5 best left-backs in the Premier League

#3 Lucas Digne

Lucas Digne suffered an ankle injury towards the start of the year and has since struggled to replicate his form from the first half of the season. But there are few left-backs in the Premier League who can match the Everton man on his day.

Digne, a former Barcelona player, has been one of the best left-backs in the Premier League since joining in 2018. The Frenchman has consistently been one of the Toffees' best creative outlets. The 27-year-old has six assists to his name in 19 appearances in the Premier League this season.

His work ethic is exemplary and is a solid defender as well. But his best days are when he bombs forward to become a thorn in the neck of opposition defenders. Digne whips in some delightful balls into the box from the left-wing.

Carlo Ancelotti has preferred to use Digne in a more advanced role these days and it has paid off more often than not.

#2 Aaron Cresswell

West Ham United have been one of the surprise packages this season. The Hammers have stepped it up this term and are currently sitting fifth, two points shy of fourth, with a game in hand.

That has a lot to do with how David Moyes has been able to improve his players and one of their best ones presently is 27-year-old English left-back Aaron Cresswell.

Cresswell has even had to shift from left-back to left centre-back whenever Moyes has gone with a three-at-the-back system. He has become formidable in defence, taking to his role as a centre-half as a fish to water whenever the system has demanded that of him.

From being a squad player, Cresswell has now become undroppable and is making a strong case for the Euros. Cresswell now has seven assists to his name from 27 Premier League appearances.

Even when he is playing as a left-sided centre-back, he has been able to set his teammates up to score goals and that's quite incredible.

#1 Luke Shaw

West Bromwich Albion v Manchester United - Premier League

When Luke Shaw initially integrated himself into the Manchester United senior side, he was a young player brimming with talent. He was one of their best players on the pitch at a tender age but a horror injury that saw him miss out on a full season set him back.

Luke Shaw has since struggled but has been showing signs of improvement under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. He has just started playing the best football of his career and that may have something to do with the arrival of a certain Alex Telles.

Solskjaer, well wary of the need to give Shaw the push he needs, brought in Alex Telles to increase competition for the left-back spot and Luke Shaw woke up and chose violence. Shaw has, in fact, been one of the best players in the Premier League over the past two months.

He is deceptively fast and has struck up a great understanding with Marcus Rashford down the left-flank. Shaw is one of United's best players with the ball at his feet. The 25-year-old has been excellent defensively as well and it really looks like he's going to deliver on all that early promise.

Shaw has a goal and five assists to his name in the Premier League so far this season.

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

5 best left-backs in the Premier League - March (2020-21)

#3 Lucas Digne

#2 Aaron Cresswell

#1 Luke Shaw