5 best defensive midfielders in football right now

#3 Marco Verratti

Marco Verratti has missed much of the Paris Saint-Germain's title-winning campaign due to a recurring groin strain. But he did definitely show his quality whenever he appeared on the pitch. He is a versatile player who can play as a holding midfielder or as a central midfielder.

Not built like most defensive midfielders, Verratti stands at 165 cms. Though he is not good at aerial duels, the 27-year-old makes up for it with his tackling and exquisite passing skills. Verratti is also excellent with the ball at his feet and can hold on to the ball in closed spaces thanks to his excellent ball control.

In 20 games, with only 15 of them being starts, Verratti still managed to rack up 5 assists in the Ligue 1. Verratti has been one of the most sought-after central midfielders in Europe for quite a while now and PSG have done well to keep him on their payroll till now.

#2 Fabinho

Jurgen Klopp deserves credit for aptly identifying the weaknesses in his team and bringing in the right players in order to address them. Fabinho's was one of the signings that transformed Liverpool into title challengers and he played a big role in the Reds winning the Premier League title by a huge margin.

Fabinho is crucial to Liverpool's gegenpressing system and helps break up attacks and acts as a cover while the rest of the Liverpool midfield push forward. He can also score some scorchers as evidenced by his absolute banger of a goal from 25 yards out against Manchester City early in the season.

Standing at 188 cms, Fabinho dominates aeriel duels and is a great passer of the ball as well. He might not have the strongest physique but you hardly ever see Fabinho get bullied in midfield.

#1 Casemiro

Arguably Real Madrid's most important player on the field, it is Casemiro's growth into an absolute stalwart in defensive midfield that has had the biggest influence on Zizou's side.

Casemiro is an excellent defensive midfielder. There are perhaps very few midfielders in world football right now who likes a tackle just as much as the Brazilian does. He is also excellent with the ball at his feet and does chip in with the occasional screamer from distance.

Casemiro alongside Kroos and Modric has dominated the UEFA Champions League across several seasons and the presence of the reliable duo ahead of him affords him the freedom to venture forward as well.

About the author

Shambhu is a European and international football journalist at Sportskeeda who focuses on previews, listicles and news articles. An ardent Manchester United supporter since before his teenage years, he started following the Red Devils by age 10 watching MUTV on television. Shambhu is also a highly-revered rapper and a playback singer on Spotify, having a whopping 1 million monthly listeners.

For his articles, Shambhu believes in triple-checking every piece of information, relying on trusted websites like Transfermarkt and Opta, and staying away from speculative publications. He believes that his law degree helped him to be more articulate and meticulous with his content and one of his core strengths is seamlessly involving emotion in his write-ups owing to the love for the sport. For Sportskeeda, has done exclusive interviews with Spanish legends Gaizka Mendieta and Fernando Morientes so far, and his articles boast of a huge readership of close to 50 million.

Shambhu's favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and the Argentine attaining glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment. He believes only Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland could replicate Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo's rivalry in the years to come. His favorite manager is Sir Alex Ferguson due to the Scot's unmatched longevity at the top.

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Edited by Shambhu Ajith