Best Premier League defenders - 2024/25 power rankings

The scrutiny that comes with being a Premier League defender is often too much to bare.

It's a division laden with attacking superstars who are paid to make those tasked with stopping them look ever so silly. It's only the very best who swim and prosper in the English top flight. So many sink.

The array of tactical ideas currently present means Premier League defenders come in all different shapes and sizes. From physical brutes to dynamic full-backs, elite recovery defenders to inverters, no defender is the same.

Here's how 90min ranks the Premier League's best defenders at the start of the 2024/25 season.

10. Max Kilman (new entry)

Kilman made the in-division switch from Wolves to West Ham at the start of the summer, and the imposing defender has quickly made an impression in east London.

He was among West Ham's standout performers in their opening weekend defeat to Aston Villa and was excellent at Selhurst Park as the Hammers claimed their first win of the new season. Kilman helped his side to a clean sheet and it was his driving run that teed up Jarrod Bowen's game-clincher.

9. Antonee Robinson (new entry)

We've gotten used to enjoying the raw Robinson surge down Fulham's left flank. The spritely American is always full of running, and his dynamism overwhelmed Leicester's right on Matchday 2.

Robinson recorded an assist amid an excellent display at Craven Cottage.

8. Josko Gvardiol (-4)

It took a little while for City's lucrative defensive asset to kick into gear. An indifferent start to life in the Premier League had some questioning why the Cityzens splurged so much to bring Josko Gvardiol to the Etihad.

However, the versatile centre-back shone down the stretch in an enterprising left-back function with his work in the final third helping City to their fourth-straight title. He's as smooth as they come.

7. Ruben Dias (-2)

2023/24 was not the best season of Ruben Dias' career. The Portugal international certainly endured a few blips last time out but the Man City defender, who has only ever been a champion on these shores, is determined to prove himself as one of the Premier League's very best once more.

A supreme box defender who combines traditional and modern traits, Dias helped City to their first clean sheet of the season against Chelsea on the opening weekend of the season.

6. Noussair Mazraoui (+4)

Noussair Mazraoui made his Premier League bow just days after arriving in Manchester. The versatile defender impressed on opening night against Fulham and looks set to play a key role for Erik ten Hag's side during his debut campaign.

United supporters will hope the technically proficient full-back can stay fit, with the former Bayern Munich defender impressing one-on-one against Kaoru Mitoma on Matchday 2.

5. Cristian Romero (+1)

The tired old narratives surrounding Cristian Romero are woefully out of date. Psychopathic? Perhaps, but the Argentine is no rash buffoon. Just ask Lionel Messi.

Romero entered 2024/25 off the back of another imperious major tournament display with Argentina, and he netted his first goal of 2024/25 on Matchday 2 against Everton.

4. Micky van de Ven (new entry)

Romero may well be Tottenham's best defender, but 'Ange-ball' simply doesn't function in Van de Ven's absence. Boasting utterly remarkable recovery pace, the Dutchman is nothing short of a cheat code when covering the gaping void behind Spurs' defence.

Van de Ven's power was on full display for Tottenham's fourth against Everton as he surged out of defence, drove the length of the field with the ball in the blink of an eye, and set up Son Heung-min with a well-timed pass.

3. Trent Alexander-Arnold

Look, the midfield experiment at Euro 2024 didn't exactly go to plan, but it shouldn't be forgotten that Alexander-Arnold remains an absolute unicorn of a right-back.

He may not be the sternest in one-v-ones, but who really cares when you can do what Alexander-Arnold does week in and week out with the ball at his feet? The Premier League has never seen a full-back like him, and he's started superbly in a more familiar function under Arne Slot.

2. William Saliba (-)

After enduring a sloppy start against Wolves, Saliba was back to his very best at Villa Park. The Arsenal defender seems to always save his best work for the big occasion.

The Frenchman has rightfully joined the conversation for being the best defender in the Premier League. A centre-back who oozes class, Saliba is an imperious performer and he's scarily only going to get better.

However, he's not the main man just yet.

1. Virgil van Dijk (-)

The Virgil van Dijk fall-off, which many projected amid a disappointing 2022/23, has not yet come to pass. The Liverpool defender was back to his very best last season.

He's one of those centre-backs who's so good you often barely notice him. The game passes him by in the best possible way, with Van Dijk rarely flummoxed by those who attempt to breach the Reds' backline.

There's nobody better at what he does.

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