Much like last season, Tottenham Hotspur’s Player of the Year award promises to be hotly contested this campaign.
Harry Kane is on course to end the season with more than 20 Premier League goals for a third successive season. Dele Alli will not be far behind him in the scoring charts, having already notched 16 in 30 top-flight appearances, while Kyle Walker and Danny Rose will also be in the picture having established themselves as one of Europe’s most effective full-back pairings.
Elsewhere, Toby Alderweireld remains a model of consistency in the heart of the defence, where Jan Vertonghen has also excelled in his fifth season at White Hart Lane. Behind them, goalkeeper Hugo Lloris has been terrific on the rare occasions he has been called into action.
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Read more
■ Podcast: Evaluating the PFA Player of the Year shortlist
■ Allardyce strikes again: Smart transfers help Crystal Palace revival
■ Predictions: Tottenham close the gap on Chelsea to five points
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Christian Eriksen, too, would be a worthy recipient of the prize, although his tendency to fly under the radar makes it difficult to envisage the Denmark international winning ahead of his aforementioned teammates.
On one level, this is curious. A natural creator who provides assists, scores goals and is capable of pulling the strings from several different positions is usually the type of player who attracts attention and plaudits. Yet the fact Eriksen carries out his duties with a minimum of fuss means he is often overlooked in conversations about the best players in the Premier League.
His understated personality and style should not preclude recognition of his sizeable contributions to Tottenham’s title tilt, though. Eriksen has scored seven times this season, while no player in the division has provided more assists (11) or made more key passes (77) than the former Ajax man.
Eriksen’s invention is his most impressive attribute and the one which carries the greatest importance for Mauricio Pochettino’s side. It is he who offers that moment of pause amid the fury of the Argentine’s high-tempo pressing game, with Eriksen adept at putting his foot on the ball and making things happen, even when a frenetic match is unfolding around him.
Eriksen, 25, is also intelligent when it comes to locating and exploiting pockets of space. Whether Tottenham are configured in a 4-2-3-1 or a 3-4-2-1 formation, Eriksen is able to locate holes in the opposition’s defensive structure, finding the gaps from where he can inflict maximum damage.
At the same time he is far from a passenger out of possession, as the man himself acknowledged in December.
"I have always been a runner. But the power, the aggression that he [Pochettino] really likes: that has probably changed a bit," Eriksen said in an interview with the Daily Telegraph.
“The style we play at Spurs, you need everyone to press, so it is difficult to just walk around ... if you played as a No 10 before, they could chill and do whatever. I don’t think that is possible any more.”
Eriksen is indeed a very modern playmaker. His primary function is to create scoring chances for his colleagues, but he also possesses the physical capabilities and, perhaps most significantly, the mentality to adhere to the rules of the collective. Eriksen has the technical ability of a luxury player without being a luxury.
"He has this great ability to make the team tick and also make his teammates look better," Pochettino told Spanish publication EFE in January.
“He is, without doubt, someone very special, a footballer who interprets, without needing to be told, what his teammates can do. He is the brain, the player who helps everyone else understand the game better.”
Southampton continue to do a ‘Southampton’
Southampton manager Claude Puel. Tony Marshall / Getty Images
It has been a fantastic two weeks for Southampton.
A hard-fought goalless draw with Bournemouth and back-to-back victories over Crystal Palace and West Bromwich Albion have lifted Claude Puel’s side into the top half of the table, with eighth place now well within their sights ahead of Saturday’s clash with Manchester City.
It may no longer be surprising, but Southampton’s ability to smoothly transition between managers remains highly impressive.
After ending the 2014/15 campaign in seventh spot and then going one better by finishing sixth last season, Ronald Koeman then departed the south coast club for Everton. As has now become customary, there were also some significant changes to the playing staff. Victor Wanyama, Graziano Pelle and Sadio Mane, all key players under Koeman, were sold, while Nathan Redmond, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Sofiane Boufal were among six new arrivals.
It took a few weeks for Puel to get his methods across — Southampton failed to win any of their first four fixtures — but slowly and surely they began to climb back up the table.
A 1-1 home draw with Hapoel Be’er Sheva was not quite enough for them to advance to the knockout stage of the Europa League, but Southampton supporters were at least rewarded with a famous victory over Inter Milan at St Mary’s Stadium.
There was more luck to be had in the League Cup, as Southampton beat Crystal Palace, Sunderland, Arsenal and Liverpool to reach the final at Wembley. They were probably the better team on the day, too, but a Zlatan Ibrahimovic-inspired Manchester United edged them out over 90 minutes.
Southampton’s focus is now firmly on the Premier League, where they have the chance to secure a fourth consecutive top-half finish for the first time in their history. That would be an excellent achievement for a club who appear to be in perpetual transition.
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