12 Best Midfielders in the Premier League Right Now (2024)

The Premier League has been home to some of the best midfielders in the world over the years. Patrick Vieira, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, Roy Keane and Paul Scholes are just a handful of names that come to mind when discussing those who have patrolled the middle of the park since the league’s inception in 1992. That quintet, of course, have long since retired, and there is now a new batch of star names in England’s top tier.

The Premier League is the top league in the world, and thus, some of the very best talents on the planet tend to flock to the division. There is a vast array of impressive midfield players plying their trade in England’s top flight, and picking the best of the bunch is not an easy task by any means. But who are the current top midfielders in the division?

Below is an attempt to answer that question. Be warned – this list is only our opinion and is not definitive. A whole host of factors have been taken into consideration when formulating the standings below. It also has to be considered that some midfielders are more defensive-minded, while others are tasked with making more telling contributions going the other way. The following factors have been taken into account when making this list.

Ranking Factors

• Their current form – how well they are performing throughout the 2024/25 season.
• How well they performed throughout the entirety of the 2023/24 season.
• Their status compared to other midfielders in the English top flight – where do they stand in the pecking order?
• Injuries – any sustained periods on the sidelines were taken into consideration.
• Overall importance to their respective teams – how well do their sides perform with/without them?
• Success – how successful they have been at their current sides, both collectively and individually.

Best Midfielders in the Premier League in pictures

1 Rodri

Manchester City

One of two Manchester City players at the top of this list, Rodri has barely been out of the side since his switch to the Etihad Stadium from Atletico Madrid in 2019, and despite a recent ACL injury curving his progress, he’s still perhaps the most influential player in the league right now. Pep Guardiola’s side had long been looking for Fernandinho’s long-term replacement, and they found their man in the Spain international. Playing in a Diego Simeone team was perhaps the perfect preparation for the physicality of the Premier League, and Rodri has seldom, if ever, looked out of place.

Despite being a defensive midfielder, he still managed to contribute eight goals and nine assists for his side in the 2023/24 season and weighed in with the all-crucial winning goal in the Champions League final the campaign before to seal the historic treble. Rodri is, inarguably, one of the best defensive-minded midfielders in the world, able to dictate the tempo of the game from deep while getting stuck in and breaking up a flood of opposition counter-attacks.

2 Kevin De Bruyne

Manchester City

Kevin De Bruyne would probably have topped this list at any time across the past decade, such has been his influence and consistency for City, but he settles for a silver medal on this list. The Belgian has a knack for casting a spell on supporters and, indeed, opposition defences when he is in possession. Undoubtedly the best Belgian player in Premier League history, De Bruyne has left City fans with so many memorable moments during his time at the Etihad Stadium.

Barring an injury-struck 2023/24, he racked up more than 15 Premier League assists in three different campaigns and has also found the back of the net at a healthy rate. The four strikes he managed against Wolverhampton Wanderers towards the end of the 2021/22 term were an example of how he can take the game by the scruff of the neck. By the time he is finished, he may not only be one of the best current midfielders in the league, but perhaps the greatest it has ever seen.

3 Martin Odegaard

Arsenal

For years, it seemed as if Martin Odegaard would fail to deliver on the early promise that saw him become Real Madrid’s youngest-ever player and a goalscorer in the Norwegian top flight at the age of just 15. However, strong loan spells at Heerenveen and Real Sociedad gave him a platform to showcase his ability, and Arsenal moved to sign him permanently after a short stint on loan for the second part of the 2020/21 season.

He has only been at the Emirates Stadium for three-and-a-half years, yet he is already the club captain and one of the Premier League’s best players. Odegaard has been the orchestrator of many of their attacks during the last two seasons, as the north London outfit have become one of the most dominant sides in the league. He is at home playing under Mikel Arteta, and the £30m Arsenal paid for his services looks to have been an absolute bargain.

4 Declan Rice

Arsenal

It is sometimes easy to forget that Declan Rice is just 25 years of age, given the leadership and authority he displays on the field. Without him, West Ham United would probably not have been a European outfit. After making his debut in east London, he became a key player for his side and is unsurprisingly included in their greatest-ever academy XI. He has always been blessed with strength and a strong understanding of the game, but his clear improvement in possession is the result of hard work and dedication.

Having ended his Hammers career with a Europa Conference League win in Prague, Rice decided to join a title-challenging team in the form of Arsenal. The Gunners faced stiff competition to sign the Englishman from other top clubs, but Arteta’s side securing his signature has proven to be one of the best bits of business last term. Exerting his influence in the engine room already, Rice was crucial to the Gunners’ duo of title charges on the bounce, even though they fell just short of the mark on both occasions.

5 Bernardo Silva

Manchester City

Pep Guardiola’s man for the big occasion, Bernardo Silva, is one of the integral cogs in Manchester City’s winning machine and, despite not getting the plaudits he deserves, the magician is, easily, one of the most technically gifted players currently plying their trade in the English top division. Blessed with an uncanny velcro touch and unrivalled stamina, the Portuguese scamp can slot into any position across the middle third of the pitch without any qualms.

Bernardo has dropped deeper than Rodri, drifted wider than Phil Foden and charged beyond Kevin De Bruyne as one of the modern game’s luxury utility players. Hailed by Guardiola as “unique” and simply “the best”, the controlling midfielder’s appreciation of a match’s rhythm isn’t captured by the cold hard numbers of goals and assists. A whole collection of major trophies during his City career is a more flattering figure.

