Portsmouth rival beats Blues duo to PFA Fans' Player of the Year award

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Two Pompey stars were nominated for the award off the back of a promotion-achieving season

The Pompey duo Marlon Pack and Colby Bishop have both missed out on winning the PFA Fans’ Player of the Year award after it was confirmed that Derby County’s Nathaniel Mendez-Laing would be taking home the prize. The 32-year-old was a pivotal figure in Derby County’s promotion-achieving campaign, contributing nine goals and 16 assists on his way to helping the Rams finish second in the league.

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The Derby County winger not only saw off the fierce competition of Pack and Bishop, but beat Peterborough United’s Harrison Burrows; Barnsley’s Devante Cole; Charlton Athletic’s Alfie May; Bolton Wanderer’s Josh Sheehan and Bristol Rover’s Chris Martin.

Mendez-Laing’s impressive performances have also seen him named in the EFL League One Team of the season, alongside his team-mate Eiran Cashin and the Pompey trio of Marlon Pack, Conor Shaughnessy and Will Norris.

Pompey’s club captain Marlon Pack was nominated for the PFA Player of the Year award following a tremendous season which saw him lead the way in the middle of the field while Bishop ended the 2023/24 campaign as the league’s second highest scorer with 21 goals. Bishop also registered three assists and took home ten Man of the Match awards for his displays throughout Pompey’s title-winning season.

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However, the award ultimately went to their promotion-companions Mendez-Laing who has enjoyed two impressive seasons with the Rams, playing in all of Derby’s 46 league matches this season.

The 33-year-old has benefited from plenty of EFL experience since making his professional debut with Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2009, including two months on loan at Fratton Park in 2012. Having signed for the Posh in July 2012, it was announced in November that the winger had signed on a one-month loan deal. His contract was then extended until the start of January and after nine appearances altogether, Mendez-Laing returned to the London Road stadium.

Before heading to Derby in 2022, Mendez-Laing also spent stints at Sheffield United, Shrewsbury Town, Cambridge United, Rochdale, Cardiff City, Middlesbrough and Sheffield Wednesday. He has nine England youth appearances but has since switched to represent Guatemala and has gone on to make eight international appearances for them since 2023.

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