Tottenham striker Harry Kane joins Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi on Ballon d'Or shortlist

Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane is one of seven Premier League stars – and the sole Englishman – to be nominated for the latest edition of the highly prestigious Ballon d'Or award.

The prolific Spurs frontman has continued his inexorable rise in 2017, scoring 43 times in 37 outings for club and country to date. In addition to winning the top-flight Golden Boot for the second season in a row, Kane has also emerged as one of the favourites to be chosen as the next permanent England captain, after impressing in three appearances with the armband.

Joining the 24-year-old on this year's Ballon d'Or shortlist, which was gradually revealed in stages by France Football on Monday (9 October), is a pair of Liverpool attackers in Sadio Mane and Philippe Coutinho, remarkably consistent Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea and influential Chelsea playmaker Eden Hazard.

Hazard's teammate N'Golo Kante, currently nursing a thigh injury sustained on international duty with France, also makes the cut, along with Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne.

The usual suspects are all present and correct, with current holder Cristiano Ronaldo looking to win the individual honour for the fifth time overall and pull level with rival and fellow nominee Lionel Messi. Not for an entire decade has someone other than that superstar duo won the award for the best player in the world, with Kaka claiming that honour back in 2007.

The Ballon d'Or prize is now voted on by an international panel of 173 journalists after France Football announced their split from Fifa following a six-year partnership in 2016, with no three-man shortlist now necessary. The winner is due to be announced in December.

Messi, Neymar and Ronaldo were all named as the finalists for the Fifa Best Men's Player award last month. The latter proved to be the big winner of the inaugural Fifa 'The Best' Awards in Zurich, beating Messi and Antoine Greizmann to cap off a magnificent year in which he led Portugal to the Euro 2016 title and also scored the winning penalty for Real Madrid in the Champions League final.