Football fans are outraged by Dele Alli’s omission from the PFA Player of the Awards shortlist.
Alli definitely has a case to be on the list of the Premier League’s best six players of the season. The 21-year-old has had a breakout season for Tottenham, scoring 16 league goals and earning recognition across Europe.
Instead, N’Golo Kante, Romelu Lukaku, Alexis Sanchez, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Eden Hazard and Harry Kane have all been nominated for the coveted individual prize.
Unsurprisingly, Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino believes Alli should have been on the shortlist.
"There are better players now and it's a better standard. In my opinion he deserved a place in the shortlist," Pochettino said, via the Evening Standard.
"After his first season people wanted to him perform again in his second season. He's not only confirmed that he's improved in all aspects in his game.
"He's clever and intelligent. He has the potential to improve and learn. Today he's shown he's one of the best players in the Premier League."
Impressive 2016-17 Young Player shortlist
The England international has had to settle for a place on the shortlist for the PFA Young Player of the Year, where he’s joined by Kane, Lukaku, Michael Keane, Jordan Pickford and Leroy Sane.
That’s not a bad group of players. Lukaku and Kane are the Premier League’s highest goalscorers, with 23 and 19 goals respectively; Keane made his England debut last month after shining for Burnley; and Sane has settled quickly to life at Manchester City.
It’s certainly an improvement on the list of youngsters who were nominated for the 2008-09 award.
While the main accolade was a battle between six heroes - Rio Ferdinand, Steven Gerrard, Ryan Giggs, Cristiano Ronaldo, Edwin van der Sar and Nemanja Vidic, with Giggs taking the prize - the list of players up for the Young Player award now looks hilarious.
2008-09 Young Player shortlist
Check out the six players below.
Gabriel Agbonlahor | Aston Villa
Jonny Evans | Manchester United
Stephen Ireland | Manchester City
Aaron Lennon | Tottenham Hotspur
Rafael | Manchester United
Ashley Young | Aston Villa
Young scooped the award and it must be said that he’s gone on to have the best career out of the six players.
Agbonlahor is now playing in the Championship while Rafael signed for Lyon in 2015. The other four are still in the Premier League but are certainly not world-beaters.