“I still don’t class Caicedo as an all-round player”, “He’s better than Rice” - Paul Scholes names 26-year-old as best midfielder in Premier League

Paul Scholes has named Sandro Tonali as the best midfielder in the Premier League at the moment, placing the Newcastle star ahead of Moises Caicedo and Declan Rice.

With just seven matches played in the ongoing Premier League season, the debate over who the best midfielder in the league has become a hot topic among football pundits. Midfielders like Caicedo and Rice have wowed fans with their impressive performances.

Scholes, however, believes that Caicedo isn't an all-round midfielder, although he admitted that the Ecuadorian is effective at breaking up play.

During a recent football discussion on The Overlap, former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher asked Scholes who the best midfielder in the Premier League is right now, to which he responded:

"Right now? That’s tough. 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 having a go at him and I almost thought about taking that back because he was brilliant in the Club World Cup.

Scholes stressed that while Caicedo excels at the defensive side of the game, he lacks the technical and creative flair that defines a complete midfielder. He continued:

"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. It was a brilliant goal but you wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t do that again for another 18 months. He’s one of the best at what he does, which is breaking up the play; he’s brilliant at that. But I prefer the other types.

The Manchester United legend then praised Liverpool's Alexis Mac Allister before naming Tonali as his best midfielder.

"Alexis MacAllister was absolutely brilliant last season, he controlled a lot of games, and I think Liverpool are missing that at the moment. "I love Sandro Tonali as well. He’s been brilliant. Very good. I would probably choose Tonali at this point," Scholes noted.

Tonali joined Newcastle from AC Milan in 2023 for a reported fee of €58.9 million. However, the Italian midfielder is yet to score a goal in the Premier League this season, having registered only one assist so far.

"I think he's got "everything"—Paul Scholes doubles down on his stance of Sandro Tonali being the best midfielder in the Premier League

Scholes' decision to name Tonali as the best Premier League midfielder at the moment came as a surprise to many. When pressed if he truly meant the best midfielder in the league, Scholes reiterated his stance:

"Yes, you’re going to say Declan Rice but I think he’s better than Rice. 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. He can do everything but I just don’t think he does it enough. I prefer Tonali but they’re both good players."

Unlike Scholes, Carragher believed that Rice is currently the best Premier League midfielder, while Gary Neville threw his weight behind Caicedo.

Edited by Ezekiel Olamide