Premier League team of the year: IBTimes UK writers select their best XI of the season

With the dust now settled on the 2016-17 Premier League campaign, IBTimes UK's sport writers can now begin dishing out the awards highlighting the best and the worst of the English top flight this season. The PFA Team of the Year seemed to adequately satisfy everyone, but we've each knocked together our best XIs for good measure.

Nick Howson

Representation of English players in the Premier League may have sunk to record levels this season, but some of the campaign's best players still herald from these isles. In Pickford, Keane, Alli, Bertrand and Kane you should have the spine of England's side at the 2018 World Cup.

It was a travesty to see my footballer of the year, Cesar Azpilicueta, omitted from the PFA Team of the Year but the Spaniard has been utterly outstanding for the champions.

Vertonghen just edged out team-mate Toby Alderweireld, while another workhorse Antonio Valencia was the definition of the style of play adopted by Jose Mourinho's Manchester United.

George Flood

There are not too many differences here with the official PFA Team of the Year, although I've had to bump the undeniably impressive Sadio Mane in order to make room for another centre-back in the imperious Toby Alderweireld. Alexis Sanchez and Gylfi Sigurdsson just miss out.

Jan Vertonghen could easily have made the cut alongside his Spurs defensive colleague, yet the remarkably durable Cesar Azpilicueta and surprisingly consistent David Luiz demand inclusion. The selections of N'Golo Kante, Dele Alli and the league's two top scorers are pretty self-explanatory and it has been a joy to see Hazard return to his frightening best after last season's alarming regression.

Tony Mogan

Danny Rose may not have played since the end of January, but it a testament to just how good he was that no one has surpassed his impact down the left from deep since then.

As a combination, Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen remain the best the league has to offer. While he can't quite contribute goals like Dele Alli does, Christian Eriksen now dictates everything good that Tottenham do with the calmness and precision of a player beyond his years.

To complete a Spurs spine, the Premier League's top scorer Kane leads the line, flanked either side by the uncontainable Eden Hazard and Alexis Sanchez. The Chile international firmly belongs in the category of the Premier League's elite; suggestions otherwise are baffling.

Rhod Cannon

Thibaut Courtois has returned to being the authoritative, imperious figure he can be, while Azpilicueta and Luiz have impressed with their consistency and well-rounded displays. Bailly is a true warrior and has Vidic-like tendencies, and has adapted to the Premier League with consummate ease.

The midfield simply could not be without Kante, a behemoth in the Chelsea engine room, who would complement the hard-working, creative Eriksen and the sparkling Alli. Mane and Sanchez take pride of place on the wings, while Lukaku and Kane, with almost 50 league goals between them, spearhead a rather attack-heavy team.

Eduardo Fernandez-Abascal

Harry Kane's absence is difficult to justify but no one can question that Alexis Sanchez and Romelu Lukaku deserve to be in the best attack of the Premier League. The Chile international has scored 24 goals and provided 11 more for his teammates despite playing in a depressing team. Lukaku meanwhile has netted 25 of the 62 goals scored by his Everton side to prove he can adapt both to the offensive style of Roberto Martinez and the pragmatism of Ronald Koeman. Kane has netted more than them but the help of Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen and Son Heung-min has also played a big role in those stats.

The presence of Eden Hazard, N'Golo Kante and Dele Alli in the midfield is obligatory. Sadio Mane, meanwhile, also deserves special recognition after shining even more than the talented Philippe Coutinho during his first season at Liverpool.

Meanwhile, the defence had to be formed entirely by Chelsea and Tottenham players after conceding only 33 and 26 goals respectively throughout the season. Yet, Marcos Alonso, Victor Moses, Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld could have been the chosen ones instead and the team would have continued working like a Swiss watch.