup. But despite that and all the ridicule he had to put up with he proved Gareth Southgate right and all his doubters wrong with his World Cup performances, which were exceptional. His displays in an England shirt on the biggest stage cannot be questioned.

Maybe he has resurrected his Manchester United career in the process too and he will now show that England form for the rest of the season. But for those England performances alone he is my choice — with all the pressure on his shoulders he had every right to crumble but he went up against some of the best and performed admirably. I will try not to criticise you in 2023 — good luck, Harry.

Maguire impressed at the Qatar World Cup despite his loss of form for United

TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER MARC ASPLAND

Emiliano Martínez (Aston Villa)

Tom AllnuttAlthough he’s the most hated man in football at the minute I think we have to give credit to any man who can make the world feel sorry for Kylian Mbappé, someone who earns €200 million a year.

I understand the central role that Lionel Messi played and what a romantic story that was but the World Cup needs villains as well as heroes. Yes, in his celebrations Martínez went a little far, but you can’t deny his innovation in the penalty shoot-out triumphs. I’m all for the badness of Martínez, so he gets my vote, with a small shout-out to Miguel Almirón at Newcastle who since the mockery by Jack Grealish has shown what a classy player he is.

Harry Toffolo (Nottingham Forest)

Tom ClarkeI’m going to start by giving an honourable mention to Andreas Pereira at Fulham. He started the year on yet another loan spell from Manchester United, this time playing for the Brazilian side Flamengo. In the summer he moved to Fulham and on our pre-season podcast I said I didn’t think it was an impressive signing, but he’s proved me wrong and been instrumental to their impressive start.

But my vote goes to Harry Toffolo, the Nottingham Forest full back. This time last year he was in the Sky Bet Championship at Huddersfield Town, where he played a huge part in their charge to the play-off final, bombing forward and getting eight assists in the process. Then in the summer he got his move to Forest — who beat Huddersfield in that final — meaning that in only three years he had gone from winning League Two with Lincoln City to the Premier League. Having been released by Norwich City and Millwall he is a great example of a player working hard and climbing up the pyramid.

In only three years Toffolo has gone from winning League Two to the Premier League

PHIL OLDHAM/REX FEATURES

He’s been in and out of the Forest team and had an injury, but he started their EFL Cup win against Blackburn Rovers on Wednesday and I wish him a great 2023 because as well as being very hard working he’s also a lovely lad.

Millie Bright (England)

Molly HudsonBecause it was an alternative category I was thinking of moments this year that have made me feel excited and like a fan. For me that was the Arnold Clark Cup, the least glamorous event ever, at Molineux and England were playing Germany. It was 1-1 in the inaugural tournament and in an attempt to win the game, Sarina Wiegman put Bright, a centre back, up front.

Sarina doesn’t care about pretty football, she just wants to win and indeed Bright scored the winner. This was her second goal of the tournament and she ended up being the joint Golden Boot winner with Spain’s Alexia Putellas, the Ballon d’Or winner. At the presentation Putellas gave the trophy to Bright and that was a fantastic moment.

Bright going up front was a trick Wiegman repeated in their Euro 2022 win against Spain and though she didn’t score she did help in that triumph. So my vote is Millie Bright, defender turned super striker.

Bright, second right, is mobbed after scoring England’s winner en route to claiming the Arnold Clark Cup

LYNNE CAMERON/GETTY IMAGES

Oleksandr Zinchenko (Arsenal)

James RestallIn the first half of 2022 he won the Premier League with Manchester City amid the backdrop of the horrendous war in his home country of Ukraine. Despite that he remained hugely influential in City’s title win before moving to Arsenal in the summer.

Under Mikel Arteta he’s been transformational in helping them mature and go top of the league at Christmas, so I think he’s well worth picking out for praise after a remarkable 2022.

Zinchenko has been instrumental in the Arsenal side sitting top of the table at Christmas

SIMON DAEL/REX FEATURES

Eric Dier (Tottenham)

Tom RoddyI’m picking Eric Dier partly because of the recovery of his career over the past 12 months. It’s easy to forget now that in 2021, with José Mourinho as Tottenham manager, Dier’s form really fell off a cliff and he was struggling massively. As a result he lost his place in the England squad, making a significant dent in his confidence which Antonio Conte was well aware of when he took over at Tottenham.

Dier’s range of passing has been a valuable tool for Conte while he has also chipped in with two goals in the Premier League

TONY O’BRIEN/REUTERS

Now we head into 2023 and Dier is a really key member of Conte’s improving Tottenham team and arguably an underrated part too. Conte doesn’t have the kind of quarterback midfielder he had at previous clubs so he’s needed Dier to be able to play those long-range passes, spraying the ball forwards and in behind opposition defences.

As a result he made his way back into the England squad and while he didn’t play a big part at the World Cup, on form Dier probably deserved to be starting, certainly when the tournament kicked off.