The PFA Player of the Year nominees were revealed a matter of minutes ago.
Unsurprisingly, three of the six candidates belong to Premier League leaders Leicester City.
PFA Players’ POTY nominees: @dimpayet17, @HKane, @vardy7, @MesutOzil1088, N'Golo Kanté & @Mahrez22. #PFAawards pic.twitter.com/LwY4lqUT8M
— PFA (@PFA) April 13, 2016
Foxes hitman Jamie Vardy, chief playmaker Riyad Mahrez and box-to-box midfield engine N’Golo Kante are all up for the award.
The other nominees are Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane, who is currently the Prem’s leading goalscorer, Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil, who tops the assist charts with 18, and West Ham star man Dimitri Payet.
Frenchman Payet is joint-second in the assist stakes, level with Manchester City’s David Silva on 11.
Payet has also been West Ham’s most prolific scorer, with nine top-flight goals this term.
According to oddschecker.com, all bookmakers who were operating a market on the PFA Player of the Year award this year, had Mahrez as the odds-on favourite this morning, followed – in order – by Vardy, Kane, Payet and Ozil.
No bookie was even offering odds on Kante until he was shortlisted, but few can argue that his place among the nominees is deserved.
Based on stats provided by WhoScored.com, Kante has made 146 tackles, 134 interceptions, 83 blocks and 48 clearances in 2,570 minutes of Premier League action this term. He has also attempted 70 dribbles and completed 81.8% of his 1,237 passes. In summary, he is the heartbeat of Claudio Ranieri’s team.
SEE ALSO: Sweaty Sturridge makes horrible comparison between FIFA 16 and Liverpool’s game against Dortmund
As well as their library of statistics, WhoScored are also famous for the player ratings, which are based entirely on stats.
So, now seems like the perfect opportunity to use those ratings to rank the six POTY contenders.
6. Kane – Average Rating of 7.54
5. Vardy – average rating of 7.57
4. Kante – average rating of 7.59
3. Ozil – average rating of 7.67
2. Payet – average rating of 7.74
1. Mahrez – average rating of 7.81
The post PFA Player of the Year nominees ranked by stats: Kane and Vardy behind Arsenal star appeared first on CaughtOffside.
This post first appeared on CaughtOffside | Football Transfer Rumours, News And Gossip From The English Premier League And Beyond, please read the originial post: here
