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- De Bruyne ranked top three PL midfielders
- Was asked to pick between Fernandes, Odegaard and Maddison
- Belgian picked his favourite
WHAT HAPPENED? Although the Manchester City midfielder is staring at a lengthy spell on the sidelines after lasting just 23 minutes in Man City's opening 3-0 day win against Burnley, he took a break from football to talk about the best midfielders in the Premier League.
The Belgian was asked to rank his favourites among Manchester United's Fernandes, Arsenal's Odegaard and Tottenham's James Maddison. De Bruyne had little trouble in deciding the order and ranked Fernandes first, followed by Odegaard and Maddison.
WHAT THEY SAID: "I think he's a creative machine, in general," De Bruyne told Sky Sports.
"Odegaard is very creative but a little bit more controlled. Maddison is also really creative but I need to see more of him in a big team. He's [Fernandes] been doing it for such a long time. Odegaard was amazing last year but obviously he’s younger so that's a difference," he added.
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Fernandes may be De Bruyne's pick but he has struggled with United this season so far and is yet to register a goal or an assist. Meanwhile, Odegaard has one goal and Maddison has two assists and one goal in the Premier League after the first three matchdays.
IN THREE PHOTOS:
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GettyWHAT NEXT? All three midfielders will be in action on Saturday in the Premier League with their respective teams. Maddison scored his first goal of this season against Bournemouth whereas, Fernades and Odegaard will look to propel their teams to three points against Nottingham Forest and Fulham, respectively.