BBC Premier League team of season: Chelsea quintet and Tottenham trio dominate

Posted by

Much to the delight of supporters up and down the country, Garth Crooks has selected his final XI of the 2016/17 campaign and it’s a season-long special.

Having received plenty of stick throughout the year for his selections, the BBC Sport pundit has now been tasked with picking his best XI from the entire season and it’s no surprise that he’s gone for a Chelsea and Tottenham themed party.

Thibaut Courtois, Cesar Azpilicueta, David Luiz, Eden Hazard and N’Golo Kante have been highly influential for Antonio Conte this season to help them win the Premier League title and so it can’t really be argued about their inclusions.

Some other Chelsea stars may feel a little aggrieved to not make it in but there was no leaving out Toby Alderweireld, Dele Alli and Harry Kane as Tottenham enjoy a heavy presence in the line-up.

Kane finished the season as the Premier League top goalscorer again with 29 goals to his name, while Alli and Alderweireld were pivotal in helping Spurs end the year with the best goals tally and best defence in the league as well as the best points tally in the club’s history.

All in all, while Tottenham will naturally be disappointed to end the season empty-handed, there’s certainly plenty of positives to take away from the campaign.

Meanwhile, Liverpool magic man Philippe Coutinho gets the nod as he played a fundamental role in getting the Reds back into the Champions League, albeit with a couple of injury problems and loss of form to contend with along the way.

Romelu Lukaku was second in the goalscoring charts with 25 for Everton this season and so he undoubtedly deserves the recognition, while Arsenal star Alexis Sanchez completes the line-up after a highly influential campaign at the Emirates for the Chilean international.

Speculation is rife about his future, but with 24 goals and 10 assists this season, he has proven to be one of the top dogs in the English top flight and he will be a huge loss if he were to move on this summer.

More Stories Alexis Sanchez David Luiz Dele Alli Eden Hazard Harry Kane N'Golo Kante Philippe Coutinho Romelu Lukaku Thibaut Courtois Toby Alderweireld