Top 10 Premier League Midfielders of 2020
In this post, we’re going to let you know about the best midfielders in the Premier League in 2020. Telling which players have been the best EPL midfielders of 2020 is not an easy task because several factors come into play when it’s about midfielders.
Some of these factors include the number of shots taken, assists, tackles, and passes made, and the number of goals scored. So unlike the top scorers that only the number of goals that they have scored matters, when it comes to midfielders, we have to take above factors into consideration, too.
And we have done so! We have actually made a list of Top 10 Premier League midfielders of 2020 by taking above factors - and sometimes more - into account.
The List of Top 10 Premier League Midfielders of 2020
So which player do you think tops the list of
best midfielders in EPL in 2020
? If your guess is Kevin de Bruyne, we should congratulate you! But that list continues. Stay with us to know which other players occupy the rest of the list.
Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City)
Topping the list of
best midfielders in the Premier League in 2020
, Kevin de Bruyne made a total of 20 assists in 2019-20 season becoming the Premier League's top assist provider in the aforementioned season and with a meaningful difference from the second top assist provider, Trent Alexander-Arnold, who only made 13 assists during the season.
A midfielder - especially an attacking one - should make the most number of assists if not scoring the most number of goals to be called among the best just as
De Bruynehas done. Although he's the 17th top scorer of the Premire League 2019-20 season with actually 13 goals scored in the season, he's the season's top assist provider with 20 assists as mentioned above.
Conerning the number of shots in the Premier League's 2019-20 season, the 29-year-old Belgian midfielder is fourth with 99 shots throughout the season just behind his fellow teammate, Gabriel Jesus, with 101 shots, Raul Jimenez of Wolverhampton Wanderers with 118 shots, and Mohamed Salah of Liverpool with 132 shots; an impressive record for a midfielder!
Wilfred Ndidi (Leicester City)
One of the best defending midfielders on the list of 2020 best Premier League midfielders, Wilfred Ndidi made a total of 128 tackles in 2019-20 season which is only one behind the top tackler of 2019-20 season, Aaron Wan-Bissaka of Manchester United, and 8 in front of Ricardo Pereira of Leicester City, the third top tackler of 2019-20 season with 119 tackles.
And among the
2020 EPL best midfielders
Ndidi is actually the second most duels winner with 260 duels won throughout the season only behind Jack Grealish of Aston Villa on the list with 289 duels won, but far ahead of Kevin de Bruyne with 138 deuls won - almost two times higher.
Ndidi has also made the most number of interceptions (80), and the most number of clearances (61), and has won the most number of aerial battles (83) this season compared to other midfielders on the list. All these signal that the 23-year-old Nigerian midfielder has indeed been the best defending midfielder in the current season.
Maybe for a defending midfielder passing ability is not of top priority; despite this Wilfred Ndidi has finished 37th on the list of midfielders with the most number of passes with 1669 passes completed until the end of the season which is not bad for a defending midfielder.
Ndidi has been serving Leicester City since 2017 and has even scored 7 league goals in his 146 appearances for the Premier League club.
Rodrigo (Manchester City)
If you just assume a player who makes the most number of passes, as the best playmaker, then we should call Rodrigo of Manchester City the second best playmaker this season with 2579 passes that he has made throughout this year’s campaign just behind the first-place Virgil van Dijk with 3259 passes.
Nearest to Rodrigo, in terms of the number of passes made this season, is Harry Maguire of Manchester United with 2519 passes. This is as Kevin de Bruyne has made only 1907 passes this season.
So, the player who is second in terms of the most number of passes made should probably have a good ranking concerning the number of ball touches, as it’s really the case with Rodrigo who, although not topping the list, occupies the seventh position on the list of most ball touches made by the Premier League midfielders this season.
He has actually made a total of 2916 touches throughout the season with Çaglar Söyüncü of Leicester City nearest behind him with 2763 touches.
Concerning the number of accurate long balls passed, although Rodrigo is not the leader -
Oliver Norwoodof Sheffield United is in front of him with 231 accurate long balls, he’s among the top ones with 171 long balls - indeed accurate ones! - passed throughout the season. It is as Kevin de Bruyne has only passed 121 accurate long balls this season.
Jorginho (Chelsea)
Finishing 9th on the list of most passes and 12th on the list of most ball touches made this season, Jorginho ranks fourth on our list of best midfielders in the Premier League in 2020.
He has actually made 2257 passes and has had 2615 ball touches this season which although has not earned him a real top position on this season's most passes and touches made lists, has put him second to the top ones on the list.
Concerning the total number of passes and touches made this season, Jorginho is behind Rordrigo who has made 2579 passes and 2916 touches overall, however, although Jorginho is behind Rodrigo in these terms, he’s in front of him when it comes to big chances created, crosses made, and through balls passed this season.
