Ranking every Premier League team's midfield from worst to best | OneFootball

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The key to any great football team is having a strong core in the middle of the park. Whether it be two centre midfielders or a trio, fortifying the squad with a strong midfield is vital to any team who wants to excel.

The ability to link up play between the defence and the attack can have a huge impact on a side's fortunes on the pitch. On top of that, the engine room will consist of some of the hardest working players in a team, individuals who have to get up and down the pitch to help in all areas.

Several Premier League teams have made big changes to their midfield this summer, with some signing multiple players to give their team a refresh. So, with that in mind, let's have a look at the starting midfielders for all 20 Premier League teams and rank them from worst to best.

20 Luton Town - Marvelous Nakamba & Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu

On paper, Luton Town have the weakest squad in the entire Premier League and their midfield is no different. Having come up from the National League with the club, Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu is the first player to climb the ranks of English football to that magnitude with the same club and has earned a chance in the top flight.

It remains to be seen whether he has the ability to succeed in the Premier League, though. Nakamba signed for the side from Aston Villa in the summer after a successful loan spell last season, but having struggled to make things work for the midlands club in the top flight, it's a lot to ask for the 29-year-old to do any better at the Hatters.

19 Sheffield United - Vinicius Souza, Oliver Norwood & Gustavo Hamer

Sheffield United made their midfield significantly weaker after selling Sander Berge to fellow Premier League newboys Burnley. The Blades may have ranked a little higher if they'd have held on to the talisman, but with Souza and Hamer only arriving at the club in the last couple of weeks, the jury is still out on the club's three-man midfield with the pair lining up alongside Norwood.

With that being said, Hamer's debut goal offers optimism at least, but the lack of top flight experience in the middle is why they rank so low right now.

18 Wolverhampton Wanderers - Mario Lemina, Joao Gomes & Matheus Nunes

Similarly to Sheffield United, Wolvermapton Wanderers' sale of Ruben Neves this summer has seriously hurt the club's midfield. The star had been a standout performer for Wolves, and they will struggle to fill the hole he's left behind this season.

Having struggled in the Premier League once before at Southampton, Lemina joined Wolves in January and has been fine enough, but failed to really uproot any trees just yet. Similarly, Gomes joined the side in January and while he has bags of potential and is still fairly young, he hasn't really impressed too much just yet. And with Nunes sent off against Brighton recently, their trio do not look too convincing.

17 Fulham - Harrison Reed, Sasa Lukic & Andreas Pereira

While Fulham largely exceeded expectations last season, it wasn't entirely down to having a particularly strong midfield, with Reed, Lukic and Pereira not the strongest trio in the league.

While the former has been at Craven Cottage for some time and has become a serviceable player for the side, he hasn't really made headlines in the top flight. Lukic only joined the club in January, and with just 14 Premier League appearances to his name, his experience and track record aren't quite on par with some of the other tandems we have later on in this list. Pereira is a bright spark for the Cottagers, with 10 goal contributions in the league last season, but that's not enough to rank them any higher here.

16 Bournemouth - Ryan Christie, Joe Rothwell & Philip Billing

With Lerma leaving the club (more on him later) Bournemouth's midfield took a step back over the summer and while Rothwell is a fine player in his own right, he won't have quite the same impact on the Cherries' midfield. The former Blackburn Rovers man is actually more suited to playing further forward.

Along with Billing and Christie, the trio will have their work cut out for them this season, but with the club's impressive transfer recruitment in other areas, they should be fine.

15 Everton - Idrissa Gueye, Amadou Onana & Abdoulaye Doucoure

Everton are in a bit of a mess at the moment, and it seems even with a three-man midfield as formidable at this one, they're still going to struggle.

After several incredible years at Goodison Park, Gueye left the club for Paris Saint-Germain, before returning in 2022, but things haven't gone quite as smoothly during his second stint at the club. Doucoure has been a fine, if not particularly outstanding player following his move to the side, while Onana is still fairly young and had a fairly decent debut season in the Premier League last time out.

With Sean Dyche in charge, the emphasis on the club's defence will likely be increased and if they're to stay in the top flight, these three will need to step their games up significantly. It remains to be seen whether they are capable just yet, though.

14 Nottingham Forest - Danilo & Orel Mangala

With the amount of midfielders currently at Nottingham Forest, it's hard to gage who will be the club's starting midfielders this season, but going off the opening couple of games, it seems Danilo and Mangala have that honour right now.

