Home Odds. Bayern Munich Dortmund. Celtic Rangers. Toggle navigation Subscribe. How footballers vote for the PFA awards: Picking mates, misspelt names and holding grudges. Stuart James May 11, Reminders sent out on team WhatsApp groups over the last week or so tell their own story, namely that plenty more votes need to be cast before the ballot closes on May Already a subscriber?
Log In. Subscribe now to get full access to the new sports page. Must read content, player grades, stuff you can't get anywhere else. View Plans Already a subscriber? Log in. Subscribe Now. Well, that question was put to 25 BBC Sport pundits as they had to choose their Professional Footballers' Association men's player of the year for Read More - Summer transfer window: When does it open and who will move this summer? He's also had a huge effect on the players around him.
He has understood the new way Pep wanted City to play this season, and made it happen. I considered De Bruyne, and Foden has been the young player of the season. I've really enjoyed watching Chelsea's Mason Mount too, but it is Dias for me. City have some unbelievable attacking players, but you can only attack like that when you have reassurance from your defenders.
You have to have aura, presence and desire, and Dias has gone in and given them all of that. With Dias, they have found someone to finally replace Vincent Kompany. He brings leadership, he has a winning mentality and he wants clean sheets. City had to cope with the departure of David Silva last summer but they had Foden ready and waiting in the wings.
This summer they will have to deal with the departure of Sergio Aguero, but that replacement process has already started. Arguably, the player Pep Guardiola wasn't able to replace was Kompany, when he left in Aymeric Laporte and John Stones are fine defenders but City missed Kompany's leadership skills - until this season.
The signing of Dias at the start of October has been City's most significant in terms of transforming the whole team.
City have the best defensive record in the league this season with only 32 league goals conceded - and six of those came in September, before Dias arrived.
His impact has been felt on Stones too - he has rediscovered his potential playing alongside Dias, who truly organises the City back line. They didn't have Dias, whose influence has taken them that step further. He has an incredible future ahead of him - he's only 23 and and he is proof of the old adage that attacks win you games but defences win you titles.
Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes got my vote when I was asked about this in February, but he doesn't get it now. Dias does the simple aspects of defending extremely well and has been so consistent. He's been hugely important in the stability of City's defence, which has won them the Premier League and taken them to the Champions League final too.
If the players were voting in March like they usually do, Fernandes would have got a lot of votes. Harry Kane has had another excellent season and his Tottenham team-mate Son Heung-min would also have been right in the race.
But, looking at it now, like the players have been, there are only two contenders - De Bruyne and Dias. Personally I will always go for the creator in a choice like that because of the kind of player I was myself - it is a lot harder to create than defend. He's just a fabulous all-round midfielder. Bruno Fernandes comes close. His numbers have been that good, and he kept United afloat until the likes of Paul Pogba joined the party later in the season.
But it has to be a City player because of the campaign they are having, and Dias stands out. Ultimately he has reminded everyone that defending comes first. My third choice would be Stuart Dallas because of how well Leeds have done this season and how pivotal he is to what they have done. They have been the surprise package, and he epitomises what they are all about. My number two is Tomas Soucek at West Ham because he is a result of some fantastic recruitment.
He and Vladimir Coufal have both improved the team but Soucek shows exactly what a top-class box-to-box midfielder can do. His form, his goals and his defensive work have helped West Ham to get where they are. I was torn between Soucek and Dias for number one but I've gone for Dias simply because City have won the league and are in the Champions League final, and what makes him all the more special is his age.
When you are a young player, you often just concentrate on your own game but he is that comfortable with himself, he has the capacity to affect others. Dias gets my vote, and not only because I'm fully paid-up member of the defenders' union.
He's a natural leader who has transformed Manchester City and ended the defensive frailty they'd had since Kompany left. He has exceptional leadership qualities for a young player and he leaves everything on the pitch, which is infectious to those around him. This is his first season in the Premier League but it looks like he has been here for years. We always talk about players needing time to bed in when they come over here. If so, how good is he going to be next season?
The impact he has had for City is similar to the one Virgil van Dijk made at Liverpool in He's the reason they are where they are, and it was a brilliant piece of recruitment to sign him. City have had great teams before under Guardiola but they have probably always been a bit of a soft touch at the back.
Not any more. Guardiola loves players who can play out from the back and Dias is competent at that of course - but he is also brave, strong and quick, and he is a good decision-maker who sets such high standards and does the basics incredibly well.
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