Who makes our PFA Team of the Year?

Updated 13/04/2016 at 12:18 GMT

The nominees for the Professional Footballers’ Association Player of the Year awards are announced on Wednesday, with ballot papers being posted back by Premier League players who have chosen their Player of the Year, Young Player of the Year and Team of the Year.

Team of the season

Image credit: Eurosport

Chelsea captain John Terry even shared his personal choice on Instagram, in an insight into the thinking of England's top players.

Terry’s selection had some unexpected aspects to it – no Dele Alli? Chris Smalling as a right-back? – but not as many as that of Graeme Souness, who in his own Team of the Year published at the weekend

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But who really deserves to be in the Team of the Year for the Premier League? Here’s the pick of the Eurosport office, which we generated using our Best11 tool. You can read our reasoning below.

Create your own Team of the Year with the Best11 tool and share on Twitter with #Best11. We will pick out some of the best to publish on Thursday.

GK: David De Gea (Manchester United)

David De Gea applauds the Manchester United fans

Image credit: Reuters

De Gea has been United’s best player again this season by a huge distance and his excellence between the posts has prevented Louis van Gaal’s underperforming side from slipping even further down the table than fifth. The Spaniard is surely the best shot-stopper in the division and boasts astonishing reflexes. His highlight reel of saves this season would be an example to any keeper.

RB: Hector Bellerin (Arsenal)

Arsenal's Hector Bellerin applauds their fans at full time

Image credit: Reuters

Arsenal’s season has fizzled out disappointingly but still, Bellerin’s electrifying runs from full-back have been one of the real positives to take for Arsene Wenger. Still just 21, Bellerin has one goal and five assists this season, the latter total being bettered only by Danny Rose with seven, and his pace and enthusiasm in attack provide Arsenal with a real threat.

CB: Toby Alderweireld (Tottenham)

Tottenham Hotspur's Belgian defender Toby Alderweireld celebrates scoring their second goal

Image credit: AFP

Alderweireld has enjoyed a wonderful debut season for Spurs after signing last summer and not only forged a formidable partnership with countryman Jan Vertonghen, but also seamlessly adjusted when new partner Kevin Wimmer came in to replace the injured Belgian. Tottenham have conceded five fewer goals than any other team in the league this season and there’s a good argument that Alderweireld is the best defender in the country.

CB: Wes Morgan (Leicester City)

Wes Morgan celebrates with Danny Drinkwater and Riyad Mahrez after scoring the first goal for Leicester City

Image credit: Reuters

This slot could easily have gone to Morgan’s partner in crime at Leicester, Robert Huth, as both have had outstanding individual campaigns in what is set to be the most remarkable team feat in English football history. However, Huth is a two-time Premier League winner with Chelsea and was a member of a Germany squad which came third at the 2006 World Cup. Morgan, by contrast, won the Championship with Leicester two years ago and was runner-up with Jamaica in the 2015 Gold Cup. His level of performance has risen dramatically this year.

LB: Danny Rose (Tottenham)

Danny Rose celebrates his goal

Image credit: Reuters

Mauricio Pochettino’s full-back rotation system has kept all his options fresh and Rose has taken a big leap forward this season, impressing with seven assists and some highly influential performances. He has also taken his chance to get into the England first XI ahead of the Euros and starting in France would be a deserved reward for a season in which he has supplied vital width and helped Spurs function in the high-energy style Pochettino is famous for.

RM: Riyad Mahrez (Leicester City)

Riyad Mahrez celebrates with team mates after scoring the first goal for Leicester

Image credit: Reuters

Mahrez’s season has been a masterpiece of brilliance and consistency. With 16 goals and 12 assists at the time of writing, only Jamie Vardy has combined for more goals in the Premier League and Mahrez has been making fools of defenders almost every week with his array of tricks. When Vardy went off the boil during the winter, it was Mahrez who powered Leicester on, and in the past five games he has scored crucial winners in 1-0 wins over Watford and Crystal Palace. His play from the wing has been devastating, and Leicester would not be top without it.

CM: Dele Alli (Tottenham)

Dele Alli celebrates after scoring the first goal for Tottenham

Image credit: Reuters

Sometimes a player emerges whose talent is so inescapable that there seems to be no stopping them. Alli is one of those players. Sir Alex Ferguson has compared the 20-year-old to Paul Gascoigne and Steven Gerrard says Alli is better than he was at the same age. The midfielder has eight goals and nine assists in the league this season as well as becoming the creative hub of the England team. He plays with hunger and fearlessness; he tackles, passes and scores goals; he is the future.

CM: N’Golo Kante (Leicester City)

Leicester's Ngolo Kante

Image credit: Reuters

In any normal season, Kante’s monumental performances in the deep of midfield would have ensured he was his club’s player of the season. Vardy and Mahrez’s spectacular campaigns mean that is unlikely to be the case at Leicester but they wouldn’t be able to play with such abandon without Kante dominating behind them. Watch a Leicester game and you would be forgiven for thinking Kante is one of three triplets in the Leicester team: he covers every blade of grass and hunts the ball relentlessly, with his ability to win possession being key to Leicester’s threat on the counter. Playing against him must be a nightmare; having him in your team is the best safety net in football.

LM: Dimitri Payet (West Ham United)

West Ham's Dimitri Payet celebrates scoring their second goal

Image credit: Reuters

When West Ham signed Payet from Marseille last summer they probably didn’t imagine the Frenchman would put himself on the same level as David Beckham and Gareth Bale, but such has been his excellence from free-kicks, he is in the conversation. Payet offers much more that set-piece wizardry though. His passing and technique are exemplary and he has the imagination to conjure up tricks and chances out of nothing. His nine goals and eight assists in the league have been the main factor behind West Ham’s Champions League push.

ST: Jamie Vardy (Leicester City)

Jamie Vardy celebrates a goal

Image credit: AFP

The story of the season? Most likely, given Hollywood producers are already putting together a film about Vardy’s incredible rise. You’ll know the details by now: former factory worker and Stockbridge Swifts player breaks a Premier League record by scoring in 11 consecutive matches. A double against Sunderland on Sunday means Vardy is just one behind Harry Kane in the top scorers' table but more importantly, his incisive centre-forward play is surely going to deliver the league title to Leicester. Vardy is the perfect outlet for his team’s counter-attacking style and is now a key man for his country too.

ST: Harry Kane (Tottenham)

Tottenham Hotspur's English striker Harry Kane celebrates scoring his team's first goal

Image credit: Reuters

Kane’s story almost rivals Vardy’s for implausibility. Many thought his 2014-15 campaign, when he scored 21 league goals, was an anomaly, but Kane has already gone one better with five games remaining this season and has morphed into one of the very best strikers in Europe. Kane is a natural talent with the capacity to score great goals as well as important goals. He has exhibited his impressive all-round talent this season and will only improve.

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