6 Alexis Mac Allister

Liverpool

Alexis Mac Allister has sprung into life and has come into his own on the red half of Merseyside. He has rapidly adapted to Liverpool’s style of play seamlessly after transferring over from Brighton & Hove Albion – despite often being utilised in unfamiliar territory: the number six role. Screening the defence was not part of the Argentine’s duties on the south coast, with him more likened to their creative hub, but that has changed since his well-earned move following Argentina’s World Cup triumph.

Having arrived for £35 million during the summer of 2023, Liverpool were keen to revamp their engine room ahead of a title challenge in Jurgen Klopp’s final season as Reds boss. Considered one of the German tactician’s best-ever bargains, the 2022 World Cup champion will be looking to provide a winning mentality in the first campaign under Arne Slot’s fresh stewardship at Anfield, as the Reds sit atop the Premier League table after 10 games.

7 Bruno Fernandes

Manchester United

There are few midfielders that have joined the Premier League and made the impact that Bruno Fernandes has at Manchester United. The Portuguese star, who moved to Old Trafford in January 2020, has been a major success for the Red Devils, providing a bucket load of both goals and assists, while remaining their creator-in-chief at all times. His first full season in the Premier League saw the midfielder score 18 goals and bag 11 assists from the middle of the park.

His offensive flair has been crucial for a side that’s lacked a little firepower at times, and it’s hard to imagine where the club would have wound up if it wasn’t for his impact in midfield. Having reached double figures in goals in all four of his seasons at the Theatre of Dreams so far, the 30-year-old’s influence on the team was heightened in 2023/24 after being appointed the Manchester-based outfit’s first team captain. His performances so far in 2024/25 haven’t lived up to the lofty standards he has set himself in the past, but he’s still vital to the Red Devils.

8 Ryan Gravenberch

Liverpool

After enduring a tricky latter half of the 2023/24 season under old chief Jurgen Klopp, Ryan Gravenberch has been sensational under Arne Slot this term. The Dutchman wasn’t expected to be a regular starter but has slotted into the number six role alongside Mac Allister perfectly.

The running power of the Netherlands international is incredible, which he’s shown many times with driving runs through the heart of opposing teams. Gravenberch has stepped up to the plate after Slot’s men missed out on top transfer target Martin Zubimendi for the role at the base of the Reds’ midfield. The confidence and calmness of his displays in the engine room have been a breath of fresh air for supporters as he shows signs of turning back the clock to his Ajax heyday.

9 Moises Caicedo

Chelsea

Moises Caicedo was on the receiving end of plenty of criticism during his debut season in Chelsea colours. As the most expensive signing in the league’s history, there were huge expectations placed on his young shoulders to tighten up a leaky Blues midfield instantly.

Despite a tricky start to life at Stamford Bridge, the Ecuador destroyer picked up his performances immensely towards the end of last season. Caicedo has been a regular fixture of Enzo Maresca’s new regime at the club and has gone from strength-to-strength in west London, most recently locking down the midfield and grabbing a goal against Manchester United.

10 Bruno Guimaraes

Newcastle United

Bruno Guimaraes is indispensable to Eddie Howe and his entourage – it’s as simple as that. The Newcastle United midfielder – signed for £33.3m plus around £6.5m in add-ons, per Sky Sports – has been heavily involved in the club’s resurgence. Not only was he integral to their Champions League-securing campaign, but the Brazil international has been worthy of his fee throughout the entirety of his Magpies career.

The fact that the likes of Manchester United were keeping tabs on the former Lyon man before his move to England speaks volumes of his talent – and fans have seen that up close and personal since his move. Guimaraes is arguably the player who kick-started Newcastle’s recent transformation and the Brazilian is, without a doubt, one of the most influential midfielders in the division.

11 James Maddison

Tottenham Hotspur

Leicester City struggled throughout the 2022/23 season and eventually met their fate with relegation, but James Maddison was a bright spark throughout. His red-hot run of form piqued the interest of Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur, who quickly swooped in and captured the England international during the summer of 2023 and neither party have looked back since.

Maddison started his Spurs career in scintillating form, leading the north Londoners to the Premier League summit with nine direct goal contributions from the first 10 games of the campaign. Fully warranting a place in an early Premier League Team of the Season in 2023/24, the riotous form of Maddison and Tottenham as a whole was cut short by a significant hamstring injury in November. The wandering conductor returned to fitness in the new year to reclaim his place at the epicentre of Ange Postecoglou’s plans, and he’s continued to assert his dominance this season – this time behind compatriot Dominic Solanke, as he’s helped himself to three goals and three assists in the first 10 games, despite rotating between a starting spot and the bench.

12 Kobbie Mainoo

Manchester United

Widely considered as Carrington’s most exciting product since Marcus Rashford emerged to become a first-teamer, Stockport-born Kobbie Mainoo is the epitome of an old head on young shoulders and has walked down the well-trodden path into first-team proceedings. A fruitful 2023/24 pre-season campaign saw him catch the eye of boss Erik ten Hag, but an ankle injury saw him sidelined for the start of the campaign.

Upon his return, he set Old Trafford alight. A scorer of some crucial goals in an otherwise turbulent season, Mainoo gave the Red Devils something to be excited about, notching three goals and a solitary assist throughout. Able to soak up pressure and bypass the opposition with what seems like relative ease, the sky is the ceiling for the youngster, as long as he can keep injuries as far away from him as possible.

Statistics provided by Transfermarkt. Correct as of 03/11/2024.