NATHAN Redmond has been voted as the Daily Echo’s Player of the Year.
This award caps off a remarkable season for the winger, having already scooped two of the club’s top prizes during their annual ceremony on Tuesday night.
When the Daily Echo’s poll closed yesterday, Redmond finished with 39 per cent of the 2,958 votes cast.
The 25-year-old has played in every game this season, failing to start just two of them.
He was the bright light in the early part of the campaign when Mark Hughes was still in charge, despite there not being a lot to cheer about.
However, his season took off when Ralph Hasenhuttl replaced the sacked Hughes in December.
The Austrian quickly recognised Redmond’s talents and questioned the winger as to how he had failed to score or create a single goal so far.
Hasenhuttl has gone on the record to reveal that he is Redmond’s harshest critic, with the former Norwich player often being singled out by his Saints boss.
Eight goals and four assists have followed which is a testament to the way the 25-year-old has taken his manager’s advice on board.
The St Mary’s crowd, who often booed him last season, have recognised his efforts by voting him, comfortably, to win the Daily Echo’s Player of the Year.
Redmond was closely followed by Saints captain Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg who finished second on the list.
Hojbjerg ended with 30 per cent, after bagging 892 votes.
Like Redmond, Hojbjerg has been a consistent performer for Saints throughout the season, which eventually led to him being named captain.
With Ryan Bertrand injured, Hasenhuttl installed the Danish international as his leader on the pitch.
Perhaps the only criticism of Hojbjerg’s season is the face he picked up two red cards when Saints needed him most.
On his first appearance of the season, the Saints captain was sent off against Leicester at St Mary’s.
This was then followed up with another sending off when Manchester City made the trip down south.
Having already scored against last year’s Premier League champions, Hojbjerg left Saints with an almighty task when he was given his marching orders in the second half which meant he had to miss the next three games at a crucial time.
Despite these blemishes, the 23-year-old has proved to be a vital cog in maintaining the club’s top-flight status.
Finishing third, with 22 per cent of the vote, is academy lad James Ward-Prowse.
Ward-Prowse went from questioning his future at the club to scoring the goals which has kept them up.
It’s clear that Hasenhuttl instilled a belief in all of the players, but perhaps, most noticeably, in the 24-year-old midfielder.
Ward-Prowse’s second half of the season has seen him; find a position he can call his own, score goals on a regular basis and turn into a tough-tackling midfielder.
All of this has led to him being selected for England again.
Almost two years to the date from his Three Lions debut, Ward-Prowse was selected by Gareth Southgate to be in the squad for their Euro 2020 qualifiers against the Czech Republic and Montenegro.
He picked up his second England cap when he came on during the second half in the 5-1 win over Montenegro.
Falling just short of the top three players in the Daily Echo’s competition is Jan Bednarek.
The Polish defender has established himself as one of the best defensive players at the club.
Bednarek secured eight per cent of the vote, after a string of sterling performances under Hasenhuttl.
Like Ward-Prowse, the 22-year-old struggled to force his way into Hughes’ plans during the first part of this year’s campaign.
But when Hasenhuttl arrived, he immediately opted to involve Bednarek in his defensive plans and he’s remained there ever since.
Danny Ings, whose season has been plagued with a number of injuries, finished in last place with just one per cent of the vote.
Despite missing large chunks of the campaign, Ings, along with Redmond, is still the club’s joint top scorer with eight goals.
He will be eager to improve on those stats next season, as he will make his Saints move permanent in the summer in an £18 million deal.
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