Chelsea legend Frank Lampard admits he is surprised that Tottenham midfielder Dele Alli was not named on the six-man shortlist for the PFA Player of the Year award.
Alli missed out on a nomination, despite another superb season for Spurs in which he has so far scored 16 Premier League goals to help guide his side to second place.
But the 21-year-old has been overlooked, with Alexis Sanchez, Harry Kane, N’Golo Kante, Eden Hazard, Romelu Lukaku and Zlatan Ibrahimovic set to battle it out for the award, which will be announced on April 23.
There was widespread disagreement at Alli’s omission, and speaking on his Match of the Day debut on Saturday night, Lampard agrees that the England international ought to be in the mix for the top award.
‘Yes [Alli should be on the list]. I think the votes are too soon,’ Lampard told the BBC. ‘If you look at the six there, Sanchez – in a team that has had quite a negative season at the moment, Arsenal – his season has petered out a little bit.
‘I think with Dele Alli, his problem is that he had a weaker first half of the season, and maybe when the votes have gone in, we haven’t seen the form he’s been in of late.’
Lampard’s co-pundit Alan Shearer was in agreement, adding: ‘You would think with the technology today that the votes surely can be cast in the last week of the season.
‘Not in the middle of February, it’s crazy.’
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