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As we breach into the home stretch of the 2017/18 campaign in the Premier League, the 45th Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) awards ceremony is almost upon us. On April 22nd, i.e this Sunday, we will get to see some of the best performers of the 2017/18 campaign being bestowed with the top honours of the league, and among them is also the prestigious Young Player of the Year award.
The likes of Ederson, Raheem Sterling, Leroy Sane, Marcus Rashford, Harry Kane and Ryan Sessegnon are the names in contention to become the brightest young talent of the season.
And even if the nominations have thrown up plenty of talking points - Kane's dubious inclusion, Sessegnon making the cut against all the odds - there are a few players who missed out, but thoroughly deserved to be on the list.
Here we take a look at the top three such young players who were undeservingly left out of the race for the award:
#3 Andreas Christensen (Chelsea)
The aftermath of the 2016/17 Premier League triumph saw a sea of change transpiring in the Chelsea squad, especially in the defence. With John Terry departing and the dramatic decline of Gary Cahill, new players were brought in and groomed to take over the mantle.
Among them was Andreas Christensen, who returned to Stamford Bridge after impressing during his loan spell at Borussia Monchengladbach, and took no time in establishing himself as a key figure at the back.
The Danish youngster has proved to be instrumental at the heart of the defence - his 98 clearances is second only to Cesar Azpilicueta in the squad, while notably, his average of seven defensive actions per 90 minutes eclipses everybody else. Christensen's towering presence in the box has also seen him win 67% of the aerial duels he participates in.
Even though all this hasn't translated much into success as the Blues have continued to struggle, he is undeniably a talent earmarked for the club's future and most certainly deserved to be in the reckoning for the award.
#2 Gabriel Jesus (Manchester City)
Signed in the January transfer window last year, Gabriel Jesus put the records straight by becoming the first Manchester City player to both, score and assist in his first start, and gave a glimpse of his prodigious scoring prowess when he finished the campaign with seven goals and four assists in 11 games.
Now in his first full season with the Skyblues, he did the unthinkable by displacing Aguero from the starting XI during the initial few games and the Brazilian subsequently repaid the manager's faith with a string of talismanic shows in the final third. His returns for the current season stands at 10 goals and three assists.
Also read: Manchester City: Weekly Wages of First-Team Stars Revealed
Whilst those are impressive figures by all accounts, Jesus could've racked up greater numbers had it not been for the ligament injury that kept him out of action for eight games between January and February; the period which also saw Aguero being reinstated as the first choice striker. But it does little to dwarf the precocious talent that he is, as Jesus has hit the full straps again upon returning from injury.
#1 Dele Alli (Tottenham Hotspur)
The winner of the last two editions of the PFA Young Player of the Year award suffered the ignominy of missing out on the race altogether this year. But Dele Alli, in all honesty, has definitely been worthy of a place on the list, if not claim it flat-out.
Although the Spurs winger has seen his output in the box plummet dramatically - 16 goals in 32 games last year has been halved down to 8 in the same number of appearances this year - his contributions in the attack remain as significant as ever.
Alli has successfully transmogrified himself into a creator, creating 62 chances so far - 9th most in the league, and 10 more than what he managed in the whole of last season.
The 22-year old had dropped deeper this season, created passing lanes, and has laid things on a plate inside the area for his teammates to score. So even if his scoring boots have been running on fumes, his overall productivity in the attack has been amplified significantly.
But that has, unfortunately, fallen through the cracks amid all the hoo-ha surrounding Manchester City's stellar names taking the league by storm.
But in reality, Alli is admittedly, in the same league of superstars like Kevin De Bruyne, David Silva and undoubtedly been nominated for the award this season as well.