Here’s the two players’ stats: Rodrigo has created 3 big chances, made 8 crosses, and sent 2 through balls, while Jorginho has created 6 big chances, made 10 crosses, and passed 16 through balls.
So, as you see, Rodrigo and Jorignho are both top midfielders; one cannot say which is actually better, but both fit on the list of
best midfielders in the Premier League in 2020
for sure - and on top of the list.
With regard to these stats, we can say Jorginho is a better playmaker than Rodrgio, however, Rodrigo has better defensive stats than Jorginho: He has made 32 clearances, and has won 170 duels and 57 aerial battles, while Jorginho has made 26 clearances, and has won 123 duels and 14 aerial battles.
Declan Rice (West Ham United)
With a narrow margin from Wilfred Ndidi on the list of best midfielders in the Premier League in 2020 concerning the number of takcles made this season,
Declan Riceis perhaps the second best defending midfielder in this season of the Premier League.
The 21-year-old English midfielder has actually made 116 tackles this season which is only 12 less than the 128 takcles that Ndidi has made and occupies the third position on the list of most tackles made this season just behind Ricardo Pereira with a narrower margin of 3 tackles - Pereira has made 119 tackles this season.
And in terms of other defensive stats, yes!, Ndidi is still in front of Rice, although sometimes by a narrower margin. Ndidi has made 80 interceptions, and 61 clearances, and has won 260 duels and 83 aerial battles, while Rice has made 77 interceptions, and 51 clearances, and has won 223 duels and 52 aerial battles this season.
In terms of the number of passes made this season, Declan Rice finishes 16th with 1733 passes made during the 2019-20 season of the Premier League - just around 174 passes less than Kevin de Bruyne.
If you compare Wilfred Ndidi and Declan Rice in terms of passes and crosses made, and chances created, Rice rates better: He has made 1733 passes and 28 crosses and has created one big chance, while Ndidi has made 1669 passes and 3 crosses with no big chances at all this season.
Joao Moutinho (Wolverhampton Wonderers)
Both active in defense and in midfield, Joao Moutinho ranks fifth when it comes to the number of tackles made and 19th on the list of midfielders with most assists this season.
Moutinho is from Portugal and currently plays for the Premier League club,
Wolverhampton Wonderers, and if you ask us, although he has set a better record as a defensive player - fifth most tackles made in the Premier league current season, his playmaking stats are much better than the defensive midfielders already mentioned.
The 33-year-old Portuguese midfielder has made 1839 passes - only around 70 passes less than Kevin de Bruyne - and 221 crosses and has passed 152 accurate long balls this season.
This is as other defensive midfielders already mentioned in this post, namely Wilfred Ndidi and Declan Rice, have made 3, and 28 crosses and have passed 79, and 128 accurate long balls, respectively.
However, concerning defensive stats, Moutinho is behind both Ndidi and Rice, but in front of some other midfielders on the list of
Top 10 Premier League midfielders of 2020
like Jorginho and Kevin de Bruyne.
He has won 152 duels and 21 aerial battles, while Ndidi and Rice have won 260 and 223 duels and 83 and 52 aerial battles, respectively - two to four times more aerial battles than the Portuguese midfielder.
Jack Grealish (Aston Villa)
Maybe not a defensive midfielder and not a playermaker, but
Jack Grealishis for sure a top attacking midfielder. He occupies the fourth place on the list of top scoring midfielders this season with 8 goals - only two goals behind the second place, and he also ranks sixth on the list of current season midfielders with the most number of assists with 5 assists.
And Grealish is also among the top shot takers with 73 shots taken this season and finishing fourth on the list of midfielders in the current season with the most number of shots taken - he’s only 5 shots behind the second place.
In terms of the number of ball touches, however, Grealish finishes 17th jointly with a defensive midfielder, namely Wilfred Ndidi of Leicester City, with 2225 touches this season, but that’s not a negative point.
Less number of ball touches but most number of shots, assists and goals means that Grealish has made the most out of opportunities he has had, and by opportunities we actually mean the times he has touched the ball.
And in terms of playmaking stats, Grealish is almost good with 8 big chances created, 141 crosses made and 81 accurate long balls passed this season.
Jordan Henderson (Liverpool)
On the list of midfielders with most assists, passes, and tackles made this season - although not on top, Jordan Henderson is a 30-year-old English midfielder who currently plays for Liverpool.
As mentioned, Henderson is not on top of any of assists, passes, and tackles made by midfielders this season, however, he’s also not behind by a wide margin.
