With one month of Premier League football remaining, teams are still fighting for a top-four finish while others are aiming to stay in the top flight of English football for another season.
On top of that, the month of April is when the English media tend to hype up the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) awards.
As one of the honours include the Premier League Team of the year, it’s time to look through the individuals that have been fantastic on a personal level and have helped their club effectively with their contributions.
Goalkeeper – Tom Heaton (Burnley)
Given that Burnley are more or less safe and are eight points above the relegation zone, Tom Heaton has been having a superb season which has earned him several positive compliments from pundits.
Completing more saves (125) than any other shot stopper within the league, the former Manchester United player has bagged nine clean sheets with six of them coming at the Turf Moor.
Right-back – Antonio Valencia (Manchester United)
At first, it seemed very odd that Antonio Valencia was converted into a full-back and Jose Mourinho did not prefer to sign a natural right-back instead. However, the Ecuadorian international has proved many people wrong as he’s turned out to be one of Manchester United’s most consistent players this campaign.
Few wingers have got the better of Valencia since he has moved into the right-back position.
Centre-back – Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea)
One of the key cogs behind Antonio Conte’s revelation at Chelsea has been due to the tactical versatility and pure commitment of Cesar Azpilicueta.
It might be seen as an easy job for him to fit into a back three, on the other hand, the Spaniard’s positional awareness and positive mind in possession has been the vital factor towards his successful transformation into a centre-back.
Centre-back – Jan Vertonghen (Tottenham Hotspur)
Although most of the attention has gone towards teammate Toby Alderweireld, who missed two months of Premier League football, Jan Vertonghen has stepped up massively throughout the tough times when Mauricio Pochettino’s side were struggling with defensive injuries.
The current period has arguably been Vertonghen’s best year in a Tottenham Hotspur shirt.
Left-back – Marcos Alonso (Chelsea)
When Marcus Alonso’s move from Fiorentina to Chelsea was announced, the English media straightaway slated and doubted the new signing before he had even kicked a ball for his new team.
Eight months later, he has silenced all the doubters as he continues to thrive in the left wing-back role he is utilised in under Antonio Conte.
Centre-midfield – N’Golo Kante (Chelsea)
Carrying on his fantastic form from his time at Leicester City, there’s pretty much nothing left to say about N’Golo Kante these days. If you’re aiming to compete for the league title as well as other domestic cups, he’s the go to man that you need in the middle of the park.
It’s still unbelievable that the Blues managed to snap him up for a reported fee of £30million.
Centre-midfield – Ander Herrera (Manchester United)
Showing that he is one of the most complete midfielders within the Premier League and at Manchester United, Ander Herrera has seriously evolved into a much better player and is turning out to be the integral part of the club’s system under Jose Mourinho.
Also, he has been operating effectively on both areas of the pitch, from intercepting the opposition’s attack to setting the side on the counter-attack.
Centre-midfield – Dele Alli (Tottenham Hotspur)
At the age of 21, Tottenham’s Dele Alli is continuing his pure brilliance from last season and is truly presenting to everyone in Europe that he is the real deal. From midfield, the youngster has bagged 16 goals and five assists in 31 league appearances.
On top of that, along with many other football fans, I am still not quite sure how Alli has not been nominated for the Player of the Year award.
Attacking-midfield – Eden Hazard (Chelsea)
Arguably the best player in the league when he’s at his best, Eden Hazard is on the form of his life as he has been coming up with all the goods in the final third of the pitch in all the big games this campaign.
With just six league fixtures remaining for Chelsea, the Belgian international only needs one goal to beat his Premier League record of 14 goals in one season, which he completed during the 2013-14 and 2014-15 campaigns.
Attacking-midfield – Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal)
Despite Arsenal going through a sub-standard season, you can’t hide the fact that Alexis Sanchez is having an amazing year on a personal level as he’s been heavily relied on since the start of the campaign.
Notching 23 goals and 12 assists in all competition, he has certainly become the Gunners main man and has been playing up front for only half the season. If Arsenal are to somehow finish in the top four come May, Sanchez would without a doubt be the key factor behind this outcome.
Centre-forward – Romelu Lukaku (Everton)
As expected for the centre-forward role, there would be a lot of competition as well as a huge debate on who should be given this spot. Although most people would pick either Diego Costa or Harry Kane, Romelu Lukaku has completely established himself as an elite Premier League centre-forward as he currently sits as the league’s top goal-scorer on 24 goals.
Having a conversion rate of 32.9 per cent, he has individually helped Everton to get as close as possible to a top-four finish.
Lachie Abbott
Roar Pro
Although I think Lukaku deserves that centre-forward role, Kane is an extremely close second given he played around 900 minutes (10 matches) less than Lukaku, still managing to bag 20 goals and 5 assists. Kane also recorded higher levels of passing accuracy with around 72% of passes reaching their target compared to Lukaku's 65.3%. Kane also makes a higher number of key passes per 90 minutes despite averaging 6.5 passes less than Lukaku each game. Overall, the efficiency numbers point toward Kane being the better selection, however given his somewhat lack of durability and his penalty-taking duties which Lukaku doesn't have, I agree with your selection to a lesser degree.
Gavin R
Guest
I still feel Zlatan is slightly overrated. For the goals he has scored, he's sure missed a lot too.
Gavin R
Guest
The rubbish football they played there explains this pretty well.
Nemesis
Guest
A very worthy list. However, given the best English players all play in the EPL (England was the only team at Euro 2016 where the full squad played for clubs in their home nation), it's a sad reflection on the state of English football that only 1 English outfield player makes the list.
marcel
Guest
Dele Alli won Young Player of the Year for the second time this year.
Xavier Cordier
Roar Rookie
In it's entirety, a good team of the year, I like the inclusion of Heaton and Marcus Alonso, however I feel out of all Manchester United players, Valencia and Zlatan are the ones who should be represented not Herrera and Valencia. Herrera has had a surprisingly great season, for a player who was not bought as a centre defensive midfield player, but the monumental impact of Zlatan upfront in scoring pivotal goals can't go unnoticed. Also why Azpilicueta wasn't in the PFA Team of the Year is completely beyond me.