The best Premier League defensive midfielders compared, ft Rice, Casemiro & Rodri | OneFootball

Declan Rice is on his way to Arsenal.

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The West Ham United captain is set to move across London in a deal worth up to a reported £105 million, a Premier League record fee for a British player.

Football transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano gave the seal of approval, with an iconic “Here we go” music to the ears of Arsenal fans.

Mikel Arteta will be absolutely delighted to have got his target, despite Manchester City briefly entering the race for Rice.

He will likely come into the team for Thomas Partey, who is linked with a move away from the club.

There is reportedly substantial interest from Saudi Arabia, while Juventus are also said to be keeping an eye on the 30-year-old.

Comparing Rice to other elite defensive midfielders

Rice is not the only defensive midfielder who could potentially be on the move this summer.

Brighton’s Moises Caicedo, one of the league's most promising young midfielders, has been heavily linked with a move to Premier League rivals Chelsea, with CBS reporter Ben Jacobs suggesting that they are the most likely destination for him.

While The Athletic have said that the Ecuadorian could cost up to £100 million, the Daily Mail write a deal could be done for £80 million.

But how do Rice and Caicedo stack up against some of the other elite defensive midfielders in the division?

Football data analysts Squawka have put them up against Partey, as well as Manchester City’s Rodri and Manchester United’s Casemiro, both widely regarded as two of the best holding midfielders in the league.

They have taken a look at seven key qualities, publishing their stats for 90 minutes to show where each man excels.

The areas reviewed are ball recoveries, forward passes, duels contested, tackles made, aerial duel success percentage, ground duel success percentage, and interceptions.

Rice is a good swap for Partey

What will mainly interest Arsenal fans is whether Rice can fill Partey’s shoes, and the metrics do look promising.

The 24-year-old excels in both ground duels and interceptions, recording better stats per match than any of the other four midfielders.

In fact, Rice made more interceptions than anyone else in the league last season (FBref). His closest competitor was Caicedo, who finished seven behind.

He also recorded more ball recoveries than Arsenal’s current defensive midfielder per match but lags behind him for duels contested, aerial duel success rate, and tackles made.

Partey also plays more forward passes per game, but you would expect that in a more possession-dominant team like Arsenal, Rice will have no issue upping those numbers, especially as he played the eighth-most progressive passes in the league last campaign.

Caicedo is very balanced

At first glance, Chelsea fans might be slightly concerned that their midfield target does not top any of the seven metrics.

But after more investigation, worries will start to dissipate.

While he ranks dead last for ball recoveries and forward passes, he comes in second for duels contested and interceptions.

Caicedo also is second out of the five for tackles made, and only Fulham's Joao Palhinha made more challenges than the Brighton man.

His success rate in duels is not bad either. He ranks third for aerial success percentage, behind Casemiro and Rodri, while Rice and Partey both have a better ground success percentage.

He seems very well-rounded, and at 21 years old, he is the youngest of the five and could mature into an even better player while at Stamford Bridge.

Casemiro and Rodri are a cut above the rest

However, Squawka's metrics list the two remaining midfielders as two of the best in the league.

Rodri, while acting as City’s deepest midfielder, has been having an impact further up the pitch too.

You only need to see his goal in the Champions League final to realise that, but he loves a pass between the lines, playing more passes into the final third than anyone else last season.

He coupled that with a phenomenal ability to recover the ball, doing so 9.3 times per match, which allows his side to keep the pressure on against the opposition.

And then you have Casemiro, who is superb in nearly every department.

Not only is he the most progressive passer out of the five men per 90, but he is also the most combative in defence, contesting nearly 14 duels per game and making substantially more tackles than everyone else.

No wonder that so many Red Devils fans claim that he is the best defensive midfielder in the league.

He had a transformative effect on United last season and will be a key player once again in the new campaign.