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Harry Maguire became only the 16th defender to win the Premier League Player of the Month award but who are the other 15?
Manchester United centre-back Harry Maguire was recently named the Premier League Player of the Month as an acknowledgement of his outstanding November.
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19:31 - 06.12.2023
Harry Maguire wins Premier League Player of the Month for November
Defying expectations and silencing critics, Harry Maguire has been crowned the Premier League Player of the Month for November 2023. This achievement marks a significant milestone in the Manchester United defender's career, especially amidst earlier speculations about his uncertain future with the club.
Maguire played every minute of the three games in the month which Manchester United won without conceding a single goal and the Englishman made the joint-most blocks, fifth-most clearances, and won the second-most aerial duels in a dominant month.
The centre-back is the first defender to win the award since Liverpool's Joel Matip in February 2022 and he is only the 16th defender in history to be voted the Premier League's Player of the Month,
An honourable mention must also go out to Everton star Ashley Young who is a defender nowadays but previously won three Premier League Player of the Month awards as an attacker in his Aston Villa days in April, September and December 2008.
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Ashley Young aside, here are all the 16 defenders that have won the Premier League Player of the Month award in the chronological order in which they won it.
1. Sami Hyypia
Sami Hyypia was the first defender to win the award when the centre-back from Finland was named the Premier League Player of the Month for November 1999.
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Hyypia clinched the award just a few months into his first season at Liverpool where he went on to play for 10 years as a bonafide club legend.
2. Gareth Southgate
Just two months after Hyypia, another defender claimed the award in January 2000 and it was Gareth Southgate of Aston Villa who did it.
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The current English national team manager used to be a defender for Crystal Palace, Aston Villa and Middlesbrough in his 18-year career.
3. Stuart Pearce
Stuart Pearce was the next defender to win the award when the West Ham fullback was named the Premier League Player of the Month for February 2001 making him the first West Ham player to win the award.
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The hard-as-nails defender was West Ham’s defensive rock and was vital in the club’s 2-1 victory over Bradford in late February which was their first win since Boxing Day.
4. Rio Ferdinand
Before Rio Ferdinand became a Manchester United legend, he was making waves at Leeds United and his exploits were rewarded with the Premier League Player of the Month in October 2001.
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The English centre-back would eventually leave for Manchester United a year later and the rest as they say regarding his career is history, although he never won the award again.
5. Ledley King
It would be almost three years till another defender won the award when Tottenham centre-back Ledley King was crowned the Premier League Player of the Month for September 2004.
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Ledley picks up his first Barclays Player of the Month Award after his fantastic performances last month. He helped Tottenham secure successive clean sheets against Norwich and Chelsea.
6. John Terry
For all of his accolades and status as one of the greatest defenders in football history, it is a bit surprising that John Terry only won one Premier League Player of the Month award.
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The Chelsea legend claimed his one and only Premier League Player of the Month award in January 2005 en route to winning his first league title.
7. Anton Ferdinand
Although Rio only won this award once, another Ferdinand was named the Premier League Player of the Month and it was his brother Anton in January 2006.
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The then 20-year-old produced a string of decisive defensive performances to help West Ham earn six points from three January fixtures, but is perhaps best remembered for his rare appearance on the scoresheet against Fulham.
8. Micah Richards
19-year-old Micah Richards had just been moved from his normal right fullback role to centre-back for Manchester City at the start of the 2007/08 season but he still excelled and was named the August 2007 Premier League Player of the Month.
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Manchester City won their first three games without conceding a goal, and Richards was outstanding in the memorable derby win over Manchester United.
9. Nemanja Vidic
Legendary Manchester United central defender Nemanja Vidic won the Premier League Player of the Month Award for his outstanding contributions in January 2009.
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The centre-back was crucial en route to United winning the Premier League title and was also named the club's Player of the Season for 2008/09.
10. Phil Jagielka
English central defender Phil Jakielka won the Premier League Player of the Month Award for his excellent performances in February 2009 for Everton.
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Jagielka played a crucial role in protecting Tim Howard's goal with the deftest of clearances from under the crossbar to deny West Brom a route back into the match amongst many other great moments in the month.
11. David Luiz
David Luiz joined Chelsea from Benfica in January 2011 and was named Premier League Player of the Month for March 2011 just three months into his time in England.
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The Brazilian was an absolute rock in defence and a great contributor at the other end of the pitch as well, scoring a wonderful volley for an equaliser against Manchester United as well as heading home the winner against Manchester City during the period in consideration.
12. Jan Vertonghen
Belgian centre-back Jan Vertonghen won the Premier League Player of the Month Award for March 2013 due to his impressive displays for Tottenham.
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Vertonghen kicked off the month with a man-of-the-match performance in the 2-1 North London derby victory over Arsenal and went on to score three league goals including a double against Liverpool.
13. Virgil Van Dijk
After Vertonghen, it would take almost six years for another defender to win the Premier League Player of the Month Award and it was Virgil Van Dijk who ended the long wait.
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The Liverpool central defender won the Premier League Player of the Month Award for December 2018 after helping the Reds top the table going into the new year.
14. Trent Alexander-Arnold
Trent Alexander-Arnold is the only defender to have won the Premier League Player of the Month award more than once with his two wins coming in December 2019 and November 2021.
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For his first award, Alexander-Arnold contributed one goal and three assists, as well as helping Liverpool keep four clean sheets as they won each of their five Premier League game.
The Liverpool right-back earned his second Premier League monthly honour after producing a goal, four assists and two clean sheets across three matches.
15. Joel Matip
The last defender to win the Premier League Player of the Month Award before Maguire was Liverpool centre-back Joel Matip in February 2022.
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The Cameroonian central defender marshalled a defence that kept three clean sheets and only let in one goal in those four encounters with Leicester, Burnley, Norwich and Leeds to claim the award.
16. Harry Maguire
Harry Maguire was a cornerstone in Manchester United's defence, playing a crucial role in the team securing three consecutive clean sheets against Fulham, Luton Town, and Everton.
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The England international stood out in a competitive field, surpassing contenders such as Jeremy Doku of Manchester City, Anthony Gordon of Newcastle United, Chelsea's Raheem Sterling, Marcus Tavernier from Bournemouth, and Thomas Kaminski of Luton Town in the voting process.
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