With the evolution of the sport, football's tactical nuances have also inexorably evolved. The holding midfielder has become an indispensable element of a champion team in modern football.In essence, the holding midfielder holds his position as the other, more attack-minded midfielders run forward in the quest for goals. He both acts as a screen in front of the backline and as a link between the defence and the attack.Thus, the holding midfielder needs to be defensively astute, physically strong and good on the ball at the same time. The Premier League, since its inception in 1992, has seen a plethora of great holding midfielders who have been instrumental in bringing glory to their teams.Five best holding midfielders in Premier League historyThe EPL was a harbinger of modernity in football in many ways, and the game witnessed a lot of strategic inventions in line with the same. The advent of world-class holding midfielders was a part of the process.In this article, we will count down the five best holding midfielders the league has seen. Without further ado, let's get started.#5 N'Golo KanteN'Golo Kante (left)We begin with possibly the most famous holding midfielder in contemporary Premier League football: the French World Cup winner N'Golo Kante.Kante rose to prominence as a towering presence in the Leicester City team of 2015-16 that scripted a fairytale championship run. After his heroics at Leicester, the Frenchman was scooped up by Chelsea, where he won the PFA Footballer of the Year award for the club in his first season.The Blues got what they were looking for. With Kante running the show in midfield, Chelsea embarked on a successful title run of their own.Thierry Henry on France’s 🇫🇷 midfield machine N’Golo Kante ! 😂Will Les Blues beat Uruguay 🇺🇾 today ? 🤔#FRAURU #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/teBLB4FKf3— Football Faithful (@FootyFaithful_) July 6, 2018A late bloomer who came into his own only in his 20s, Kante is renowned for his work ethic and discipline. Often the master of turning over possession and launching his team forward, Kante can also transition into a box-to-box player who can run forward with the ball to devastating effect. However, he is at his best when sitting in front of his defence, like a true holding midfielder.#4 Xabi AlonsoXabi AlonsoA Champions League and FA Cup winner with Liverpool, Xabi Alonso was unlucky never to have won the Premier League with the Reds despite being part of a very strong team.A deep-lying maestro, Alonso was not a typical holding midfielder because of the value he added to the team going forward both in terms of his passing and vision as well as his ability to conjure key goals.Alonso was great defensively too. He was more adept and keen on breaking up opposition play than his more attack-minded colleagues such as Steven Gerrard at Liverpool, who has called Alonso the best midfielder he has ever played with, or Xavi Hernandez and Andreas Iniesta in the Spain national team.In essence, Xabi Alonso allowed the more creative players in his team to roam forward freely because of his reassuring presence behind them.6 - Xabi Alonso’s goals in the UCL :⚽️ v Galatasaray⚽️ v AC Milan⚽️ v Chelsea⚽️ v Porto⚽️ v Manchester City⚽️ v Atl. MadridMaestro. pic.twitter.com/0sXDTbZ1PT— OptaJean (@OptaJean) March 9, 2017