Centre backs are all the rage these days with Manchester United reportedly ready to pay up to £90 million for Harry Maguire but where does every centre back from the Premier League last season sit in a pyramid.
Virgil van Dijk became the undisputed champion of centre backs last season for Liverpool, so much so that some consider him to be favourite for the Ballon d'Or.
The Dutchman is on top of the defender pyramid in the Premier League, to that there is little doubt, but what would the order be below him?
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One fan has given all of last season's Premier League centre backs a definitive ranking, starting with Van Dijk of course.
World Class: Virgil van Dijk.
Class: Aymeric Laporte, Rob Holding.
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Good: Nathan Ake, Toby Alderweireld, Vincent Kompany, Victor Lindelof.
Decent: Eric Bailly, Wily Bolly, Lewis Dunk, Joe Gomez, Harry Maguire, Christian Kabasele, Antonio Rudiger, John Stones, Davinson Sanchez, Socrates, Jan Vertonghen, Kurt Zouma, James Tarkowski.
Bad: Fabián Balbuena, Martin Kelly, Jannik Vestergaard, Michael Keane, Sol Bamba, Andreas Christensen, Christopher Schindler, Kieran Clarke, Fabian Schar, Jamaal Lascelles, Ryan Bennett, Mamadou Sakho, Issa Diop, Joel Matip, Paul Dummett, Phil Jagielka, David Luiz, Federico Fernandez, Dejan Lovren, Çağlar Söyüncü, Jonny Evans, Yerry Mina, Adrian Mariappa, Juan Foyth, Denis Odoi, Angelo Ogbonna, Tim Ream, Nicolas Otamendi.
Trash: Leon Begalom, Wes Morgan, Steve Cook, Conor Coady, Craig Cathcart, Shane Duffy, Wesley Hoedt, Scott Dann, Jack Stephens, Maya Yoshida, Sean Morrison, James Tomkins, Terence Kongolo, Laurent Koscielny, Mathias Jørgensen, Maxime Le Marchand, Jack Simpson, Bruno Ecuele Manga, Ben Gibson, Florian Lejeune, Chris Mepham, Chris Smalling, Marcos Rojo, Ben Mee, Calum Chambers.
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Mustafi: Shkodran Mustafi, Phil Jones, Alfie Mawson
Call me mad but I think that the fan that came up with this list might have a little Arsenal bias when it comes to ruling that Rob Holding is one of the best three defenders in the Premier League.
The former Bolton Wanderers player has played just 31 top tier games in his short career to date, including just three last season.
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There is a lot of players in the 'bad' and 'trash' sections of the chart, a damning indictment of the quality of defenders in England right now, although it may also be the same across world football.
Manchester United fans will look on in horror that their team could spend up to £90 million on a 'decent' defender in Maguire, especially when Victor Lindelof is above him and Eric Bailly the same level.
Who would you change on the list?
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Manchester City, Spurs, Football News, Chelsea, Manchester United, Phil Jones, Premier League, Virgil Van Dijk, Arsenal, Shkodran Mustafi
