Moises Caicedo, Declan Rice and the top 10 Premier League midfielders right now - ranked

Liverpool's inability to get the signing of Martin Zubimendi over the line in 2024 didn't appear to hamper their short-term prospects, with their trio of Gravenberch, Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai strolling to last season's Premier League title without much fuss.

However, the Spain international has immediately proven a hit at Arsenal after deciding to snub the Reds 12 months prior to join the Gunners after one more year at boyhood club Real Sociedad. He oozes class from every pore, sweeping up possession and keeping play ticking so effortlessly.

Zubimendi is not only a leading Premier League midfielder already, but one of the standout stars of the 2025-26 season as a whole. Arsenal have lacked a proper ball-progressing No.6 for a few years, but he has filled that hole and then some.

Chelsea know better than any other club that you can solve all your problems if you simply throw enough money at them. Their decision to simply pay the £106.8 million ($140.7m) that Benfica wanted for World Cup winner Enzo Fernandez in January 2023 seemed reckless and brash for the first year or so after that transfer, but is now a little easier on the eyes.

There was little room for a grace period at Stamford Bridge considering the money Chelsea paid for Fernandez's services. Upon arrival, he struggled to keep up with the relentless pace of the Premier League, though almost three years later this is no longer a problem.

The Argentine isn't the most technical of midfielders and you wouldn't really trust him as the main source of creativity in your team, but he does enough of everything to make himself a key component in Enzo Maresca's system, popping up with 10 goals and eight assists in the league alone since the Italian's appointment as head coach.

Had we pieced together these rankings over the summer, Szoboszlai would probably have been the one midfielder from Liverpool's strongest XI that wouldn't have made the cut. Alas, the poor form of Gravenberch and Mac Allister is partly responsible for their slump so far this season, but you can't point the finger of blame in the Hungarian's direction.

Szoboszlai has offered everything to try and stop the Reds' bleeding, even going as far as to fill in at right-back (a violation of the criteria to make this ranking, but one we're willing to overlook) as Arne Slot searches for a formula to stop the champions' slide down the table.

With three goals and five assists in all competitions from all over the pitch, the 25-year-old is holding up his end of the bargain this term. The same cannot be said for most of his subpar team-mates - get this man some help.

If you rewound to 2021 and said four years later, Granit Xhaka would not only be one of the best midfielders in the world but was also playing for Sunderland, you may as well have started telling people that the rapture was coming too. The Swiss star's redemption arc has been incredible to witness.

Where he was once seen as a man-child who wouldn't ever be able to shake his tag as a liability at Arsenal, Xhaka is now a savvy veteran who unquestionably makes the team he's playing with better. He leads not only by inspiration but by example, and it's one of the main reasons why the Black Cats have enjoyed such early success back in the top-flight.

Xhaka is the commander in Regis Le Bris' midfield. Everything comes and goes through him. After leaving the Gunners as an unlikely hero in 2023 and then becoming a legend with Bundesliga-winning Bayer Leverkusen, he's earned that right.

Newcastle were effectively forced into the sale of Alexander Isak at the end of the summer transfer window - £125m ($165m) is a hard price to turn down for any player - but at least they haven't had to cash in on their captain. Bruno Guimaraes is the heartbeat of one of the country's toughest and meanest sides.

There is no conceivable circumstance where the Magpies could ever afford to rest Guimaraes in the Premier League or Champions League. It's just as well that he's hardly had a day off since joining from Lyon in January 2022, playing 172 games across all competitions since that switch and becoming a key figure for Brazil.

There's barely a weakness in Guimaraes' game, with defending, passing, carrying and scoring all strengths of his - a record of 25 goals and 29 assists for Newcastle is testament to that.

It was tricky to know where exactly to place Martin Odegaard. He was a genuine Player of the Year contender when Arsenal finished as runners-up to Manchester City in 2023-24 and now has a long track record of excellence in the Premier League, yet has spent much of the last year either injured or out of sorts.

In the end, fifth spot feels about right. On his day, the Norwegian is still one of the world's finest playmakers and goal threats from midfield. Ironically, the Gunners' runaway form in 2025-26 without him and his leadership has hurt his case, with Mikel Arteta able to put his trust in a larger squad to make up for his captain's absence.

