He is better than Rice and Caicedo — Scholes makes surpsise pick for best midfielder in EPL

Who is the best midfielder in the Premier League? Manchester United legend Paul Scholes has made his pick.

The Premier League has been blessed with some of the world’s best midfielders over the past decade, and this season is no exception.

Manchester City’s Rodri won the Ballon d’Or last year, while playing in the league, to show that a midfielder can also win the big awards. One of the league’s greatest ever midfielders, and one of the greatest of all time, in most people’s estimation, is Manchester United legend Paul Scholes.

Scholes is in excellent position to discuss the merits of the role and shed light on what it takes to be a top-level Premier League midfielder.

Paul Scholes picks best midfielder in Premier League

When asked on The Overlap podcast who he rates as the Premier League’s best midfielder, the former Manchester United star said,

“That’s tough, but I still don’t class Moises Caicedo as an all-round midfield player. I know he scored a great goal and was brilliant the other day.

“I got some stick last year after having a go at him, and I almost thought about taking that back because he was brilliant in the Club World Cup, but I just prefer the controlling type of midfield players who play with a bit more style and can score goals a bit more often than Caicedo.”

“I love Sandro Tonali as well. He’s been brilliant. Very good. I would probably choose Tonali at this point.” Scholes was then pressed to confirm his controversial choice over Arsenal’s Declan Rice:

“Yes, you’re going to say Declan Rice, but I think he’s better than Rice.

While complimentary of the England international, Scholes critiqued Rice’s tendency to hold the ball too long.

“I really like Rice, don’t get me wrong, I think he’s got everything. Sometimes he takes a few too many touches of the ball and tries to look a bit more stylish than necessary.”