Ruben Dias: Man City defender is Premier League player of the season

Ruben Dias won the Premier League and the Carabao Cup with Manchester City in his debut season

Manchester City defender Ruben Dias has been named Premier League player of the season.

The Portugal international, 24, was influential in central defence as City won a third title in four years.

He was named men’s footballer of the year by the Football Writers’ Association in May.

Dias, signed from Benfica for about £65m last September, made 32 league appearances for City over the season, playing a part in 15 clean sheets.

City won 23 of the league matches Dias played, as they also won the Carabao Cup and finished as runners-up in the Champions League.

The winner is decided by votes from the public on the EA Sports website, combined with those of the 20 Premier League club captains and a panel of football experts.

The other nominees were Manchester City’s Kevin de Bruyne, Tottenham’s Golden Boot winner Harry Kane, Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes, Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah, Chelsea’s Mason Mount, West Ham’s Tomas Soucek and Aston Villa captain Jack Grealish.

Dias was also named in the Professional Footballers Association’s (PFA) Premier League Team of the Year, and is in contention to win the PFA Player of the Year award, which is announced on Sunday.