The Best Midfielder In The English Premier League 2023/24

Kevin de Bruyne is the best midfielder in the English Premier League. He is also the best attacking midfielder in the world. However, De Bruyne missed half of the 2023/24 season with an injury. The Manchester City playmaker only played 18 matches (1,228 minutes). He scored four goals and provided ten assists as City won an unprecedented fourth consecutive Premier League title. 

De Bruyne is not eligible for best English Premier League midfielder because he played less than half the season. Martin Ødegaard was the best midfielder in the English Premier League in 2023/24. He starred for Arsenal, scoring crucial goals in big matches as The Gunners pushed City in the title race. He finished as the third-highest midfielder, tied-first for assists with De Bruyne. 

Image Credits: Ardfern // CC BY-SA 4.0

The Dane was the tie-third top-scoring midfielder in the league with Rodri. De Bruyne and Ødegaard provided ten assists each, the equal-most in the top division. Ødegaard and Declan Rice were nominated for Premier League ‘Player of the Season’ in 2024. Phil Foden – bizarrely – won the award. 

Rodri was not nominated, despite not losing a game for City in more than a year and being awarded the most ‘Player of the Match’ (POTM) awards. Rodri was the glue that kept Pep Guardiola’s side together after De Bruyne’s injury, guiding City to glory despite Arsenal’s and Liverpool’s impressive title challenges. SportsBoom delved into the football databases to bring you the best midfielders in the Premier League in 2023/24. 
 

Image Credits: Fars Media Corporation 

The Top 15 Best Midfielders in the English Premier League in 2023/24

It was not a prolific year for goals from midfield. Bruno Fernandes was the only midfielder to score double-digit goals, which included four penalties. Martin Ødegaard and Rodri scored eight goals, but the Arsenal skipper is the only midfielder on the top 10 best midfielders list to register double-digit assists. Two of Ødegaard’s goals were penalties, whereas Rodri does not take penalties for Manchester City. 

Ødegaard, Rodri, Bruno Guimarães, Douglas Luiz and Declan Rice were the standout players in the league. Ødegaard edged Guimarães and Rice by one goal and a couple of assists. Douglas Luiz netted nine goals, with five assists for Aston Villa. The Brazilian had a sublime season in Birmingham. Like Fernandes, he scored four penalties. 
 

Image Credits: Ardfern 

Guimarães and Rice did not score any penalties. They scored seven goals and provided eight assists for Newcastle United and Arsenal, respectively. Only Tomáš Souček, one the best defensive midfielders in the English Premier League, played more minutes than Guimarães and Rice. 

Rodri (10) won twice as many ‘Player of the Match’ awards as Ødegaard, Guimarães and Rice, who won five each. Fernandes is the best footballer at Manchester United. He won eight ‘POTM’ awards. Luiz won six awards for Villa; James Ward-Prowse won four at West Ham United. Bernardo Silva (3), Conor Gallagher (3), Alexis Mac Allister (2), and Tomáš Souček (2) won multiple awards. 

Ward-Prowse, Souček, McTominay, Abdoulaye Doucouré netted seven times. Ward-Prowse equalled his goals with seven assists, five more than teammate Souček. McTominay and Doucouré assisted once. Silva and Sean Longstaff scored six goals, but the City playmaker provided seven more assists. 

Gallagher, Mac Allister, and Ross Barkley tied with five goals apiece. The Chelsea midfielder finished the season strong. He added seven assists to his goals before making the England UEFA Euro 2024 squad. The Argentina midfield maestro added five assists to his goals but alternated between defensive and attacking roles. 

Barkley’s spirited displays for Luton Town could not keep them up. He added four assists to his five goals; however, Luton got relegated to the EFL Championship. To put Barkley’s season in perspective and highlight De Bruyne’s quality, the Belgium playmaker played 14 games fewer but scored four goals and made six more assists.