Harry Kane and Dele Alli have both received nominations for the Professional Footballers’ Association awards. The former is up for both the Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year while the latter is only in contention for the Young Player of the Year.

This is the second season running that both Tottenham Hotspur Players have been nominated for these awards, while Kane was also in the running for Young Player of the Year in his break through season (2014/15). Kane won the award that season before loosing his title to his teammate last season.

Kane is up against fellow strikers Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Romelu Lukaku as well as Alexis Sanchez, and Chelsea duo Eden Hazard and N’Golo Kante for the Player of the Year award. Meanwhile he joins Dele Alli in the nominees for the YPOTY award. The duo will have to fight of rising stars Jordan Pickford and Leroy Sane as well as Micheal Keane. Romelu Lukaku is also up for the award.

The winners will be announced on the 23 of April and are voted for by members of the Association.

Why do they deserve it?

Despite missing a large section of the season due to ankle ligament damage Kane is still in the race for the golden boot. The striker has scored 19 goals in the English Premier League this season putting him second in the race, despite having played over 800 minutes less than leader Romelu Lukaku. Kane returned from injury on the weekend as the Lilywhites hosted Watford. The striker came on at the hour mark and was unlucky to not get on the score sheet, as his powerful free kick in the last kick of the game hit the crossbar. With seven games left in the season the Englishman could still win the prestigious award.

Dele Alli on the other hand has had an incredible second season at White Hart Lane. With 16 league goals to his name in 30 appearances, the 21-year-old is a stand out to win the award for the second season running. The midfielder has been involved in 40 league goals in 63 appearances for Spurs. Alli has also been praised for his movement around the pitch, ghosting into the opposition’s area either creating space for his teammates or exploiting it for himself. His ability to break the lines with powerful, perfectly timed runs, paired with his instinctive finishing has been used widely to Tottenham’s advantage.

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