Team of the Year 2021

Defensive midfielder - Joshua Kimmich

FC Bayern München v Sport-Club Freiburg - Bundesliga

Joshua Kimmich is arguably the best deep-lying playmaker in the world right now. To even be regarded as one of the best among the current crop would be a great achievement. It is a year where so many deep-lying playmakers have shone.

Kimmich is one of the most versatile footballers on the planet. He can play in any position across midfield and can also play as a right-back. Kimmich's distribution is simply exceptional and he is also a very intelligent midfielder.

Kimmich's positional sense, spatial awareness and incredible game-reading ability goes a long way towards making Bayern Munich one of the most balanced teams in Europe. The German international is great at spraying diagonal balls to his wingers and full-backs with pin-point precision.

He scored six goals and provided 14 assists in 39 appearances across all competitions last season. He has three goals and four assists to his name after making 18 appearances across all competitions this term.

Defensive midfielder - N'Golo Kante

Wolverhampton Wanderers v Chelsea - Premier League

Chelsea transformed into a very stable side under Thomas Tuchel rather quickly. They could hold their ground against the best sides in Europe but they needed that X-factor to beat them. N'Golo Kante proved to be exactly that.

The tenacious Frenchman turned in multiple match-winning performances in the knockout stages of last season's Champions League. His performances against Atletico Madrid, Porto, Real Madrid and Manchester City enabled Chelsea to come out on top.

Kante's defensive acumen has been talked about a lot. Not only is he good at making recoveries and interceptions, but he is also excellent at carrying the ball forward and linking up with his attackers.

The 30-year-old gives it his all every time he goes out to play and when he is fully fit, he can walk into any team in Europe and not look out of place. After all, he was named the UEFA Champions League Midfielder of the Season last term.

Attacking midfielder - Kevin De Bruyne

Manchester City v Leeds United - Premier League

When Kevin De Bruyne is at his best, there are few midfielders in Europe who can match up. The Belgian international is one of the most technically gifted players of his generation and his passing range is simply astonishing.

De Bruyne can find his team-mates anywhere on the pitch and it doesn't even matter how difficult the angle might be. He'll just figure out a way to get the ball to them. The 30-year-old won the PFA Player of the Year for a second consecutive time earlier this year.

Despite his minutes being limited due to injuries and COVID-19 infection, he has managed to score 5 goals from 8 starts in the Premier League this season.

De Bruyne's creativity, vision and passing ability is hard to top and for that reason, he is our attacking midfielder for the year.