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Centre Back: Nicolas Otamendi (Manchester City)
Perhaps more surprising than Manchester City winning the Premier League title was the fact that they did so by conceding the least number of goals. The Cityzens have fielded extremely strong sides in the past, but none had the defensive stability of this one.
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Prior to the season, this was a problem that was raised by many of City's doubters. But contrary to those opinions, Guardiola's defence has played lights out this season and the key figure in this was Nicolas Otamendi.
Besides his strong tackling and heading abilities that got him to Manchester in the first place, the Argentine international's ball skills have been impressive this season. Otamendi has scored four goals during this campaign, but it's his passing that has surprised everyone.
Otamendi has broken the record for most passes by a Premier League player in a season since 2005, when statistics started to be recorded. He has played 3,074 passes in 34 games, surpassing Fabregas old record of 2,829 from 2015/16.
While you could argue that playing passes is easy for a central defender in a team that was as dominant as Manchester City, it obviously isn't, as only one other player from the top 10 passers in history is a defender.
Otamendi's whoscored.com average rating of 7.16 may not be as impressive as some of his international counterparts, but his impact on City's emphatic title campaign simply can't be overlooked.
The Argentinian has proven his value to Pep Guardiola this season and has rightfully earnt his place in the PFA Team of the Year, as well as our European Team of the Season.
Honourable Mention: Jan Vertonghen (Tottenham Hotspur)
Vertonghen brought stability to Tottenham's defence when they needed it the most. After fellow Belgian defender Tobey Alderweireld fell out of favour with the club, Vertonghen needed to to be rock solid while Davinson Sanchez adapted to the new league.
However, Spurs' disappointing start to the campaign and Otamendi's consistency this season mean that the Belgian international just fell short of a spot in the team.
