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Leicester City and Tottenham Dominate PFA Team of the Year

By Tarek Hisham

LEICESTER, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 02 : Jamie Vardy of Leicester City celebrates with Riyad Mahrez of Leicester City after scoring to make it 2-0 during the Barclays Premier League match between Leicester City and Liverpool at the King Power Stadium on February 02 , 2016 in Leicester, United Kingdom. (Photo by Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images)
LEICESTER, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 02 : Jamie Vardy of Leicester City celebrates with Riyad Mahrez of Leicester City after scoring to make it 2-0 during the Barclays Premier League match between Leicester City and Liverpool at the King Power Stadium on February 02 , 2016 in Leicester, United Kingdom. (Photo by Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images) /
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Premier League leaders Leicester City and their fiercest competition Tottenham Hotspur dominate the PFA Team of the Year and for very good reason.

Last season when the PFA Premier League Team of the Year was released, it was chock full of players from eventual champions Chelsea FC. This year it is dominated by two of the real contenders for the league title this year, Tottenham and Leicester. The team of the year may be hotly contested among fans every year but it is clear that they reward success above all.

The 2015-16 edition is also notable because there are so many new faces in the mix. None of the players can be classified as true veterans of the Premier League with Danny Rose and David De Gea as the elder statesmen in the group as they debuted in 2009 and 2011 respectively. Leicester City’s Wes Morgan is the oldest member of the team at 32 but he spent the majority of his career between League One and the Championship with Nottingham Forest.

All of the other players are recent additions to top-flight English football with Delle Alli, N’Golo Kante, and Dimitri Payet all making their debuts this season. That trio has been an absolute revelation and their plaudits are well-earned, including callups to their respective national teams leading up to Euro 2016.

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Another thing to note is that there are only two players from the traditional “Big Four” English clubs in De Gea and Arsenal’s Hector Bellerin. Expectations have been turned upside down this season and this team certainly reflects that. The traditional powerhouses have experienced a great drop off and it is clubs like Tottenham and Leicester who have benefited the most.

One notable absentee from the Team of the Year is Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil. The German midfielder was one of eight players nominated for the PFA Player of the Year award but he is the only one not included in the team below. Ozil currently leads the Premier League assists charts with 18 and will be hoping to break or at least match Thierry Henry’s record of 2o from the 2002-03 season.

Next: Could Mats Hummels join FC Barcelona this summer?

The PFA Premier League Team of the Year:
David de Gea (Manchester United)
Hector Bellerin (Arsenal), Wes Morgan (Leicester), Toby Alderweireld (Tottenham), Danny Rose (Tottenham)
Riyad Mahrez (Leicester), Dele Alli (Tottenham), N’Golo Kante (Leicester), Dimitri Payet (West Ham)
Jamie Vardy (Leicester), Harry Kane (Tottenham)

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