Kevin De Bruyne ranked Premier League defenders and midfielders

Kevin De Bruyne ranked Premier League defenders and midfielders, with his answers no doubt causing a stir.

The Belgium midfielder, who is set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines after undergoing surgery on a serious hamstring injury, took part in a segment for Sky Sports.

He put his favourite Premier League title wins in order, as well as the hairstyles of teammates Jack Grealish, Erling Haaland and Phil Foden.

But more notably, he was asked to give his honest thoughts on centre-backs, fellow creative midfielders in the Premier League, midfield legends and the stadiums with the best atmospheres.

De Bruyne was given three subjects for each category and had to order them. And when it came to central defenders, he did it without any hesitation when he was handed images of Virgil van Dijk, Thiago Silva and Lisandro Martinez.

Explaining his decision to give pal Van Dijk the nod, he said: "He has everything. Obviously I know him well but he's got right foot, left foot, height, speed, he's a leader.

"Thiago, also, is amazing but I think Virgil's just got that little bit more."

Image: Getty

In terms of legends, De Bruyne opted to put Zinedine Zidane ahead of both Luka Modric and Andres Iniesta, while St James' Park was the choice for best atmosphere ahead of Anfield and the Emirates Stadium.

De Bruyne, arguably the best playmaker in the world, was also asked to separate three of the league's chief creators in Martin Odegaard, Bruno Fernandes and James Maddison.

Manchester United captain Fernandes, described as a "creative machine", was placed in the No.1 spot even though De Bruyne rates Odegaard highly.

On Maddison, De Bruyne said he needs to "see more of him in a big team" following on from his move to Spurs from Leicester City in the summer.