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

Idrissa Gueye: Everton

Everton made some really good buys in the last couple of years ( as you might have read about in a recent post I wrote) but one who has been the most influential is this man.

Idrissa Gueye joined Everton from Aston Villa in August 2016. He should’ve been an under-the-radar signing for the club but he’s been heralded as one of the best defensive midfielders in Europe.

In fact, according to statistics, he’s been the best ball winner in all of Europe’s top five leagues in 2016.

In 2016 (playing for Villa and Everton) Gueye made 176 tackles and 124 interceptions which is the highest among the top leagues.

The Senegalese star rose up through the football ranks playing in Senegal before he joined french club Lille in 2008. He won the Ligue 1 in 2010-2011. He joined Aston Villa in 2015 before they were subsequently relegated. So Everton and Technical Director Steve Walsh identified Gueye and triggered a release clause in his contract. Good business from Everton as he has turned out to be one of their best acquisitions.

Based on this season his defensive statistics have been consistently the same, if not better than last season.

Appearances: 19

Tackles: 4.9

Interceptions: 2.3

Clearances: 1

Dribbled past:1.7

Blocks: 0.3

Aerials: 1.3

The 27-year-old has been called Everton’s N’Golo Kante due to their similar style of play, position, and size.

His tackling rate is indeed the highest in the Premier League this season and it wouldn’t be a surprise if big clubs such as Barcelona come calling.