Odegaard is nearing a return from his latest injury and has been using an anti-gravity machine to aid his recovery. Arsenal will hope he can bring some of that same, strange wonder with him once he's back playing again.

Right, if Ruben Amorim had done the smart thing and simply decided to play Bruno Fernandes in one of the two positions behind the striker in his controversial 3-4-3 system, then the Portuguese playmaker would probably have been omitted from this on similar grounds to Palmer and Co. However, the Manchester United boss has endeavoured to force his best and most productive player into a deeper role for some reason.

There's no denying Fernandes' quality, even in more of an unfamiliar position. After all, he was pretty much the only player pulling his weight last season, dragging the Red Devils all the way up to... 15th place. Still, he's a modern-day great of United and the star who should be built around. Having actually stayed fit for, well, nearly his whole spell at Old Trafford, he edges out Odegaard for a place in our top four, with his productivity and availability too difficult to ignore.

Fernandes consistently appears at the top of chance creation lists. Now all he needs is a striker to start putting the ball in the net on a more consistent basis.

Like Odegaard, the ranking of Rodri proved troublesome. He won the Ballon d'Or little over a year ago, but has only played a handful of times since that triumph following an ACL tear and a smattering of other niggling injuries.

You could also attribute much of Manchester City's downfall to his absence, with Erling Haaland having to put on a one-man show in order to try and keep Pep Guardiola's side in the last two title races. There's no guarantee that Rodri is even that same all-conquering midfielder anymore though, and it would be harsh for us to penalise his rivals over this.

Regardless, Rodri still has the pedigree to warrant a place on our podium. Even if he can play at half the ability of his 2023-24 self, City would hugely benefit from that. They need him back to full fitness as soon as possible or risk going another year without a trophy.

It's a silver medal for Moises Caicedo. There's no shame to that, but those of a Chelsea persuasion reading this will undoubtedly be unhappy that he didn't claim top spot instead.

As was the case with midfield partner Fernandez, Caicedo took some while to find his feet at Stamford Bridge. There were several error-strewn performances during his debut 2023-24 season with the club, but is now head-and-shoulders above every other ball-winning midfielder in the division. The comparisons to N'Golo Kante and Claude Makelele are starting to make sense, though he still needs to win either the Premier League or Champions League to reach that same stratosphere.

After carrying Chelsea's midfield in their 1-0 win at Tottenham earlier in November, Robert Sanchez summed up how Blues players and fans feel about Caicedo best, dismissing the notion that it's even worth talking about his credentials. "I don't really need to talk about him but he's an actual animal," the Spaniard said, blasé with his demeanour. "He's the best player on the planet in his position. He's one of the best in the world, who is better than him in that position? He's a beast. Every 50-50, every challenge he wins and is so composed on the ball.

"I haven't seen him change much. As a player and as a character, he's always been the same, hard work, effort, quiet but a very good guy. Obviously, he's filled out with his body a bit more with age and with experience, he's just got better and better on the pitch. His confidence has also gone higher and higher. He's a boss at winning the midfield."

Declan Rice is the best midfielder in the Premier League. He's the one who sets the standard, the player that the rest aspire to and are compared to. As long as Arsenal stick to the script and wrap up the title, their No.41 will have fulfilled the prophecy of becoming the club's long-awaited heir to Patrick Vieira.

Once a bog-standard holding midfielder at West Ham, Rice can do it all. In some sense, he also the Oppenheimer figure behind the Premier League's set-piece revolution, with his wicked dead-ball deliveries earning him 26 assists for Arsenal, double the tally he grabbed with the Irons in 123 fewer matches. Where Caicedo has been told he needs more goals contributions to sit among the elite, Rice was already there. There's a Puskas Award nomination for him to lean on too after almost ripping the net out in last season's demolition of Real Madrid.

Rice is the only midfielder to have featured in both the 2023-24 and 2024-25 PFA Teams of the Year, even despite Arsenal's drop-off in the latter of those campaigns, while his recognition at international level has also been factored in. He is seen as on a par with captain and record scorer Harry Kane for Thomas Tuchel in the England setup. That's how important a player he is.

It's a long list of accolades and achievements that Rice has managed to accrue. That piece of major silverware is all that's standing between him and the global recognition he deserves.