The best young defensive midfielders in the Premier League so far this season
Among the 6 defensive midfielders aged 23 or under with at least 252 minutes in the Premier League this season, Elliot Anderson (Manchester City, 23) has the highest standing, 79 out of 100, measured against all 21 defensive midfielders who have played that much.
Manchester City · 23
Fulham · 22
Chelsea · 22The top 6
Standing is 0 to 100: the share of every defensive midfielder in the Premier League with 252+ minutes, of any age, that a player is ahead of across the measures below. 50 is the middle of that group and 100 the best, and a player with few minutes is pulled toward 50 so a handful of good games cannot top the list. The small figure is his place on each measure among the same 21.
| # | Player | Age | Mins | Standing | Tackles and interceptions per 90 | Pass completion | Accurate passes per 90 | Duels won | Times dispossessed per 90 | Long-ball accuracy | Last season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Elliot Anderson Manchester City |
23 | 608 | 79 | 3.857th | 91%5th | 81.711st | 63%2nd | 0.7414th | 56%10th | 76 ▲ |
| 2 |
Shea Charles Fulham |
22 | 555 | 74 | 3.738th | 92%2nd | 58.224th | 56%10th | 0.6510th | 50%13th | - |
| 3 |
Roméo Lavia Chelsea |
22 | 293 | 67 | 4.913rd | 87%11th | 33.4818th | 73%1st | 0.315th | 60%8th | - |
| 4 | 
Andrey Santos  Manchester United |
22 | 263 | 63 | 4.114th | 90%8th | 59.543rd | 58%7th | 0.6813th | 50%13th | 87 ▼ |
| 5 | 
Myles Lewis-Skelly  Arsenal |
20 | 405 | 55 | 1.5620th | 93%1st | 58.005th | 58%8th | 0.6711th | 50%13th | 31 ▲ |
| 6 | 
Adam Wharton  Crystal Palace |
22 | 716 | 19 | 2.6416th | 74%20th | 31.6819th | 60%6th | 0.8817th | 48%18th | 15 ▲ |
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Each player is measured against every defensive midfielder in the league who has played enough, not only the ones on this list.
Since last season
Standings now against the same players' standings last season.
Shea Charles has no standing from last season: he did not play 450 league minutes in the top five leagues.
Roméo Lavia has no standing from last season: he did not play 450 league minutes in the top five leagues.
Andrey Santos has dropped from a standing of 87 last season to 63 now.
Myles Lewis-Skelly has risen from a standing of 31 last season to 55 now.
How this list is made
Defensive midfielders aged 23 or under in the Premier League 2026/27 with at least 252 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. 8 rounds have been played, so the minutes bar is 252. It rises as the season goes on, until it reaches 450, about five full matches.
The league median for defensive midfielders on each measure:
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