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Defence: Five best defensive midfielders in the Premier league right now

By Christopher Godfrey

LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 26: Chelsea's Ngolo Kante battles for possession with Tottenham Hotspur's Victor Wanyama during the Premier League match between Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge on November 26, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Craig Mercer - CameraSport via Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 26: Chelsea's Ngolo Kante battles for possession with Tottenham Hotspur's Victor Wanyama during the Premier League match between Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge on November 26, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Craig Mercer - CameraSport via Getty Images) /
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Victor Wanyama (Photo by Ian Walton/Getty Images)
Victor Wanyama (Photo by Ian Walton/Getty Images) /

Victor Wanyama: Tottenham

The man that Oriol Romeu had to replace at Southampton has excelled at Tottenham. The 188 cm tall not-so-gentle giant has been an absolute steal for Tottenham. He not only puts in a defensive effort which the stats show but he also makes late runs into the box.

The 25-year-old’s strength is inhumane. In fact, N’Golo Kante and Matic struggled to deal with the Kenyan’s strength in the Spurs 2-0 win over Chelsea earlier this season.

He has assimilated seamlessly into the Spurs midfield and his chemistry with Moussa Dembele would make any Fifa ultimate team player happy.

Here are the stats per game.

Appearances: 24

Tackles: 2.7

Interceptions: 1.3

Clearances: 2.1

Blocks: 0.3

Dribbled past: 1.2

He also has an average of 2 aerial duels won per game which is one of the highest among midfielders in the Premier League.

Although Tottenham had problems with injuries this season…particularly in the defense, Spurs still have the best defensive record in the Premier League. They have only conceded 16 goals in 24 games. This is a testament to Wanyama’s and Dembele’s defensive magic.

Especially given that one of the best defenders in the game Toby Alderweireld was injured and then when he came back, their other defender Jan Vertonghen got injured. I don’t know what witchcraft is at play here and whether or not Pochettino has been cursed but despite all of this Wanyama and Dembele have fortified and protected the makeshift back four.

I do feel bad though, (spoiler alert) as I’ve left out Moussa Dembele out of this list as he tends to be the more attacking midfielder of the pair.

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