3 biggest snubs in PFA Player of the Year nominees

The PFA Player of the Year nominations have been announced ahead of April 23's ceremony at London's Grosvenor House hotel, but a few Premier League stars will be rightly perturbed at being tabled at the back of the room.

Unsurprisingly, bookmakers' favourite N'Golo Kante and Eden Hazard will vie for attention from their Premier League contemporaries. The pair have been pivotal in Chelsea's relentless hunt for English football's summit, and should go untroubled in their prize pursuit from the other candidates in Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Romelu Lukaku, Harry Kane, and Alexis Sanchez.

Related: Hazard, Kante favourites as PFA Player of the Year shortlist revealed

But some of those remaining four names are perhaps undeserving of their recognition from the Professional Footballers' Association. Here are the three biggest snubs from this season's shortlist:

Dele Alli

Undoubtedly the biggest snub is Dele Alli, the potent shadow of Kane in Tottenham Hotspur's attack, and one who seems to add new attributes to his game with each passing week.

This season, rather than simply being a lung-bursting box-to-box talent, he's also shown he's an intelligent infiltrator of space and can spring to heights previously fathomed by only Peter Crouch at White Hart Lane to bury a header.

He's recorded the same amount of assists as Hazard, but has scored two more goals despite making one less league start. However, he has been mystifyingly left off the six-man shortlist for the top player award.

He's the firm front-runner to pick up back-to-back honours in the Young Player category - a feat that would mean a Spurs player has won that section in five of the last six years - but his achievements also merit a nod for the senior gong.

Roberto Firmino

Perhaps it's because of his questionable haircut and blinding-white teeth, but Roberto Firmino isn't particularly fashionable and doesn't earn the praise he deserves as the central figure of Liverpool's front three.

True, the fleet-footed Philippe Coutinho and rapid Sadio Mane may be easier on the eye, but Firmino's contributions are key to Jurgen Klopp's designs on Merseyside.

The 25-year-old has pocketed 10 efforts and laid on six goals for his colleagues - a good return, yet not world-beating - but his invaluable strength honed in Germany, smart pressing, and excellent positioning is evidenced in how many tackles he chips in with. At 1.6 successful challenges per 90 minutes, he shares that rate with Ragnar Klavan and Joel Matip, and is better than Dejan Lovren.

He can also vault ahead of Coutinho and Mane in the reckoning simply because he's been more involved. Firmino could finish the season having played nine more league matches than Mane, and is five ahead of Coutinho.

Marcos Alonso

Amid the excitement surrounding the return of David Luiz to Chelsea, Marcos Alonso's late-summer arrival was met with minimal fanfare.

Besides, what was there to get excited about? Wasn't he just an average footballer who failed to make the grade at Real Madrid? Didn't he struggle for minutes behind Mark Davies and Nigel Reo-Coker at Bolton Wanderers? He played regularly at left-back - wasn't that the excellent Cesar Azpilicueta's position?

It turns out those doubts had no basis on reality, and, when Antonio Conte moved his pieces into a 3-4-3 shape, Alonso has staked a claim to be the finest versatile player in this season's Premier League.

At left wing-back he's been colossal wearing down the left side of the park, covering miles while maintaining incredible tactical discipline. At one end of the field, he's dropping deep to help forge a stingy back five; at the other end, he's dizzying right-backs with decoy runs that open up precious space for Hazard.

In a side that has been blessed with sublime individual performances, it's easy to be overlooked when you're not piling in with a remarkable amount of goals or tackles, but Alonso's extraordinary consistency deserves recognition.

(Photos courtesy: Action Images)