Who is the best centre-back in the Premier League?
Attackers win you matches but defences win you titles. It’s one of the oldest cliches in the book, but it stands the test of time. Based on their performances in the 2022/23 campaign, who is the best individual central defender in the English top-flight? Let’s examine some of the outstanding candidates with 3 right-footers and 3 left-footers. A perfectly balanced list.
Rúben Dias
Imperious treble winner and born leader
Pep Guardiola didn’t always select the Portuguese star in his side at the start of the 2022/23 campaign. By the end of it, however, when City were scooping up silverware for fun, Dias was there barking instructions at his teammates, blocking shots and making headed clearances as if his life depended on it.
Natural leadership is one of his most outstanding traits and has been since he was a youngster at Benfica, where he captained the club at every age group. Dias is undeniably one of the finest defenders on the planet right now, if not the very finest. It wouldn’t be a huge shock to see him skipper City before long.
Sven Botman
New to the division but already looks like a veteran
Out of numerous expensive additions at Newcastle United under new ownership, Sven Botman might be the most important. Down the years, plenty of top-quality central defenders have struggled in their first full English season, with names like Laurent Koscielny and Nemanja Vidić springing to mind.
Botman has flourished with surprising ease though. It’s a testament to Eddie Howe’s coaching but mostly the individual skills of a Dutchman who’s still just 23 and learning his craft. He keeps things clean and tidy with simple, short distribution to teammates in good positions to receive the ball. In 35 EPL appearances last term, Botman collected just 2 yellow cards.
We’ll get to see him test his mettle in the Champions League next season too.
William Saliba
Highest ceiling of any defender in world football?
Many Gunners fans believe it was Saliba’s back injury which put paid to their unlikely title charge. It’s impossible to prove whether that’s true or not in retrospect, but Arsenal’s results certainly suffered when the Bondy-born star wasn’t in the side.
If you wanted to build a centre-back in a laboratory, he’d probably look a bit like William Saliba, because astonishing recovery pace and incredible technical prowess are rare traits to find in a guy who stands 193cm tall. Ironically, one of the weaknesses in his game needing ironing out is his defending of crosses. That should come though.
Saliba looked ridiculously comfortable and unfazed on the ball for a man playing his first season in the Premier League. BIGGER tests await the 22-year-old, but he possesses supreme levels of confidence and natural football IQ and ability which should see him become a world star.
According to OptaJoe stats, Saliba completed all 76 of his attempted passes against Bournemouth on 20th August last year. He also scored from outside the box with his weaker left foot in that game.
John Stones
The key to City’s fluidity
When Manchester City started fielding 4 central defenders in their starting XI on a regular basis, everything changed. Pinpointing that date exactly, Guardiola selected John Stones, Manuel Akanji, Rúben Dias and Nathan Aké from the start away to Crystal Palace on 11th March. It turned out to be a masterstroke.
Including that 1-0 success at Selhurst Park, City won each of their next 10 matches in the Premier League, a sequence which saw them crowned champions with time to spare. When they weren’t steamrolling their way to victories, they were confident that a single goal was often enough to win a match with a quartet of defence-first players stationed at the back and nullifying transitions.
The pivotal piece in this new puzzle is Stones. Obviously gifted on the ball, the ex-Everton man started inverting into midfield and operating alongside Rodri when they had possession. He made it look so easy that perhaps Gareth Southgate should seriously consider using him in his own midfield combination.
Come to think of it, should we even be calling John Stones a defender at this point?
Gabriel Magalhães
Vast improvements made and more likely to come
The BIG Brazilian has come on in leaps and bounds. Often criticised for his rashness and proneness to costly errors, the 25-year-old has tightened up in all departments. Now the leader of Arsenal’s back 4, Gabriel relishes the task and is a superb athlete when defending large spaces vacated by the adventurous Alex Zinchenko on their left flank.
He’s also developed a handy habit of scoring BIG goals in clutch games. Gooners around the world will be happy with more of the same from the ex-Lille man next season as they bid to mount another title challenge. Gabriel should be a key pillar again.
Lisandro Martínez
Silenced the critics
Lazy analysis of defenders often sounds something like “he isn’t tall enough to deal with strikers in England” and that was the initial assessment of Lisandro Martínez, who is 175cm tall. Obviously his success rate in aerial challenges isn’t great, but he more than makes up for it with his aggression in ground duels and superbly crisp left-footed distribution over short and long distances.
If the Argentine World Cup winner can find a regular central defensive partner at Man Utd next season, the Red Devils should continue to make progress under Erik ten Hag. The Butcher, as he was affectionately known at Ajax, enjoys a battle and battles aren’t hard to come by in the Premier League.
Who is the best of the best? The Premier League returns on Friday 11th August with some of the world’s most devastating attackers doing their utmost to get the better of these guys.