These 10 guys are the best defensive midfielders available to sign this summer. Only three Premier League players are on offer…
We also have the best available strikers, attacking midfielders, wingersand central defenders.
10) Ardon Jashari (Club Brugge)
A transfer to AC Milan appears likely, though the Italian side has yet to agree a fee with Club Brugge for the 22-year-old midfielder. Jashari has made it clear that Milan is his preferred destination, but if negotiations with the Belgian club continue to stall, a move elsewhere can’t be ruled out. Given his stance, playing for Brugge again seems unlikely.
Since making his international debut in September 2022, Jashari has earned four caps and is expected to play a more significant role for his national team once Granit Xhaka retires from international football.
He’s a fantastic, young defensive midfielder with Champions League experience, having helped Brugge reach the last 16 of Europe’s premier competition last season. They lost to Aston Villa after an incredible 5-2 aggregate win over Europa League holders Atalanta in the play-off round.
9) Angelo Stiller (Stuttgart)
It’s unlikely that Stiller leaves Stuttgart this summer, but as a standout performer outside of the Champions League spotlight, he could be tempted by a bigger move.
The 24-year-old four-cap Germany international signed a new three-and-a-half-year contract in January, with Fabrizio Romano confirming that ‘several clubs’ wanted to sign him in the summer transfer window.
Valued at €45million (£39m) on Transfermarkt, Stiller played 47 times across all competitions last season, assisting an impressive 11 times from defensive midfield.
8) Douglas Luiz (Juventus)
The former Aston Villa midfielder left England to ease Profit and Sustainability pressures last summer. He had been superb in 2023/24, but his debut season in Italy was anything but.
Injuries kept him in and out of the Juventus squad and, when fit, he failed to make himself undroppable. Consistency eluded him, in part due to a lack of rhythm, and he never really got going. We all know what Luiz is capable of, and there’s rumoured interest from the Premier League. Based on his Villa form, £30million – his reported asking price – could be a snip.
7) Alan Varela (Porto)
Varela is only 24 but still uncapped for Argentina, which is mildly baffling. He’s quietly become one of the best defensive midfielders in Portugal, and we expected more concrete interest from the continent by now.
AC Milan, Atletico Madrid, Manchester UnitedLiverpool and Manchester City have all been linked, but Porto aren’t in the mood to do business on the cheap, especially after tying him down to a five-year contract in May.
That alone makes him pretty unlikely to move this summer.
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6) Joao Palhinha (Bayern Munich)
One of the best defensive midfielders in the Premier League during his Fulham days, it just hasn’t happened for Palhinha at Bayern. He earned a deserved move last summer, but could be out the door again after just one season.
Fulham didn’t suffer without him and Palhinha barely featured for Bayern, starting just nine matches in all competitions and failing to hit 1,000 minutes across the campaign. At 29, he might prefer to stick around at a club like Bayern, where he’s only an injury or two away (to other Bayern players, obviously) from regular minutes under Vincent Kompany.
5) Morten Hjulmand (Sporting)
Viktor Gyokeres is the headline-grabber at Sporting, on and off the pitch, having forced a transfer to Arsenalbut Hjulmand is catching plenty of admiring glances of his own.
The Danish international scored against England at Euro 2024, but it’s the rest of his game that’s got Europe’s elite taking notice. He’s now Sporting captain and, at 26, has the tools to become a world-class holding midfielder if he picks the right next step.
4) Kobbie Mainoo (Manchester United)
Sir Jim Ratcliffe may reluctantly sanction Mainoo’s sale this summer to fund a rebuild, but only for a suitably ridiculous fee. Chelsea have been linkedthough they already have more young midfielders than minutes to give them.
Mainoo was once untouchable at Old Trafford, but INEOS-era chaos has quickly changed that. It’s surprising that he hasn’t nailed down a role under Ruben Amorim – stylistically, he fits – but he’s not looked fully sharp this year.
A quiet summer involving a bit of Italian culture could be exactly what he needs. Clubs should be circling, because United might just let their most gifted academy graduate in decades leave for the right price.
3) Andrey Santos (Chelsea)
Expect to see a wave of Chelsea players spending time at Strasbourg, as Todd Boehly continues to treat the French club as his very own Vitesse.
Santos was one of the most impressive midfielders in Ligue 1 last season and was the only returning loanee Enzo Maresca included in Chelsea’s Club World Cup squad, with Strasbourg team-mate Djordje Petrovic missing out and eventually moving to Bournemouth.
Despite his huge ceiling, Chelsea seem happy to sell him to fund the next phase of their transfer binge, even if his replacement is worse and has less potential. Arsenal are reportedly sniffing around and need a bit more midfield depth following the exits of Jorginho and an unnamed Premier League footballer in his 30s.
2) The Baleba Carlist (Brighton)
Brighton’s next mega-sale is likely to be Baleba, who’s quietly become one of the most complete young midfielders in the Premier League.
Clubs might not think he’s worth £80m, but Brighton think he is, and they’re rarely wrong. They won’t sell for a penny less, either. They’re not quite Benfica levels of shrewdbut they’ve set the standard in England.
1) Ederson (Atalanta)
There’s a good chance Ederson ends up in Saudi Arabia, with Al Hilal reportedly keen to sign him from Atalanta.
The Saudi Arabian side have struggled to convince their top targets to join this summer and consistent snubs mean his name is rising on their shortlist.
The 26-year-old often emerges as a Plan B for clubs chasing midfielders; Manchester City had him on standby if Tijjani Reijnders didn’t movewhile United and Liverpool have been linked over the past year.
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