Both men joined the club last season following Forest's return to the Premier League, and they've done a decent enough job in the midfield since. Both still fairly young, with the former just 22 years old and the latter 25, time is on their side and they will only get better from here on out.

13 Burnley - Sander Berge & Josh Cullen

The decision to let Berge leaving Sheffield United for Burnley is a baffling one considering his influence in the middle of the park and the move will likely be a huge boost for Vincent Kompany's side.

Paired with Berge is Cullen, who had a standout campaign last year for the Clarets and looks ready to find his stride in England's top flight. Many have tipped Burnley to do well this year, steering far clear of the relegation zone and with these two in the middle, that shouldn't be too difficult a task.

12 Crystal Palace - Cheick Doucoure, Eberechi Eze & Jefferson Lerma

After Roy Hodgson returned to the club late last season, Crystal Palace saw a huge upturn in form and that will likely continue with this new centre-mid partnership.

Doucoure has been exceptional ever since he joined the club, and it should come as a surprise to no one that his efforts have been noticed, with several clubs reportedly interested. Lerma was a huge addition to the team this summer, and his impact has already been felt at the club, with a strong performance in their opening day victory over Sheffield United.

With the talented Eze playing in front of them as an attacking midfielder, expect this trio to excel at the back and going forward too.

11 Brentford - Christian Norgaard, Mathias Jensen & Vitaly Janelt

Considering the longevity within the Brentford midfield, it's no surprise that they've continued to shine year after year. Norgaard, Jensen and Janelt have all been firmly entrenched in the Bees first-team and have been holding the fort in the middle of the park for the club since they were promoted to the Premier League.

All three have been with the club from day one in the top flight, and the journey they've all gone on together has been remarkable. With Norgaard the club captain, Jensen the vice captain and Janelt the fourth choice captain, the influence the trio have in games and on the team is unmatched, and it's easy to see why they're so important to Brentford's success.

10 West Ham United - Thomas Soucek, Lucas Paquetá and James Ward-Prowse

West Ham lost a huge influence in midfield over the summer in Declan Rice, but they might yet survive without him. It's been left to Soucek, Paqueta, and Ward-Prowse to pick up the pieces, but the trio look as if they will do so superbly.

Paqueta and new signing Ward-Prowse in particular look like excellent options, with the latter impressing on his debut in a 3-1 victory against Chelsea. With another new signing, Edson Alvarez, potentially being introduced to the starting lineup in the coming weeks in the place of Soucek, the Hammers could yet soar up this ranking as the season goes on.

9 Brighton & Hove Albion - Pascal Gross and Billy Gilmour

It's currently unclear whether Gilmour or Mahmoud Dahoud will partner Pascal Gross in the middle of the park for Brighton & Hove Albion on a regular basis, with both players starting alongside him in the first two games of the season.

The former Chelsea man has played more minutes across the fixtures, though, so he gets included, and it's safe to say his pairing with Gross could provide the foundations for another exceptional season from the Seagulls.

Gross has gone from strength to strength in the Premier League and continues to just improve. His tandem with Gilmour will see the former Chelsea prospect realize his potential and together, they could become one of the most underrated midfields in England.

8 Tottenham Hotspur - Yves Bissouma, Pape Matar Sarr and James Maddison

It feels safe to assume that Rodrigo Bentancur will almost certainly be one of the key midfielders at Tottenham Hotspur once he returns from his long-term injury, but right now, those roles are occupied by Bissouma and Sarr, with Maddison the conductor in front of them.

The deeper duo have started the season brightly under Ange Postecoglou, and put in superb performances as the side beat Manchester United 2-0. Bissouma has struggled to replicate the form he had previously shown at Brighton, while Sarr is still fairly young, but the pair have shown promising signs early in the campaign, and it could be the start of a positive year for the duo.

Maddison has slotted into the Spurs starting lineup superbly already, with his creativity already causing headaches for the opposition. He will be integral to his team's success moving forward.

7 Aston Villa - Douglas Luiz, Boubacar Kamara & John McGinn

It feels almost certain that Youri Tielemans will eventually force his way into Aston Villa's starting midfield, but for now, Unai Emery continues to rely on the formidable trio of Luiz, Kamara and McGinn.

They all looked fantastic alongside one another during the club's 4-0 thrashing of Everton, and if they continue to play to that degree going forward, the former Leicester City man will have a hard time usurping any of them.

