Chelsea midfielder N'Golo Kante named PFA Player of the Year

Chelsea midfielder N'Golo Kante has won the Professional Footballers' Association Player of the Year award.

The 26-year-old Frenchman beat teammate Eden Hazard, as well as Tottenham's Harry Kane, Everton striker Romelu Lukaku, Manchester United's Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Arsenal's Alexis Sanchez to win the award.

It is the first time Kante has won the award. He was nominated for the prize last year but lost out to Leicester City forward Riyad Mahrez.

Tottenham midfielder Dele Alli took the Young Player of the Year award for the second successive year.

He beat his Spurs teammate Kane, Everton's Lukaku, Burnley defender Michael Keane, Sunderland goalkeeper Jordan Pickford and Manchester City winger Leroy Sane.

Signed from Leicester for a fee in the region of £30m ($38m) last summer, Kante has been a key figure in Antonio Conte's Chelsea team this season.

He has started 31 league games for the Blues, scoring one goal.

"It means the world to me. To be chosen as the Player of the Year is a great honour," Kante told Chelsea's official website.

Chelsea have a four-point lead over Tottenham at the top of the Premier League table, with six games left to play. They will face Arsenal in the FA Cup final at Wembley next month.

"It's good to still be in two competitions," said Kante. "We are going to fight for both and give our best to win these two competitions."

Alli, 21, is the highest-scoring player in the Premier League not recognised as a forward, with 16 goals.

"It's a huge honour to be voted the winner of the award again by my fellow players," he told Tottenham's official website.

"To win it back to back is something I'm truly proud of and I'm grateful to my teammates and everyone at the club as I couldn't have won it without them."

Manchester City's Lucy Bronze won the Women's Player of the Year award, while Birmingham City's Jess Carter, 19, was named Women's Young Player of the Year.

Former Manchester United and England midfielder David Beckham was given the PFA's Merit award for his services to the game.