Based on his position on the above-mentioned lists, Henderson is a better playmaking midfielder than a defensive one: He occupies the 10th position on the list of most passes made by midfielders this season with 1856 passes made, and 12th position jointly with Pablo Fornals of West Ham United on the list of most assists made with 5 assists overall, but on the list of most tackles made this season, Henderson occupies the 19th position with 63 tackles made.
And on the list of assists and passes made this season, Henderson’s is not behind others by a very wide margin. On the list of assists he’s behind the 4th position only by 2 assists and on the list of passes only by 167 passes behind the same position.
In fact the list of most passes made by Premier League midfielders this season has no wide margin within; the numbers decrease from top to bottom by almost a constant rate, if we exclude Rodrigo of Manchester City who is in front of the second position by 300 passes.
Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United)
Sharing the fourth position on the list of top scoring midfielders in the Premier League’s current season with Jack Grealish of Aston Villa and Dele Ali of Tottenham, Bruno Fernandes is also on one of the top positions on the list of most assists made by Premier League midfielders this season - he actually shares the fourth position again on the aforementioned list this time with Emiliano Buendía of Norwich City and Bernardo Silva of Manchester City.
And how many goals has Fernandes scored and how many assists has he made this season? He has scored 8 goals - only two behind the second position - and has made 7 assists this season - only 1 behind the third and three behind the second position.
Almost at top as a goalscoring and assist-making midfielder; and the Manchester United 25-year-old midfielder has not also been bad considering his playmaking stats.
Fernandes has made 75 crosses, has passed 46 accurate long balls, and has created 3 big chances this season which is not a bad record when, say, compared to 6 big chances, 10 crosses, and 16 through balls of Jorginho who is one of the top midfielders concerning the number of passes made in this season of the Premier League.
David Silva (Manchester City)
The last midfielder on the list of
Top 10 Premier League midfielders of 2020
, David Silva ranks second on the list of Premier League midfielders with the most number of assists made this season with 10 assists after Kevin de Bruyne of Manchester City. He’s behind the Belgian midfielder almost by a wide margin - De Bruyne has made 20 assists this season.
And also concerning the goals scored this season by Premier League midfielders,
Silvais behind De Bruyne again by a wide margin with 6 goals scored - De Bruyne has scored a little bit more than twice as much goals Silva has scored (13) this season.
If one just considers these records, it might happen to him that Silva is not a top midfielder, but that’s wrong, since De Bruyne has been far better than other midfielders in this season of the Premier League.
So comparing any midfielder to De Bruyne ends in results with wide margins! With all that in mind, we should say that although Silva is an attacking midfielder in regard to his goalscoring and assist-making records, he’s also acted good as a playmaker comparatively.
The 34-year-old Spanish midfielder has made 33 crosses, has passed 30 accurate long balls, and has created 11 big chances this season.
Best EPL Midfielders of 2020 by Club
Here is a list of Premier League clubs with best midfielders this season:
Manchester City, 3, Kevin de Bruyne, Rodrigo, David Silva
Manchester United, 1, Bruno Fernandes
Leicester City, 1, Wilfred Ndidi
Liverpool, 1, Jordan Henderson
Chelsea, 1, Jorginho
Wolverhampton Wonderers, 1, Joao Moutinho
West Ham United, 1, Declan Rice
Aston Villa, 1, Jack Grealish
Best EPL Midfielders of 2020 by Nationality
Where are the best midfielders in the Premier League in 2020 from? The following list tells you.
England, 3, Declan Rice, Jack Grealish, Jordan Henderson
Spain, 2, Rodrigo, David Silva
Portugal, 2, Joao Moutinho, Bruno Fernandes
Belgium, 1, Kevin de Bruyne
Italy, 1, Jorginho
Nigeria, 1, Wilfred Ndidi
And the Rest of the List
No doubt the list of best midfielders in the Premier League in 2020 does not limit only to ten players. There have been midfielders in the Premier League 2019-20 season with great stats not far behind those of the midfielders already mentioned in this post. Some of these midfielders are as below:
Michail Antonio of West Ham United, 10 goals scored this season
Christian Pulisic of Chelsea, 9 goals scored this season
Dele Ali of Tottenham Hotspur, 8 goals scored this season
Harvey Barnes of Leicester City, 8 assists made this season
Emiliano Buendía of Norwich City, 7 assists made this season
Bernardo Silva of Manchester City, 7 assists made this season
Fernandinho of Manchester City, 2222 passes made this season
Rúben Neves of Wolverhampton Wonderers, 2023 passes made this season
Oliver Norwood of Sheffield United, 2007 passes made this season
James Maddison of Leicester City, 74 shots taken this season
James Ward-Prowse of Southampton, 92 tackles made this season
James McArthur of Crystal Palace, 88 tackles made this season
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