The 2015/16 Premier League season was one of the most unpredictable and exciting in the history of English football, and the annual PFA Team of the Year from that campaign shows just that.
Leicester City were crowned Premier League champions in one of sports greatest ever stories, whilst the likes of Arsenal and Tottenham surprisingly battled it out with the Foxes for the title, with both north London sides enjoying impressive seasons overall.
- Three players who could replace Fernandinho at Manchester City
- £166m superstar among best XI of under-23 free agents this summer
With Chelsea also finishing in 10th and Manchester United missing out on top four, it was a season that nobody could have predicted. But the question remains, where are those who were in the PFA Team of the Year now, and have their careers improved since that remarkable campaign.
GK – David de Gea
Current club: Manchester United
Despite not winning the Golden Glove award, David de Gea was arguably the best keeper in world football at this stage of his career, with the Manchester United number one producing numerous world-class performances for the Red Devils.
Still with the Premier League giants six years later, De Gea’s impact at United is stronger than ever, with the Spanish international set to play a key role in the new era of the club under incoming-manager Erik Ten Hag.
RB – Hector Bellerin
Current club: Real Betis
It might seem hard to think, but the 2015/16 campaign showed promise that Hector Bellerin could become one of the best right-backs in world football, with the Arsenal defender having a sensational season for the Gunners.
However, as we know, an ACL injury in 2018 hampered Bellerin’s pace, the quality that made the defender so dangerous down the wing, and the 26-year-old currently finds himself at Real Betis after leaving Arsenal last summer on loan, with a permanent move in the pipeline according to reports.
CB – Toby Alderweireld
Current club: Al-Duhail SC
The first of four Tottenham players in this PFA Team of the Year Toby Alderweireld alongside Jan Vertonghen was one of the best centre-back pairings in the Premier League for quite some time, and something Spurs fans will be desperate to have back.
Now 33 and playing in Qatar for Al-Duhail SC, the Belgian international will always be one of Tottenham’s best defenders in the Premier League era, as well as a player who could have remained in a Europe a bit longer had he not moved to the Middle East in 2021.
CB – Wes Morgan
Current club: Retired
The entire PFA Team of the Year could have been Leicester’s starting XI for the season, yet just the four players from the Foxes made it, with captain Wes Morgan taking the second centre-back spot.
Now retired after lifting the FA Cup last season, Morgan will go down in Leicester history as one of their greatest ever captains, with the former Jamaican international a rock for Claudio Ranieri’s side in the 2015/16 season on their way to the Premier League title.
LB – Danny Rose
Current club: Watford
Just like Bellerin, it’s easy to forget just how good Danny Rose once was, with the former England international one of the best left-backs in the Premier League and a key part of Tottenham’s incredible team under Mauricio Pochettino.
Sadly, since the 2015/16 season, things have only gone downhill for Rose, with the defender being very open about his battles with mental health and the fullback currently frozen out of Watford’s first team, who this year look set to drop down to the Championship.
RM – Riyad Mahrez
Current club: Manchester City
Leicester’s Premier League title win was one of the most incredible stories in English football, and the platform it elevated some players up to was life-changing, with Riyad Mahrez one of the biggest winners from the season.
Named the PFA Player of the Year and winning a £60m move to Manchester City two years later, Mahrez has continued to impress at the top since his breakout season six years ago, with the winger a regular under Pep Guardiola and a player who has delivered on the biggest of stages.
CM – Dele Alli
Current club: Everton
Oh Dele Alli, what on Earth happened to you. The former Tottenham star was this season named PF Young Player of the Year, yet fast-forward to now, and it seems crazy to think the same player was once so brilliant and so full of potential of becoming the next big thing in English football.
Sold to Everton this January for free, Alli looks like a shadow of the player that once lit up the Premier League for Spurs, and for many fans, they will be hopeful that the midfielder can return to his former glory in the coming years on Merseyside.
CM – N’Golo Kante
Current club: Chelsea
Another huge winner for Leicester during their title-winning season, N’Golo Kante was a revelation not just for the Foxes but for the Premier League as a whole, with the midfielder going on to join Chelsea just one year after moving to England and becoming a regular for France.
Now one of the best midfielders in the world, Kante’s impact on the position in recent years has been nothing short of incredible, and his debut year in the Premier League took the entire division by storm.
LM – Dimitri Payet
Current club: Olympique Marseille
West Ham under David Moyes have never looked better in the Premier League, but in their last season at Upton Park, it was Dimitri Payet who sat on the throne of east London, and what a player he was.
Arguably the signing of the season even above Kante at Leicester, Payet was a showman for West Ham as the Frenchman guided the Hammers to a sixth-place finish in what was an incredible season for the Irons, with the winger one of the most entertaining players to watch in the division by some margin.
ST – Jamie Vardy
Current club: Leicester City
Jamie Vardy had shown some promise in his debut season in the Premier League, but this campaign saw the striker reach a whole new level, with the Leicester legend becoming a terror for opposing defences for his breakneck pace and lethal finishing.
Whilst his impact this season with Leicester has lessened given the passing of time, Vardy still remains an incredibly potent forward, and his off the field personality has made the 35-year-old a Premier League cult hero.
ST – Harry Kane
Current club: Tottenham
After a goalless August, many thought Harry Kane was simply a one-season wonder after an explosive 2014/15 campaign that put the Tottenham striker on the map. 25 goals and a Golden Boot later, and we all know how things turned out for the now-England captain.
On pace to become Spurs’ record goalscorer as well as potential the new leading marksman in Premier League history, Kane’s finishing and overall play has made the Tottenham star one of the most dangerous attackers in football, and a player that Spurs can now simply not afford to lose.
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