The 2016/17 football league season is drawing to a close with teams and players assessing their performances and deciding on targets for next season. The players who have done well this season would have either helped their side capture silverware or must have stood out in a lacklustre team.
Either way, these players will be in the running for the end-of-season awards which serve as an appreciation for their efforts and also as an advertisement in case they are looking out for a move in the summer.
In England, the PFA Players’ Player of the Year is the most coveted individual award given to a player whose performances over the course of the season have been exemplary. This award is being given since the 1973-74 league season and the winner is voted by fellow players in the league, giving the award authenticity and relevance.
The star player in Leicester City’s underdog Premier League win last season, Riyad Mahrez, won the award last year but is out of running this year due to the Foxes’ failure to muster any sort of title defence this season.
Only five players in Mark Hughes, Alan Shearer, Thierry Henry, Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale have won the award twice in its long history.
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Further, there is a separate award for players under 23 years of age in PFA Young Player of the Year, which was won by Tottenham’s Dele Alli last season. These players are eligible for PFA Players’ Player of the Year award as well and only three players have ever won both the awards in the same season. They are Andy Gray, Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale.
Here are the 6 nominees ranked in order of their chances to win the PFA Players’ Player of the Year award for the 2016/17 league season in England.
#6 Romelu Lukaku
Romelu Lukaku’s name has been doing the rounds for a while in the Premier League and it is in this season that he has stepped up a level at Everton, showing his readiness to lead the attack for any top side in the world.
He has 23 goals so far this season before the start of gameweek 33 and has a comfortable four-goal cushion over Harry Kane, who has recently returned from an injury layoff. The Belgian has been phenomenal at home in recent months having scored 13 goals in the last 8 home games including scoring in each one of them.
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Lukaku has 6 assists to go along with the goals and at 23 years of age and has been nominated for the Young Player of the Year award as well. While he does have a good chance to win either award, it is more likely that he will fall just short in either case.
#5 Alexis Sanchez
Arsene Wenger finally decided to start with Alexis Sanchez in the striker role this season and the move paid rich dividends. The Chilean has scored 18 goals and set up 9 more goals in the Premier League, thereby directly contributing to 44.4% of Arsenal’s league goals this season.
Such a stellar season itself is an indicator for getting nominated for the award although Sanchez’s reported off-field issues with the club and its personnel, unwillingness to sign a new contract and a dip in form in recent months compared to the first-half of the season could dent his chances.
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His stand-out performance came at West Ham where he scored a stunning hat-trick under 15 minutes. The probability of him winning the award are also affected by Arsenal’s position in the league table as well where they stand at an unfamiliar 6that the start of gameweek 33.
#4 Harry Kane
The one-season wonder every season, Harry Kane is currently the best English striker and one of the best young strikers in world football. His wonderful scoring ability has seen him score 19 goals in just 23 league games this season.
He has missed out on games close to three months this season due to malleolar injuries and if not for them, could have helped Tottenham put up a better fight against Chelsea for the league title.
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Nevertheless, his performances along with his team-mates, especially Dele Alli’s, who can consider himself unlucky for not being nominated for the award, have been sensational as Mauricio Pochettino’s side sit comfortably in 2nd place in the league table.
Further, Kane has been nominated along with Lukaku for the Young Player of the Year as well, an award he won in 2015. However, his team-mate Dele Alli has a better chance of winning that award while Kane just might miss out on winning the PFA Players’ Player of the Year.
#3 Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Zlatan Ibrahimovic is the perfect example of the old adage, “Just like wine, getting better with age”. The manner in which he has silenced every critic who has ever doubted his ability to deliver in England has been stupendous. Further, doing it at a club with the stature of Manchester United and with a team struggling for rhythm makes his performances this season one to remember.
Rightfully, he has been nominated for the Players’ Player of the Year award for his tally of 17 goals and 5 assists make up 48% of United’s goals this season. More importantly, he has scored a number of goals towards the end of matches to continue the 21-match unbeaten run of Jose Mourinho’s side, including the recent one against Everton.
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The oldest player in the history of the Premier League to score 17 goals or more, the Swede has single-handedly inspired United to victory. His chances of winning the award are slightly affected though due to the stamping incident involving Bournemouth’s Tyrone Mings.
#2 Eden Hazard
One of the most accomplished wing wizards in world football, with his ability to take on defences at will, link-up play and scoring ability as good as any, Eden Hazard is back to his best under Antonio Conte after a disastrous last season. He has already matched his previous best tally of 14 goals in the league with 7 games left.
The only player on this list to have previously won the award in 2015, Hazard is also the 2nd Belgian on the list, making Belgium the only country with two nominations. Further Hazard has won the Young Player of the Year award as well in 2014.
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His solo goal against Arsenal at Stamford Bridge in February is one of the highlights of the season and with Chelsea on course to win the league, Hazard has a huge chance of winning the award, if he can beat his team-mate and the favourite for this year’s award.
#1 N’Golo Kante
N’Golo Kante was the best player in his defensive-midfield role in the title-winning Leicester City team of last season. Although Jamie Vardy won the Premier League Player of the Year and Mahrez won the Players’ Player of the Year, keen observers of the game felt the Frenchman was just as important if not more in Claudio Ranieri’s side.
In the summer, Antonio Conte, known for building exciting sides with a penchant to attack, signed Kante, and the Blues are in pole position to win the league with Kante on course to win two league titles in consecutive years with different teams.
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Kante’s reading of the game, ball recoveries and tremendous ability to intercept were well-known beforehand but it is his box-to-box ability that has improved in spades under Conte and the diminutive Frenchman has finally caught attention this season. Kante has won 22 tackles in the opponent’s half this season, which is more than any other player in the league and this emphasises how good he is in preventing counter-attacks and also launching quick attacks high up the pitch for the Blues.
Due to his vital contributions to title-winning teams in 2 consecutive seasons, N’Golo Kante is the favourite to be named as the PFA Players’ Player of the Year.
