1. Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City) 
Signed for: £55m in 2015
Current Market Value: £135m
If Jose Mourinho had not benched Kevin De Bruyne at Chelsea for games on end, Manchester City may never have won the Premier League title with a record 100 points last season.
Such was De Bruyne’s determination to prove him wrong that he first left Stamford Bridge for the Bundesliga where he won Player of the Year before returning to England to sign for City in a then-club record £55m.
Under Pep Guardiola, the Belgian found another gear and he absorbed everything his manager asked him to do to build a successful midfield partnership with David Silva despite both players being technical no.10s.
Under Guardiola, he has 14 goals and 34 assists in the league. If not for a certain Egyptian’s record-breaking form at Anfield, De Bruyne was a shoo-in for Player of the Year last year.
2. Paul Pogba (Manchester United)
Signed for: £89.5m in 2016
Current Market Value: £81m
Before PSG changed the transfer market for good, Paul Pogba was the most expensive player after Manchester United paid Juventus £89.5m to bring him back to Old Trafford.
The French midfielder was given a contract worth an eye-watering £290,000 per week and had a good first season, helping United achieve their first goal – returning to the Champions League.
But reported friction between the World Cup winner and manager Jose Mourinho has seen some inconsistent displays from the midfielder in recent months. A trophyless 2017/18 campaign only made the criticism worse.
This season, with club captain Antonio Valencia injured, many have questioned whether Pogba is mature enough to be given the armband. He led United out of a pickle a few times last season, but questions remain whether he will be the first to leave or Mourinho.
3. N’Golo Kante (Chelsea)
Signed for: £30m in 2016
Current Market Value: £72m
It’s not often that a player in the defensive half wins Player of the Year in the Premier League. but N’Golo Kante did. The last player to do so was John Terry in 2004/05. Since then it has always gone to a forward or goalscoring midfielder until Kante won it in 2016/17.
The French midfielder is very shy off the pitch (he needed a teammate to request players to hand him the World Cup trophy, for crying out loud) but, on the pitch, he is the exact opposite.
After helping Leicester City win the league in what was supposed to be an outdated 4-4-2 formation where midfielders were always outnumbered, Kante did it again with Chelsea in a different system.
If a club were to try and sign him, especially with Chelsea ready to offer him £290,000 a week in a new deal, expect a price tag of over £90m.