Football’s unsung heroes are the defensive midfielders or CDMs if you’re a FUT player. Sitting ahead of the back three or four, clearing up the mess, taking out the trash and basically doing the dirty work before moving the ball to the creative players.
There may never have been a crop of holding midfielders as good as the one we have now – most on our list can also play further up the pitch or even at the back.
Here we pick our top 10 defensive midfielders in the world. We’ve used a number of stats from last season to quantify our rankings, as well as a player’s overall contribution to the game in recent times. So who makes it into our top 10?
All stats come from WhoScored.com and are correct as of the publish date.
10) Sergio Busquets
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| Image Credits: PA |
2020/21 Season Stats:
- 32 appearances
- 0 goals
- 5 assists
- 91.3% pass success
- 1.8 tackles per game
9) Declan Rice
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| Image Credits: PA |
2020/21 Season Stats:
- 32 appearances
- 2 goals
- 1 assist
- 88% pass success
- 1.8 tackles per game
8) Frenkie de Jong
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| Image Credits: PA |
2020/21 Season Stats:
- 35 appearances
- 3 goals
- 4 assists
- 91.9% pass success
- 1.2 tackles per game
7) Marcelo Brozovic
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| Image Credits: PA |
2020/21 Season Stats:
- 29 appearances
- 2 goals
- 6 assists
- 89.6% pass success
- 1.6 tackles per game
6) Wilfred Ndidi
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| Image Credits: PA |
2020/21 Season Stats:
- 25 appearances
- 1 goal
- 4 assists
- 86.9% pass success
- 3.7 tackles per game
5) Fabinho
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| Image Credits: PA |
2020/21 Season Stats:
- 28 appearances
- 0 goals
- 0 assists
- 90.3% pass success
- 1.9 tackles per game
4) Casemiro
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| Image Credits: PA |
2020/21 Season Stats:
- 32 appearances
- 6 goals
- 4 assists
- 83.9% pass success
- 2.5 tackles per game
3) Rodri
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| Image Credits: PA |
2020/21 Season Stats:
- 31 appearances
- 2 goals
- 2 assists
- 91.3% pass success
- 2.1 tackles per game
2020/21 Season Stats:
- 31 appearances
- 2 goals
- 2 assists
- 91.3% pass success
- 2.1 tackles per game
2) Joshua Kimmich
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| Image Credits: PA |
2020/21 Season Stats:
- 25 appearances
- 4 goals
- 10 assists
- 86.3% pass success
- 1.5 tackles per game
2020/21 Season Stats:
- 25 appearances
- 4 goals
- 10 assists
- 86.3% pass success
- 1.5 tackles per game
1) N’Golo Kante
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| Image Credits: PA |
2020/21 Season Stats:
- 24 appearances
- 0 goals
- 2 assists
- 86.5% pass success
- 2.6 tackles per game
If this list was just midfielders, N’Golo Kante would still be top-three, but as a gameplan-wrecker the Chelsea player is without peer. A Premier League winner with Leicester, World Cup winner with France and Champions League winner with Chelsea – success follows him wherever he goes and it’s no coincidence. Injured under Frank Lampard, the 5ft 6in ball of energy was rejuvenated under Thomas Tuchel, allowing his dynamism to drive the Blues to an FA Cup final and European glory.
Image Credits: PA
Featured Image Credit: PA Images
2020/21 Season Stats:
- 24 appearances
- 0 goals
- 2 assists
- 86.5% pass success
- 2.6 tackles per game
If this list was just midfielders, N’Golo Kante would still be top-three, but as a gameplan-wrecker the Chelsea player is without peer. A Premier League winner with Leicester, World Cup winner with France and Champions League winner with Chelsea – success follows him wherever he goes and it’s no coincidence. Injured under Frank Lampard, the 5ft 6in ball of energy was rejuvenated under Thomas Tuchel, allowing his dynamism to drive the Blues to an FA Cup final and European glory.
Image Credits: PA
Featured Image Credit: PA Images