Three members of the Foxes’ title-challenging
squad have been named among the candidates
to be crowned the Premier League’s best
footballer in the 2015/16 campaign.
Jamie Vardy, Riyad Mahrez and N’Golo Kante
have been nominated for the PFA Player of the
Year award thanks to their starring roles in Leicester City’s remarkable Premier League title bid.
Leicester sit seven points clear at the top of the
table with just five games to go, and the consistently outstanding trio of Vardy, Mahrez and Kante have been recognised by their peers
with places on the six-man shortlist, which was announced on Wednesday.
Tottenham are Leicester’s closest challengers for the title following an excellent season under Mauricio Pochettino.
Harry Kane has been the driving force behindtheir impressive campaign and has received nominations in both the senior and Young Player
of the Year categories, with West Ham’s Dimitri Payet and Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil completing the shortlist for the senior award.
Vardy passed the 20-goal mark in the Premier League with a brace as Leicester won 2-0 at Sunderland on Sunday, while Mahrez has
registered 16 goals and 11 assists to act as the perfect foil for the England international.
Kante, meanwhile, has been a revelation for
Claudio Ranieri’s team in central midfield.
Spurs forward Kane is the Premier League’s top
scorer with 22 to his name – one more than
Vardy – while playmaker Payet has enjoyed a
wonderful debut term in England, establishing
himself as the division’s most-feared free-kick
specialist.
Ozil’s influence at Arsenal is best shown in his
tally of 18 assists, which leaves him just two
short of Thierry Henry’s record of 20 from 2002-03.
PFA Players’ POTY nominees:
Dimitri Payet
Harry Kane
Jamie Vardy
Mesut Ozil
N’Golo Kante
Riyad Mahrez
PFA Young Player of the Year :
Dele Alli
Harry Kane
Jack Butland
Philippe Coutinho
Romelu Lukaku
Ross Barkley
