Tottenham quartet named in PFA Team of the Year

Surprisingly virtually no one, Tottenham players own a sizable chunk of the PFA Team of the Year released on Thursday.

Tottenham starters Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Kyle Walker and Danny Rose all feature on the team, along with another four from current league leaders Chelsea.

Manchester United’s David De Gea, Liverpool’s Sadio Mané and Everton’s Romelu Lukaku round out the XI.

Kane and Dele, of course, are also included in the shortlist for PFA Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year, respectively, with Kane actually included in both lists.

Two players featured for Chelsea also find their name on those lists. Eden Hazard and N’Golo Kanté have both enjoyed fantastic seasons. David Luiz and Gary Cahill put on some defense master classes over the course of the season despite not being among the short-listed.

Room must understandably be made for Hazard, et al, which is only fair considering that Chelsea currently leads the league. Lukaku, for the moment, is favored to win the Golden Boot, while De Gea and Mané both stood out in their respective squads throughout the season.

Still, even unbiased onlookers might be surprised as some of these decisions though. The team clearly represents a slew of compromises. The Spurs quartet named are certainly worthy of the honor, but so too are Christian Eriksen, Victor Wanyama and Toby Alderweireld.

It’s that latter name that might stay in the mind of doubters. If he wasn’t already in elite status after last season’s indomitable form, than the Belgian certainly rose to that level since August. Most would regard Alderweireld as one of, if not the, best centre-back in the Premier League.

Some might even think that Alderweireld deserves a spot on the Player of the Year shortlist. He and Jan Vertonghen are, in many ways, the core of this Tottenham team. Without their efforts in front of goal it’s difficult to imagine where Spurs would be.

Grievances such as that aside, Tottenham representation on the PFA Team of the Year very much coincides with the surge in form the team has enjoyed since the turn of the year.

Next: Tottenham v Chelsea FA Cup semifinal preview

Mauricio Pochettino and his team struggled to find the right balance through most of the season’s first half, even if they were unbeaten through November. Since the busy festive period, though, Tottenham have rarely looked anything but sublime. They score at will and deny even the craftiest teams joy on the opposite end of the pitch.

The PFA will announce their pick for Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year on Sunday. Further honors might be awaiting Spurs this weekend.