Toby Alderweireld will rightly win Tottenham Hotspur’s Player of the Season come May. And yet in a season in which I, as well as most other Spurs fans, have run out of superlatives for the Belgian, he is not being spoken of in relation to the PFA Player of the Year award.

Alderweireld has helped to fix Spurs’ defence. Last year we conceded 53 league goals and were defensively chaotic. Our press was often ineffective, our central midfield was often porous, and our centre-back pairing was often – well, it often contained Federico Fazio or Vlad Chiricheș. Naturally you would think that if you were to fix one of these problems you might see improvement. If you were to fix two of these problems, you might expect even greater improvement. As we have fixed all three, it would seem only right that the defensive improvement would be significant. But that seems to underplay the influence of Alderweireld, our best centre-back since club legend, Ledley King.

So far this season Spurs have conceded just 24 goals in 30 matches and have kept 10 clean sheets. In those 30 matches, Alderweireld has played every minute – 2700 in total, more than any other Spurs player. Like King was for all those years, he has been a calming presence in the middle of defence, leading by example rather than by throwing his body on the line. He is not John Terry; he is not Belgium’s Brave Toby Alderweireld. In fact, he only averages 1.6 attempted tackles per 90 minutes and has only picked up three yellow cards all season.

Don't think there have been many games this season where Alderweireld wasn't a contender for MOTM. Virtually flawless again today. — Bankrupt (@bankruptspurs) March 13, 2016

Alderweireld’s key defensive attributes are two-fold. Firstly, he has a natural knack of being in the right place at the right time. He is one of those players who seems to almost attract the ball at times, and that is a difficult skill to hone. He knows when to mark a man, and when to simply position himself in key areas where the ball is likely to end up. He also leads the defensive line with a calm authority which belies the fact that he is not one to rant or rave. He pushes us up to halfway, he controls the offside trap, he organises us.

It is no surprise that his presence has led to significant improvements in those around him. Jan Vertonghen to his left was playing his best football for the club prior to picking up an injury, Kyle Walker to his right has returned to his best form, and Eric Dier ahead of him has been wonderfully dependable in his new central midfield role.

It is not just his defensive attributes that have stood out. As you might expect from a player that was with the Ajax Academy between the ages of 15 and 19, his ability on the ball is impressive. His diagonal cross-field passes were attracting attention at the beginning of the season, when he would switch play neatly from one side of the pitch to the other, and we would gleefully comment from the stands on the likeness to Michael Dawson’s long-range passing (which was underrated, as it happens). But then he started playing the long-balls a little straighter, and twice in the space of a month he set up Dele Alli to score – first against West Bromwich Albion, and then against Everton. In both cases he effortlessly dropped the ball between defenders and goalkeeper, and in the case of the West Brom goal, Alli didn’t even have to take a touch, such was the immaculate weight of pass. Swoon.

Alderweireld is a proper footballer. He regularly played in central midfield for Southampton last season, and has played right-back relatively often in his career too, including for the Belgian national team. He gives the impression of being unflappable wherever he ends up on the pitch -- be it pushing up into midfield in possession, being the last man on a counter, or marshalling the defence from a set piece.

Apart from in the second Premier League game of our season in which Alderweireld conceded a penalty against Stoke City, he has been as close to perfect as one could expect – a Man of the Match contender more often than not, and the most consistent performer for the club across a supremely impressive Premier League season.

That he is not in the running to win the PFA Player of the Year award is unsurprising in the context of the season. Romelu Lukaku, Jamie Vardy, and Harry Kane have played over and above what will have been expected of them to varying degrees. Riyad Mahrez and Dimitri Payet have been creative geniuses. Ross Barkley and Dele Alli have given England a new ‘Gerrard/Lampard’-style conundrum. N'Golo Kanté has been a Duracell Bunny crossed with Claude Makélélé. And a couple of Gooners have done alright in fits and starts too. Plus, it’s worth remembering that defenders don’t seem to win this award – John Terry was the last to do so in 2004/5. In an age where defending is oft-criticised, though, Alderweireld should be spoken of as a potential winner and his form and ability recognised. Though if his form continues, he might well be lifting another trophy come the end of the season regardless.

Follow Chris on twitter at @WindyCOYS and read his Spurs musings at Windycoys.com