Whether it's Kamara's defensive prowess, Luiz's ability to burst forward and contribute offensively, or McGinn's knack of popping up in the right spot for a goal, this midfield has it all covered for Villa.

6 Manchester United - Casemiro, Bruno Fernandes and Mason Mount

Despite paying big money for Mason Mount this summer, and Casemiro's experience as a Champions League winning player, Manchester United's midfield has left a lot to be desired so far this season.

Along with new captain Fernandes, the trio look lost at times, and it came back to haunt them against Spurs. They were overrun, and it's led to club legend Gary Neville pleading for the Red Devils to strengthen in the position. Not a promising sign considering Mount was brought in for over £50m just last month.

Sure, there's plenty of time for the side to turn things around, and we've seen Casemiro, Mount and Fernandes prove time and time again their quality at the top of football, they just need to work things out pretty quickly or they might fall down this list pretty drastically.

5 Liverpool - Dominik Szboszlai, Alexis Mac Allister & Cody Gakpo

A brand-new midfield for Liverpool this season, as the club signed Szboszlai and Mac Allister to replace the departing Jordan Henderson, Fabinho and James Milner.

Mac Allister has shown he has what it takes to compete towards the top of the Premier League, but it's still unclear just how well Szboszlai will adapt to English football. Couple that with Cody Gakpo's inconsistency since joining Liverpool, and you've got a midfield filled with promise, but one that hasn't quite proven they can compete just yet, so the jury is still out here.

However, with Gakpo playing in unfamiliar territory, we can expect to see new signing Wataru Endo take up the position behind Mac Allister and Szboszlai going forward. With more balance in the engine room, that could help Liverpool control games a lot more.

4 Newcastle United - Joelinton, Bruno Guimaraes & Sandro Tonali

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Last season, Newcastle United had an absolute stormer and their midfield of Joelinton and Guimaraes played a huge role in that. This summer, they added Tonali and things got a whole lot better.

The former AC Milan man is a superstar and provides a significant boost to the centre of the park for the Magpies. His debut against Aston Villa showed just how capable he is of playing at the top of the Premier League. Guimaraes has been a revelation since signing for Eddie Howe's side and the decision to move Joelinton from his previous forward role into the midfield has been a stroke of genius.

If Newcastle are to replicate last year's success, these three will be at the heart of everything.

3 Chelsea - Enzo Fernandez & Moises Caicedo

The most expensive midfield pairing of all-time, Fernandez and Caicedo have the potential to take the Premier League by storm for the next decade.

The pair have shown flashes of world-class talent, but are still really young. That didn't stop Chelsea breaking the Premier League transfer record twice when signing the duo, but they'll have to be patient if they want to get the best out of them both.

Caicedo's debut at the club couldn't have gotten off to a worse start, but there's plenty of time to turn things around and if the pair even come close to reaching their full potential, they'll quickly move up this list and have that number one spot locked down for a long time.

2 Manchester City - Rodri & Mateo Kovacic

With Kevin De Bruyne out injured for the foreseeable future, we couldn't in good conscience include him in Manchester City's starting midfield here, instead placing Kovacic alongside Rodri.

The pair are still one of the best partnerships in the Premier League, and the former Chelsea man has taken to life under Pep Guardiola's guidance like a duck to water. He looks as though he's played for the club for years, and his tandem with Rodri is already looking special.

The Spaniard has been one of the best midfielders in the world since he made the move to the Etihad, and his consistency makes him one of the most dependable and important players in the team. He may not make the headlines all too often, but his workrate and the work he does away from the stat sheet is second to none.

With the club chasing a record fourth straight Premier League trophy, these two are sure to be integral this year and have the ability to help the team achieve those goals.

1 Arsenal - Martin Odegaard, Declan Rice & Kai Havertz

The acquisition of Rice this summer is a huge one for Arsenal and has provided an incredible upgrade to the club's midfield. The former West Ham man is clearly one of the best defensive midfielders in football and adding him to the side will push the Gunners further forward in their quest for silverware.

Standing alongside him is club captain Odergaard, who has been nothing short of sublime since joining Mikel Arteta's side, and brand-new addition Havertz, who is looking to rediscover the form that made him one of the best prospects in football. If Arsenal can get it right with the German, this midfield will be one of the best in the world, not just the Premier League.

There's no denying Arsenal have still got plenty of work to do if they're to catch up to City anytime soon, but with a midfield like this, well, they're certainly heading in the right direction.