Premier League 2016-17 review: player of the season

Welcome to theguardian.com review of the 2016-17 Premier League season. Now that the campaign has ended we would like you to help us choose your favourite goal, the best referee and the best manager, and other winners in a total of 10 categories. We have nominated some contenders but this is just to get the discussion going: we would like your suggestions so that we can compile the best into final polls that you can vote on. The polls will be published at midday on Wednesday 24 May, so please tell us what you think. Thanks

N’Golo Kanté

It would be no surprise – OK, maybe a little one – if the screensavers on the phones of Claudio Ranieri and Antonio Conte featured the smiling face of N’Golo Kanté. It sure helps a coach to come across as a genius if he has a player dynamic enough to play several roles at once. Kanté, the common link between the rise and fall of Leicester City and the renaissance of Chelsea, dominated Premier League midfields again this season, becoming the first outfield player since Eric Cantona to win back-to-back top-flight titles with different English clubs. No opposing team was at ease when Kanté was on the pitch, sabotaging their attempts to cobble together moves and then helping to assemble Chelsea’s attacks. He scored only one league goal in the campaign but it was a summary of his season and the way he overwhelmed more vaunted names, as his sharp thrust and finish in October’s 4-0 thrashing of Manchester United left Paul Pogba floundering.

Eden Hazard

Last season it took Hazard nearly nine months to spawn a league goal but this term he returned spectacularly to form. He netted against West Ham on the opening day of the season and remained a decisive influence throughout the campaign, especially after his manager adjusted the team’s formation to give Hazard maximum freedom to create. That adjustment came after a defeat by Arsenal in September, and the Belgian underlined its wisdom by scoring one of the goals of the season when Chelsea swotted aside the same opponents in February. The success of Chelsea’s system depended to a large extent on the unique ability of Hazard to unlock opponents, and he delivered with impressive consistency.

César Azpilicueta

His team-mates call him Dave for the sake of simplicity and he is a player with a knack for making everything seem effortless. The seamlessness of his switch from full-back to central defence was one of the keys to Chelsea’s solidity in the new formation introduced by Antonio Conte and helped bring the best out of David Luiz and make John Terry practically redundant. He was tough, smart and extremely reliable throughout the campaign. Azpilicueta is the legs of Chelsea’s back three, being faster than David Luiz and Gary Cahill, but he is also the brains, his impeccable defensive instincts having been honed by his experience of having played in a variety of defensive positions. Towards the end of the season he demonstrated his versatility by stepping into the wing-back role and scoring his first goal of the campaign with a crisp half-volley against Watford.

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Toby Alderweireld

Tottenham had the meanest defence in the league, especially at White Hart Lane, where they conceded only nine goals in 19 matches. There were several reasons for that – the excellence of the full-backs and the midfield screeners – but Alderweireld stood out as a leader. Not only was he commanding as a defender, being dominant in duels and exceptional with his positioning whether in a flat back four or a three-man defence, but he also initiated many attacks thanks to his splendid range of passing.

Dele Alli

The 21-year-old occasionally struggles to control his temper but over everything else on the pitch he has a precocious degree of mastery. He has the technique to wriggle or pass his way out of confined areas but his intelligence means he usually operates in open spaces, finding gaps against even the most vigilant opponents. His two goals in the victory over Chelsea in January were powerful evidence of that and also proved that he can finish as deftly with his head as with his feet. Tottenham placed a heavy responsibility on him to create and he shouldered it well, producing extraordinary consistency for such a young man.

Harry Kane

Despite being injured for a chunk of the campaign the striker surpassed the goal tally that had earned him the golden boot last season. He scores all types of goals and works right across the forward line, having a knack for eluding markers while also creating space for team-mates such as Dele Alli and Heung-min Son. Without possessing the physical qualities of Romelu Lukaku, Kane is more difficult for defenders to contain.