The PT and the Peterborough United fans name their 'Player-of-the-Season' for the 2024-25 campaign

Statistics can be manipulated to support a particular argument – see any politician on X for proof – but in the case of a 23 year-old winger with dancing feet, the dribbling skills of George Best and a scorer of terrific goals the numbers merely confirm a superstar in the making.

Before a serious hamstring injury suffered early in December Poku was running riot in League One. He had 10 goals and seven assists to his name at that point and he'd only played 16 games. Poku had bagged the first hat-trick of his senior career in a 6-1 rout of Cambridge United and won back-to-back League One player-of-the-month awards – a feat only ever achieved by two other players, Josh Morris (Scunthorpe) and Cole Stockton (Morecambe).

Poku's attacking brilliance carried Posh in the first four months of the season when defensive frailties were causing immense concern among the club’s hierarchy as well as the fanbase.

Those issues were addressed in January, but Poku didn’t return until early March. Without the injury Poku could well have finished the season as League One’s top scorer. He is now on 12 goals, after a cautious return to action, even though he’s a winger in a side struggling along in the bottom half of the table.

Poku is my Posh player-of-the-season for 2024-25 and by some distance. I fully expect him to tear up the Championship next season.

The others in my top six, in order are...

It says plenty about this Posh campaign that a player who had started 16 League One games before the Easter fixtures can come second, but centre-back Sam Hughes certainly helped to rescue a season that was on a downward drift towards the bottom four. He’s a strong defender, whose passing improved quickly, as well as a big voice and supreme organiser. It was no wonder he was asked to skipper Posh during Hector Kyprianou’s regular absences.

Goalkeeper Jed Steer wasn’t great in the first part of the season. He wasn’t helped by the disorganised defending in front of him, but since returning to the side in February he’s finished on the losing side just three times. His ability to take the string out of opposition attacks by catching crosses and keeping possession was a massive factor in the necessary defensive improvement. I doubt he’s made a better save for Posh than the one he delivered late on at Wembley.

How weird when Posh have the second worst defensive record in League One that I have three defensive players in my top four, but then Hughes and Tayo Edun weren’t at London Road for the really messy bits. Edun has been a dynamic presence at left-back, attacking with gusto and defending with spirit. He even scored twice, including a classy winner at Cambridge, but has blotted his copybook with two red cards, both of them daft, so I knocked him down a couple of places in my list. His place at the club is now under threat following the rapid emergence of Harley Mills.

Midfielder Archie Collins has the most wonderful attitude and ran Harrison Burrows close as last season’s star man. He hasn’t reached those heights this term, not helped by Kyprianou’s disappearance as a midfield force, but he’s still one of the first names on a Posh team-sheet. Sadly he’s now crocked and out for the season.

Forward Malik Mothersille has adapted to a new position as a hard-running number 10 impressively. He and Ricky-Jade Jones are the only two Posh players to feature in the first 42 League One games of the season. Mothersille is only 21, is very fit, quick and technically gifted, and had scored 15 goals before the Easter programme. Expect 20+ next season, especially if Posh win a lot of penalties.

FANS VOTE Kwame Poku also won the fans’ vote in a poll organised by the PT on social media site X. We asked fans to name their 1-2-3 for the season and we then awarded 3 points for a first place nomination, 2 points for second place and 1 point for third place. Only 8 players received votes and only five received first place nominations. They were Kwame Poku, Sam Hughes, Archie Collins, Malik Mothersille and Harley Mills.

The finishing order was 1 Kwame Poku, 2 Sam Hughes, 3 Archie Collins, 4 Jed Steer, 5 Malik Mothersille, 6 Ricky-Jade Jones, 7 Harley Mills, 8 Tayo Edun.

Selected comments Poku is going on to better things, Steer for helping a young defence and we would no doubt have been relegated without Hughes

@Jacscar

God knows where we would be if we hadn’t signed Hughes. He brought out the best out of other players who had looked lost. Poku for obvious reasons and Steer as his experience was a massive help. He also made some great saves.

@Kyle_McPherson

Poku, Steer, Mothersille. I don’t feel comfortable putting Hughes in the top 3 as he only joined in January.

@Liampufc1996

Poku is easily number 1. He was injured for half the season and he’s still been great, Hughes turned our season around, great leader, get him signed and we have looked better since Steer came back in goal.

@jacobcr27518800

Collins’ consistency over the whole season wins it for me, but Poku would have walked it if he hadn’t been injured for three months.

@davidrbull2010

We would definitely have been relegated without Hughes, while Poku’s stats say it all as does the workrate of Ricky Jade-Jones,

@SidDay1

Poku for obvious reasons, RJJ, because even through the bad moments he’s never failed to give 100% for the team, and Hughes for the massive improvement in defence he’s made since joining in January.

@JamesGWesley