The PFA Player of the Year shortlist was announced on Thursday morning and it was very predictable.
PFA Players’ Player of the Year nominees
- Eden Hazard – Chelsea
- Zlatan Ibrahimovic – Manchester United
- Harry Kane – Tottenham Hotspur
- N’Golo Kante – Chelsea
- Romelu Lukaku – Everton
- Alexis Sanchez – Arsenal
But are these really the best six players from the Premier League this season?
The selection process seems to have been: ‘Four most prolific goalscorers + two players from leaders Chelsea’.
All six players have indeed had fine 2016-17 campaigns, especially Chelsea boys N’Golo Kante and Eden Hazard (pictured with the award in 2015), but the selections do seem overly top-heavy.
Harry Kane, for example, has done very well and scored 19 goals in just 23 Premier League matches, but some of his Tottenham teammates are perhaps more deserving of recognition this term.
Victor Wanyama has been a revelation in midfield for Spurs, while Dele Alli has come of age and established himself as the main man at White Hart Lane.
Alli, who just turned 21, is among the PFA Young Player of the Year nominees, along with Kane, 23.
PFA Young Player of the Year nominees
- Dele Alli – Tottenham Hotspur
- Harry Kane – Tottenham Hotspur
- Michael Keane – Burnley
- Romelu Lukaku – Everton
- Jordan Pickford – Sunderland
- Leroy Sane – Manchester City
This category is a bit more diverse, as it includes a defender, in Burnley centre-back Michael Keane, and a goalkeeper, in Sunderland’s Jordan Pickford.
PFA members, i.e. players, will now vote before the winners in each category are announced on April 23.