Mousa Dembele is the Premier League's surprise MVP

Ryan Bailey

There will be plenty of raised eyebrows if Premier League Player of the Season for 2017/18 does not fall into the hands of either Harry Kane, Kevin De Bruyne or Mo Salah. Given their incredible attacking contributions for their respective teams, this three-horse race is perfectly understandable.

But the real MVP of the EPL probably isn’t to be found on posters on bedroom walls. In fact, when you talk about his team, Tottenham, there are four or five other big stars whose names would precede his.

But the surprise MVP of this season is Mouse Dembele.

The tenacious Belgian midfielder has been the envy of elite managers for many years—and it has become abundantly clear that he is crucially important for Tottenham’s success.

His control of the game in the middle of the field—on both an attacking and defensive sense—makes him a completely unique prospect in the league.