USMNT upcoming schedule Nations League, friendlies, Gold Cup Vladimir Coufal has been excellent while Craig Dawson, plucked from Watfords reserves, turned into Franco Baresi when he arrived at the London Stadium. The centre-back has struggled to retain Pep Guardiolas faith since he arrived at City in the same summer five years ago. Van de Ven played as the left-sided centre-back in a 4-3-3 shape for FC Volendam. Club: Chelsea) Scottish Iniesta is slight but skillfull. Whether Phillips is good enough to be a Liverpool regular remains in doubt. Chelsea wing-back Reece James is one of the most talented players to have graduated from the Blues' academy in recent times. However, it is more accurate to say that what is expected of defenders has changed. Aston Villa v Crystal Palace Watch on Peacock Premium The young, versatile defender has played in all positions across the backline for Everton this season and has been equally effective everywhere. He is good at knowing where/when to move, either sliding inside to offer for passes between lines or holding his width to stretch play/teams. Arsenal hammer Everton 4-0, go five points clear of Manchester City This season, the English defender has featured in over 30 matches. Fulham 2-1 Brighton FULL MATCH REPLAYRECAP/HIGHLIGHTS The winner of six Premier League titles with Manchester United was, according to his Old Trafford boss Sir Alex Ferguson "the best defender in the country if not Europe for a couple of. Consistently brilliant. 4) Wesley Fofana Ahmedhodi is a right-sided centre-back with imposing athleticism, solid defensive ability, and impressive skill in possession. 7. Perhaps the most impressive aspect of Simakans defending is how assured he is, especially for his age and experience. Given the lack of centre-forwards, Moyes has had to build West Ham on a solid base. His intelligent body positioning enables him to create good angles to receive the ball, often doing so on the half-turn to maximise his touch and transition into attack. But Fofana deserves special credit for his immediate adaptation to the Premier League. By then, his England place had gone too. He uses his size to overwhelm opponents in contact in defensive situations and when protecting/carrying the ball. Despite being 64 tall, he has high-level speed; he recovers positions quickly and uses his frame to lever/seal players off the ball when covering depth. Reece James has been at Chelsea since the age of six. Mohamed Simakan is an assured and composed defender who is tactically flexible and intelligent in the way he defends. A few youngsters have broken onto the scene and made a name for themselves, while a few others are already growing in reputation as being among the best in the business. If Forest. Rudigers season, like Chelsea, has been one of two halves. Spurs 4-3 Leeds FULL MATCH REPLAY RECAP/HIGHLIGHTS Newcastle 4-0 Aston Villa FULL MATCH REPLAY Recap/Highlights AFC Bournemouth 2-3 Spurs FULL MATCH REPLAY Recap/Highlights The sixth-highest capped England player, Ashley Cole (107) ended his career one behind England legend Bobby Moore and one ahead of England legend Bobby Charlton but also won Premier League titles with two teams. 3pm: West Ham v Newcastle, 7:30am: Man Utd v Everton Newcastle v Arsenal The Englishman has still racked up six assists and scored two goals in 33 appearances in the Premier League this season. Bukayo Saka (Age: 18. Curtis Jones (Age: 19. Prior to his injury, it was eight in 12. But it was Jota who got the assist on the opener which counted, as he fizzed the ball across the penalty area and found Virgil van Dijks head amid a mass of humanity inside the six-yard box. Newcastle 3-3 Man City USA Network WATCH FULL REPLAY RECAP/HIGHLIGHTS, Man Utd 2-1 Liverpool WATCH FULL REPLAY RECAP/HIGHLIGHTS, Southampton 0-1 Man Utd USA Network FULL MATCH REPLAY RECAP/HIGHLIGHTS Ahmedhodi could add some muscle to his frame, which would make him more sturdy in physical duels as he can be bumped off balance too easily in certain situations. When Manchester City signed Joao Cancelo from Juventus in 2019, many were underwhelmed by his arrival. Arsenal v AFC Bournemouth Watch on Peacock Premium But they were good enough. Poacher. Brighton 3-0 Liverpool FULL MATCH REPLAY Recap/highlights Arsenal believed he was and splashed the cash to make the. As one former chief executive of a Premier League club told me: "I won't know till the last day of the season if my budget for next year is going to be 170m or 70m." Simakan is now a starter in Leipzigs defence. AFC Bournemouth 1-1 Nottingham Forest FULL MATCH REPLAY Recap/highlights Will Manchester City win yet another Premier League title? Below is the full schedule, as you can watch all 380 games across our NBC platforms. The 24-year-old, who had recently been called up to the England team ahead of the European Championships, was chosen by Arsenal as their new defensive lynchpin because they thought he was worth the risk. 2. Thats how these things work, right!? In large part because of his massive transfer fee, in small part because of his massive head. Premier League top scorers 2022/23: Erling Haaland and Harry Kane . Similarly, Simakan is a very well-rounded athlete: he has good acceleration and top-end speed, impressive body control in terms of agility and balance, and has a sturdy frame with good core strength which he uses well in contact. After being hammered by Real Madrid last week, Klopps side went back to basics against Palace which was perhaps inevitable. A lot of the stick he gets is wholly unjustified, but the England defender certainly did not