Best Defensive defenders by Season Rating in Premier League

The best defensive defenders in Premier League, ranked on Field Insider.

Best defensive goalkeepers in Premier League Best defensive midfielders in Premier League Best defensive attackers in Premier League Best defenders in Premier League Most in-form defenders in Premier League Top-scoring defenders in Premier League

At a glance

J. Timber of Arsenal is the standout for raw talent across defenders in Premier League, with a Field Insider Rating of 97.3, and V. van Dijk leads the scoring with 6 goals.

The numbers a scout watches are the year-on-year jumps: J. Garner has improved his Season rating most, up +43.5 on last season, while M. De Cuyper's scouting Rating has risen fastest, +18 over the same span. Those are the players whose trajectory is bending upward fastest.

By our market-value index, J. Timber of Arsenal is the most valuable name in this group at 163.6.

Brighton · 24/25→25/26

Most improved

J. Garner+43.5SsN

Everton · 24/25→25/26

50 players · ranked by best defendersCustomise →

	Player	Team
1	J. Timber Full-back	Arsenal	25	81.8	8299%	975.3%
2	Gabriel Magalhães Centre-back	Arsenal	28	76.4	7699.5%	748.8%
3	J. Garner Defensive midfielder	Everton	25	65.7	66195.9%	9016.2%
4	W. Saliba Centre-back	Arsenal	25	63.4	6320.5%	885.2%
5	M. Senesi Centre-back	Bournemouth	29	59.5	60197.5%	658.7%
6	A. Truffert Full-back	Bournemouth	24	56.6	5716.7%	9619.2%
7	M. Guéhi Centre-back	Crystal Palace	26	55.8	5616.2%	808.5%
8	M. Lacroix Centre-back	Crystal Palace	26	54.2	540.7%	7810.2%
9	C. Romero Centre-back	Tottenham	28	54	54264.9%	672.5%
10	P. Hincapié Centre-back	Arsenal	24	53.8	5424.2%	851.5%
11	C. Richards Full-back	Crystal Palace	26	53.4	5372.3%	771.9%
12	N. Mukiele Centre-back	Sunderland	28	51.9	52216.5%	6910.9%
13	J. Tarkowski Centre-back	Everton	33	51	5111.8%	3818.4%
14	N. Williams Full-back	Nottingham Forest	25	49.7	5011.4%	853.4%
15	Rúben Dias Centre-back	Manchester City	29	49.6	5037.4%	6014.4%
16	J. Gvardiol Full-back	Manchester City	24	49.4	497.8%	963.2%
17	M. Wieffer Full-back	Brighton	26	49.1	4973.5%	815.5%
18	M. Kayode Full-back	Brentford	22	45.3	45566.2%	9320.3%
19	R. Calafiori Full-back	Arsenal	24	45.2	45124.9%	853%
20	J. van Hecke Centre-back	Brighton	26	45	4539.8%	827.2%
21	Reinildo Full-back	Sunderland	32	44.6	4587.4%	427.2%
22	V. Mykolenko Full-back	Everton	27	44.3	4416.1%	7214.3%
23	O. Alderete Centre-back	Sunderland	29	44.1	4418.2%	6111.8%
24	N. Collins Centre-back	Brentford	25	43.4	4311.6%	867.2%
25	C. Bassey Centre-back	Fulham	26	43.3	4394.2%	799.6%
26	Álex Jiménez Full-back	Bournemouth	21	42.9	4398.6%	9118.7%
27	J. Bogle Central midfielder	Leeds	26	42.3	4253.5%	775.8%
28	A. Khusanov Centre-back	Manchester City	22	42.3	4273.4%	8518.7%
29	Pedro Porro Full-back	Tottenham	26	42.1	4223.8%	788.5%
30	I. Konaté Centre-back	Liverpool	27	41.7	429.7%	7612.2%
31	M. Keane Centre-back	Everton	33	41.6	42122.5%	343.2%
32	L. Shaw Full-back	Manchester United	31	41.2	411044.4%	5128.1%
33	J. O'Brien Full-back	Everton	25	41.1	4179.5%	867.4%
34	J. Andersen Centre-back	Fulham	30	40.8	41385.7%	5414.7%
35	D. Ballard Centre-back	Sunderland	26	40.5	41189.3%	7823.2%
36	K. Tete Centre-back	Fulham	30	40.3	4048.7%	4716.8%
37	O. Aina Full-back	Nottingham Forest	29	39.7	4019.6%	5920.3%
38	Murillo Centre-back	Nottingham Forest	24	39.6	4032%	8112.8%
39	L. Dunk Centre-back	Brighton	34	39.3	39101.5%	338.6%
40	Hugo Bueno Defensive midfielder	Wolves	23	39.1	39135.5%	7912.7%
41	M. Cash Full-back	Aston Villa	28	38.5	3935.1%	715.1%
42	F. Kadıoğlu Full-back	Brighton	26	37.9	38474.2%	8213.2%
43	K. Mavropanos Centre-back	West Ham	28	37.3	3738.7%	6113%
44	J. Hill Centre-back	Bournemouth	24	37.3	37411%	8510.6%
45	R. Sessegnon Full-back	Fulham	26	37.2	37117.5%	770.7%
46	A. Robinson Full-back	Fulham	28	36.4	3613.9%	5928.9%
47	Marc Cucurella Full-back	Chelsea	28	36.1	3624.8%	6819.1%
48	M. Thiaw Centre-back	Newcastle	24	35.8	3626.5%	8915.3%
49	Cristhian Mosquera Full-back	Arsenal	22	35.3	351.4%	828.7%
50	N. Milenković Centre-back	Nottingham Forest	28	35.2	3531.8%	6722.1%