Best defensive midfielders in Premier League

The highest-potential defensive midfielders in Premier League, ranked on Field Insider.

At a glance

N. Sadiki of Sunderland is the standout for raw talent across defensive midfielders in Premier League, with a Field Insider Rating of 95.1, and Casemiro has been the form player this season, grading 74.5.

The numbers a scout watches are the year-on-year jumps: João Palhinha has improved his Season rating most, up +51.2 on last season, while N. Sadiki's scouting Rating has risen fastest, +29.8 over the same span. Those are the players whose trajectory is bending upward fastest.

By our market-value index, R. Gravenberch of Liverpool is the most valuable name in this group at 188.

Sunderland · 24/25→25/26

Most improved

João Palhinha+51.2SsN

Tottenham · 24/25→25/26

50 players · ranked by best potentialCustomise →

#	Player	Team	Age	Season	Rating
1	N. Sadiki Defensive midfielder	Sunderland	21	344.8%	9545.6%
2	R. Gravenberch Defensive midfielder	Liverpool	24	6022.1%	945.9%
3	A. Scott Defensive midfielder	Bournemouth	22	47361.4%	9118.6%
4	A. Wharton Defensive midfielder	Crystal Palace	22	51134.9%	908.9%
5	J. Garner Defensive midfielder	Everton	25	65178.3%	9016.2%
6	K. Mainoo Defensive midfielder	Manchester United	21	2959.1%	899.7%
7	Y. Yarmolyuk Defensive midfielder	Brentford	22	42128.4%	899.8%
8	M. Caicedo Defensive midfielder	Chelsea	24	6118.5%	887.9%
9	L. Ugochukwu Defensive midfielder	Burnley	22	41±0%	845.1%
10	C. Baleba Defensive midfielder	Brighton	22	2256.7%	848.2%
11	A. Onana Defensive midfielder	Aston Villa	24	3624.9%	833.2%
12	M. Lewis-Skelly Defensive midfielder	Arsenal	19	575.4%	815.9%
13	Nico González Defensive midfielder	Manchester City	24	246.9%	8123.4%
14	T. Iroegbunam Defensive midfielder	Everton	23	33144.1%	816.3%
15	L. Bogarde Defensive midfielder	Aston Villa	22	1192.7%	794.1%
16	T. Mitchell Defensive midfielder	Crystal Palace	26	482.8%	7913.2%
17	Hugo Bueno Defensive midfielder	Wolves	23	40140.4%	7912.7%
18	João Gomes Defensive midfielder	Wolves	25	4810.4%	798.4%
19	Andrey Santos Defensive midfielder	Chelsea	22	2156.4%	7811.9%
20	André Defensive midfielder	Wolves	25	4018.9%	785.3%
21	S. Tonali Defensive midfielder	Newcastle	26	3035.9%	7615.8%
22	A. Mac Allister Defensive midfielder	Liverpool	27	4428%	7619.3%
23	F. Potts Defensive midfielder	West Ham	22	1849.2%	742.1%
24	M. Ugarte Defensive midfielder	Manchester United	25	1656.9%	736.4%
25	S. Magassa Defensive midfielder	West Ham	22	207.5%	722.6%
26	G. Gudmundsson Defensive midfielder	Leeds	27	329%	721.2%
27	D. Møller Wolfe Defensive midfielder	Wolves	24	1366.8%	717.8%
28	Bruno Guimarães Defensive midfielder	Newcastle	28	7114.1%	7121%
29	T. Adams Defensive midfielder	Bournemouth	27	4925.7%	7013.9%
30	Florentino Defensive midfielder	Burnley	26	415.1%	689.3%
31	S. Berge Defensive midfielder	Fulham	28	3349.8%	6510.2%
32	M. Mount Defensive midfielder	Manchester United	27	23133.3%	655.8%
33	Y. Tielemans Defensive midfielder	Aston Villa	29	5313.5%	6318.3%
34	V. Janelt Defensive midfielder	Brentford	28	4015.2%	6120.2%
35	A. Wan-Bissaka Defensive midfielder	West Ham	28	3657.5%	6027.2%
36	Douglas Luiz Defensive midfielder	Aston Villa	28	26402%	582.4%
37	A. Iwobi Defensive midfielder	Fulham	30	476.9%	5817.1%
38	D. Muñoz Defensive midfielder	Crystal Palace	30	600.5%	5623.1%
39	R. Bentancur Defensive midfielder	Tottenham	29	4649.2%	5512%
40	D. Kamada Defensive midfielder	Crystal Palace	29	2744.3%	5413%
41	S. Lukić Defensive midfielder	Fulham	29	376.6%	5320.7%
42	Bernardo Silva Defensive midfielder	Manchester City	31	4410.4%	5120.7%
43	L. Cook Defensive midfielder	Bournemouth	29	2941.6%	5130.6%
44	Rodri Defensive midfielder	Manchester City	30	333987.5%	518.6%
45	Y. Bissouma Defensive midfielder	Tottenham	29	1543.1%	4525.6%
46	T. Souček Defensive midfielder	West Ham	31	4322.1%	4324.8%
47	João Palhinha Defensive midfielder	Tottenham	31	59682.7%	431.7%
48	G. Xhaka Defensive midfielder	Sunderland	33	528.6%	3918.7%
49	R. Christie Defensive midfielder	Bournemouth	31	2538.9%	3832.5%
50	W. Hughes Defensive midfielder	Crystal Palace	31	1559.7%	3634.1%