The best young defensive midfielders in the Bundesliga so far this season
As of 8 November 2026, The Prism ranks Youri Regeer (Werder Bremen, 23) as the best young defensive midfielder in the Bundesliga, with a standing of 80 out of 100, ahead of Leon Avdullahu and Aleksandar Pavlovic.
7 rankedagainst all 24284+ league minutes6 measuresUpdated 8 November 2026How we rank
Each dot is one of the 24 defensive midfielders; further right is better. The dashed line is the middle of the group.Zento Uno's page
Each figure with his place among the 24 defensive midfielders. Fewest is best for times dispossessed per 90.
Player
Standing
Tackles + int.
Pass completion
Accurate passes
Duels won
Dispossessed
Long-ball accuracy
1Youri Regeer
80
4.514th
89%9th
48.518th
64%2nd
0.4012th fewest
77%1st
2Leon Avdullahu
74
2.9417th
90%4th
55.784th
55%9th
0.00fewest
74%2nd
3Aleksandar Pavlovic
64
2.8318th
92%2nd
96.221st
47%19th
0.7117th fewest
68%5th
4Santiago Castañeda
51
4.782nd
83%16th
35.8918th
55%8th
1.5622nd fewest
29%21st
5Paul Okon-Engstler
45
2.2221st
89%8th
48.617th
52%14th
0.5616th fewest
38%16th
6Felix Keidel
40
3.6311th
84%14th
27.8120th
54%11th
0.3410th fewest
50%11th
7Zento Uno
36
3.987th
74%23rd
19.8923rd
34%23rd
0.00fewest
25%22nd
Where all 24 sit
Every defensive midfielder in the Bundesliga with 284 minutes or more, on The Prism standing. Blue is this ranking's top 10; the other 17 are named in The Prism.
Since last season
The same players' standings last season, among their league's defensive midfielders then.
↑Leon Avdullahu55 last season, 74 now
↓Aleksandar Pavlovic76 last season, 64 now
How this ranking is made
Defensive midfielders aged 23 or under in the Bundesliga 2026/27 with at least 284 league minutes, ranked on tackles and interceptions per 90, pass completion, accurate passes per 90, duels won, times dispossessed per 90 and long-ball accuracy. Each measure is a percentile against every defensive midfielder in the league with the same minutes, so a young player is judged by the standard of the whole position, not only of his age group. 9 matchdays have been played, so the minutes bar is 284. It rises as the season goes on, until it reaches 450, about five full matches.
What each measure counts for, out of 100:
Tackles and interceptions per 9025Pass completion20Accurate passes per 9020Duels won15Times dispossessed per 9010Long-ball accuracy10
Youri RegeerWerder Bremen · 23 · Netherlands
801st of 7
Leon AvdullahuTSG Hoffenheim · 22 · Kosovo
742nd of 7
Aleksandar PavlovicFC Bayern München · 22 · Germany
643rd of 7
Santiago CastañedaPaderborn · 22 · United States
514th of 7
Paul Okon-EngstlerFC Köln · 21 · Australia
455th of 7
Felix KeidelElversberg · 23 · Germany
406th of 7
Zento UnoBorussia Mönchengladbach · 22 · Japan
367th of 7