help himself at the start of the campaign. Ilkay Gndogan Ilkay Gndogan is one of the best players in the Premier League. A colossal influence and leader during his career at Manchester City, which yielded four Premier League titles under three managers, Vincent Kompany is among the finest investments the Sky Blues have made. The ex-Blues boss had too many centre-backs but, weirdly, he exiled the wrong one. Arsenal 0-0 Newcastle USA Network FULL MATCH REPLAY Recap/highlights Newcastle 0-0 Crystal Palace FULL MATCH REPLAY RECAP/HIGHLIGHTS Spurs 1-0 Man City NBC FULL MATCH REPLAY Recap/highlights, Manchester United 2-2 Leeds USA Network FULL MATCH REPLAY Recap/highlights, West Ham 1-1 Chelsea USA Network FULL MATCH REPLAY Recap/highlights Aaron Wan-Bissaka still has room for improvement. Gamechanger from right back. Trent Alexander . Underrated. Anel Ahmedhodi is an athletic and intelligent defender who can impact games both in and out of possession with his defensive nous and comfort in possession. The concept here is very simple: who are the best players in the Premier League aged under 23? Spurs 0-2 Arsenal FULL MATCH REPLAY Recap/highlights, Crystal Palace 1-1 Manchester United FULL MATCH REPLAY Recap/highlights, Man City 4-2 Spurs FULL MATCH REPLAY Recap/highlights, Liverpool 0-0 Chelsea FULL MATCH REPLAY Recap/highlights There are also exclusive interviews too, and plenty more. Matthijs de Ligt (Juventus) Jonathan Moscrop/Getty Images "Having sustained a knee injury during the first half of Sunday's match against Tottenham Hotspur, Thiago . A much-loved servant of club (wherever he played) and country, Rio Ferdinand has appeared in more Premier League games than any defender other than Jamie Carragher and more England matches than Stuart Pearce, John Terry and Terry Butcher. Despite being the wrong side of 30, Perisic represents one of Antonio Conte's more astute summer signings: hard-working, direct and versatile. The 37-year-old had started all of West Ham's 24 Premier League games this season, but will now be out for a period of time and may require surgery. Leah Williamson 4. Heres a little list of our favourite young defenders currently breaking onto the scene. Owen Wijndal is very much a modern full-back. To make sure you never miss out on your favourite NEW stories, we're happy to send you some reminders, Click 'OK' then 'Allow' to enable notifications, .css-1diosym{color:black;}@media (prefers-color-scheme:dark){.css-1diosym{color:#fff;}}Published10:00,14 December 2021 GMT@media (prefers-color-scheme:dark){.css-jirzs7{color:#72B97D;}}| Last updated10:00,14 December 2021 GMT. Stones renaissance has been one of the stories of Citys season. James has also helped his side keep nine cleansheets in 30 appearances in the Premier League. Kevin lvarez 6. Crucially, his focus can slip at times, and he can be beaten too easily by simple changes of tempo. Now, defenders increasingly perform vital roles in possession too, whether it's starting moves with long passes or bombing down the wings and creating scoring opportunities. Six feet and two inches of solid granite, Sol Campbell was a brick wall for four Premier League clubs and England. As already alluded to, Ahmedhodi is adept at utilising his athleticism in defensive situations he knows how to overwhelm opponents in contact with his size and he rarely gives free-kicks away in doing so. Manchester United are apparently willing to sell 120million worth of players to West Ham this summer. Liverpool v Fulham Read our. Aaron Wan-Bissaka 28. . But never in the Premier League prior to this season had we seen a player combine the full-back and central-midfield roles quite like Cancelo. Dias has been brilliant individually but, crucially, he has lifted those around him, no one more so than Stones. Ozan Kabak has had a patchy introduction to the Premier League and Id genuinely forgotten the name of the fella they signed from Preston. They can also earn clean sheet bonuses, but it can be difficult to select a backline full of players that carry great attacking and defensive potential. After threats of legal action and a later retraction, he eventually got his move, joining Bundesliga club Vfl Wolfsburg late in the summer of 2021. Liverpool's attacking prowess down each flank is famed, so there's really no surprise to see Andy Robertson ranked among the league's best defenders.The Scot hasn't been at his absolutely brilliant best all season, granted, but he has that level of class that few left-backs in the world possess. Richarlison 3. 2008 (15) 2007 (16) 2006 (17) 2005 (18) 2004 (19) 2003 (20) 2002 (21) 2001 (22) 2000 (23) 1999 (24) . Nzouango arrived in Italy having been dubbed the new Varane by one member of the Italian press. He makes intelligent decisions and is constantly on his toes, adjusting position and posture to defend developing threats. The 24-year-old has often been a figure of ridicule since his move to . Christian Pulisic 5. Brighton 1-0 Leeds USA Network FULL MATCH REPLAY RECAP/HIGHLIGHTS The Portugal international is more of a playmaker, drifting inside to help City swamp their opponents. AFC Bournemouth 0-1 Southampton Full match replay Recap/highlights Valuing a player is currently an arbitrary process where teams, players and representatives simply estimate what they are worth. A two-time FA Youth Cup winner, two-time U18 Premier League champion, Toulon Tournament winner, Toulon Team of the Tournament, Toulon Tournament Player of the Final, UEFA European U-19 Championship winner, his youth career was prestigious. 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