Jon Arnold reached out about who is the best player in CONCACAF right now. With seasons all but over, I thought about who I would name the CONCACAF Player of the Year. This season has a couple of favorites but for me there is one player that is above the others: Raul Jimenez.

Biased? Maybe but building a case for him is easy. The hardest league to play in is the Premier League and hardest thing to do in soccer is score goals. Raul has done that repeatedly this season, to the tune of 16 league goals along with 6 assists (through 7/6). He has a chance at being in the top 10 in goals scored and in assists. I know Pulisic plays in England too but he needs to stay on the field to challenge for the award. Raul has been on the field nearly twice as much as Pulisic this season: 3,881 minutes vs 1,953 minutes (across all competitions). This is a season long award, not one that is decided by a hot month. I say that as Pulisic is heating up as he gets more minutes. There is no doubt Pulisic will be a contender for this award over the next decade but he falls short this season. I’m giving Raul credit for his durability in a tough league where he essentially plays every minute for Wolves. No forward in the Premier League has played as many minutes as he has this season. Mexican fans are not the only ones heaping praise on him, WhoScored has Raul in their team of the season with him among the highest rated players in the league. As of 7/7/20, he is the 13th highest rated player in the league. Numbers don’t lie.

In addition to his league exploits, Jimenez has kept Wolves alive in Europa League with 9 goals and 4 assists. I’m aware Europa League isn’t Champions League but we could see Wolves in Champions League next year whether through league finish or as Europa League winners. If that were to happen, Jimenez would be a big reason why.

Thanks to Jon Arnold for the invite to contribute to his great newsletter. Every CONCACAF fan should sign up for it.

My ballot:

1. Raul Jimenez
2. Alphonso Davies
3. Christian Pulisic

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