So another year is almost over and what a year it has been: 2016 will go down as one of the most remarkable we’ve seen in football after the 5,000-1 title triumph of Leicester City. Claudio Ranieri’s heroes will never be forgotten.
They have been the outstanding achieving team of the past 12 months, but as this is my penultimate column before the new year, I want to hand out some other awards that show, once again, that no other domestic competition comes close to matching the excitement and drama of the Premier League.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: N’GOLO KANTE (Chelsea)
He doesn’t score many goals or provide many assists — he scored just one in 2016 and only created another two — but there hasn’t been a more influential player in the league.