Premier League Player of the Year

The candidates

Dimitri Payet

Payet has been West Ham's heart beat this season. They play better with him in the team. With him in the team they are a top six club, with out him, they are probably a top 10 club. That's a big difference. Couple that with the outstanding quality and importance of some of his goals and you can see why Payet has been included. 

Mesut Ozil

Ozil's season, like Arsernal's, has started to waiver. In fact it is a testament to the German's influence on the team as his form has dipped in conjunction with his theirs. Ozil hasn't scored enough goals to win this though and being the 'best player' in a team like Arsenal means that if he has an outstanding season then Arsenal should be winning the league.  

Riyad Mahrez

Mahrez is my pick for the player of the year and many will agree. I wrote an article about Mahrez at the start of the season that suggested he needed to learn to pass more. I believe he achieved that this season. He has contributed over 30 goals. He has dragged Leicester through some important games and while his form has slightly dipped, he has still been the outstanding player this season.

Jamie Vardy

Let's have a Vardy party. I love Jamie Vardy, he turns every long ball Leicester play into a beautiful through ball. He works unbelievably hard, he has scored lots of very important goals and let's not forget he broke a Premier League record for the most goals scored in consecutive games. 

N'Golo Kante

Arguably the unsung hero of the Leicester story. Of course he has not gone with out praise but he has played a very key role in Leicester's Premier League campaign. He appears everywhere on the pitch and turns defence into attack. He allows Leicester to play the brand of football that has seen them have so much success. If he contributed more goals (not that that is his job) he may be in with a real shout. 

Harry Kane

Kane took a while to get going this season but now he is the stand out player. He is the most reliable goalscorer and is mounting a title challenge with a rampant Tottenham. If he doesn't win the player of the year award, he will surely retain his young player of the year award. 

Missed Out

Anthony Martial

United have not had a very good season. The young 19 year old has been a bright spark and will win this award in the future. 

Robert Huth & Wes Morgan 

Key to Leicester's success is the fact they defensively became unstoppable. These two have been fantastic and you can't overlook anyone from the Premier League leaders. 

Toby Alderweireld & Eric Dier

They have changed Spurs fortune. They have finally made Spurs a difficult team to beat. Add this to an exciting young team and the future looks very bright for Tottenham.

Kevin De Bruyne

His first season in the Premier League has actually been fantastic. He has made himself integral to City straight away. He scores great goals and important ones. He, also, may win it in the future. 

Barkley & Lukaku

They have played well but they are 12th in the table with a very poor points tally. Overrated because they are young in my opinion.