Kenny Dalglish believes that the Footballer of the Year award will be contested between Luis Suarez, Gareth Bale and Robin van Persie.

All three players have been in impressive form for their respective club sides this season, with Van Persie's 19 league goals helping to propel Manchester United to the top of the Premier League.

Liverpool striker Suarez is currently at the top of the league's scoring charts having netted 21 times and Bale has been Tottenham Hotspur's standout performer this season, helping himself to 15 goals.

"The three front-runners are Gareth Bale, Robin van Persie and Luis Suarez – and it's very hard to split them," Dalglish wrote in his column in The Mirror.

"You can choose on the basis of their overall contribution to the game and all three have been exceptional. You can talk about making goals and about taking goals [and] in the end, it's probably just going to come down to which player you like most a person.

"I'm not sure how the people who cast their votes for the various Footballer of the Year awards are going to make their choice this season."

Former Liverpool manager Dalglish led the Reds to the 2012 League Cup.