20 Best Players in the Premier League Right Now [Ranked]

With the 2025/26 Premier League season well underway, teams have bolstered their squads throughout the summer in the hopes of improving on their previous campaign. With many sides buying effectively, the Premier League once again has a litany of superstars playing week in and week out.

The likes of Hugo Ekitike, Florian Wirtz and Martin Zubimendi have brought their talents to the English top flight, but with so many great names already operating at the top of the English football pyramid, it might take the big money arrivals some time to reach the same level of their predecessors.

Taking into account a variety of ranking factors — which are detailed below — these are the 20 best Premier League players right now.

Ranking Factors

• How well they’ve started the current Premier League season.
• Their performances since arriving in the English top flight.
• Importance to their respective sides.
• For forwards – goals and assists have been taken into account.
• Memorable performances from recent seasons.

20-16

Bruno Fernandes, Alexander Isak, Eberechi Eze, Bruno Guimaraes, Antoine Semenyo

There isn’t always much going for Ruben Amorim’s side. However, Bruno Fernandes continues to impress. A creative force who has dragged his team through bad patch after bad patch, he is the true embodiment of a captain. Despite his role becoming deeper and deeper on the pitch, making less use of his creativity, United fans still adore him, and the fact he keeps creating astronomical levels of chances means he remains just on the list.

Alexander Isak was at the centre of one of the Premier League’s biggest sagas in the summer window. Demanding a move away from Newcastle, the Sweden-born forward got his way with a nine-figure move to Premier League champions, Liverpool. A Thierry Henry-esque talent, he notched in 62 goals in 109 outings for Newcastle during his three years there. Now performing for a big six side, it remains to be seen if he can replicate his talents on Merseyside, but injuries and fitness have restricted him so far.

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Another summer signing is up next in the form of Eberechi Eze, who was instrumental in Crystal Palace’s FA Cup and Community Shield double before then making the full-circle move back to boyhood club Arsenal, where he remains a composed presence in attacking midfield. Following him is Newcastle United’s Bruno Guimaraes. The Brazilian was one of the first major moves the Magpies made after they were taken over, and he’s been an incredible bit of business. He acts as the engine in the middle for the club and is the heart of the team.

Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo, with six goals and three assists in 11 games, is arguably among the top three players of the season so far. The fact that he could be on the books of a big-six club as early as January suggests he may soon climb even higher in these rankings. But form can only take you so far this early in the campaign, so for now he has to settle for 16th.

15-11

William Saliba, Rodri, Bryan Mbeumo, Phil Foden, Cole Palmer

Taking up the 15th spot is Arsenal’s William Saliba. He is a rock-solid part of the Gunners’ impenetrable defence, and his aura alone is enough to put his attackers off. He is followed by Rodri, who, while having won the Ballon d’Or in 2023, has struggled to regain his glorious best since returning from an ACL injury. That said, form is temporary, and class is permanent.

Slowly but surely, things have been starting to fall into place at Manchester United for Bryan Mbeumo. A vital cog in the Brentford machine, his 28-goal contributions in the 2024/25 season earned him a move to a struggling United side. Notching five goals and one assist in 11 league outings at his new club, he’s the saving grace that Ruben Amorim has been desperate for.

After a stellar 23/24 campaign, Phil Foden had a dismal season last time out, but that doesn’t take away from how talented he is. The Englishman is one of the brightest attackers in the league and has already shown glimpses in the 25/26 campaign, with seven goal contributions in 14 games to earn him a recall to the England squad.

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Just missing out on the top 10 because of ongoing poor form and fitness doubts is Cole Palmer. Where would Chelsea be without him? The courage to make the jump from Manchester to west London was commendable – but the 23-year-old’s 40 goal contributions from his debut season prove he made the right choice.

He continued his fine form last term, notching 15 goals and eight assists in 37 top-flight outings. What a phenomenal talent Enzo Maresca has at his disposal, even if things haven’t been so smooth for him recently.

10-6

Ryan Gravenberch, Dominik Szoboszlai, Moises Caicedo, Alisson Becker, Bukayo Saka

Liverpool’s versatile Dominik Sbozoszlai, who typically operates in midfield, but has recently proven he can perform at right back as well, finds himself just ahead of teammate Ryan Gravenberch. Entering his third season as a Liverpool player, the Hungarian international’s 16 goal contributions in the 2024/25 season were his best return in a Reds shirt, as he continues to cement himself as a starting fixture in a side stacked in the midfield department.

Neither of them, however, are able to hold a candle to Moises Caicedo just yet. Chelsea’s most important middle man, the Ecuadorian international has recently added goals to his game after proving to be a beacon for interceptions, breaking up play with worrying ease.

Since arriving from AS Roma in the summer of 2018, there have been few – if any – shot-stoppers that have been able to replicate the exploits of Alisson Becker between the sticks. Not only has he won everything there is to win, but his varied skill set makes him such a unique and important player for Liverpool.

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Rounding out this section, and thus just missing out on the top five, is Arsenal poster boy Bukayo Saka. The Hale End graduate, regarded as his side’s most important player, has lacked sufficient cover in his position and, as such, has been an ever-present for Arteta in recent seasons – but his output has never waned. Last season, an injury kept him on the sidelines for a while, though, highlighting how important he is to Arsenal.

5-1

Gabriel, Declan Rice, Virgil van Dijk, Mohamed Salah, Erling Haaland

For a long time, Gabriel was seen as Saliba’s right-hand man or even his understudy. But the roles have been reversed lately, with the Brazilian now the most important part of a defence collecting clean sheets like they’re going out of fashion. What’s more, he’s become a key weapon at the other end of the pitch, proving to be the single most influential factor in Arsenal’s set-piece prowess.

Declan Rice’s move to Arsenal had fans wondering whether he’d be able to replicate his West Ham United exploits – but, well, of course he has. As dynamic as ever, the Englishman has performed like a ticking metronome in the London club’s engine room and has gone from strength to strength, adding a layer of goals to his game.

Regarded as one of the best centre-backs in Champions League history, the imposing Virgil van Dijk is stationed in at third place, taking the mantle from the aforementioned Gabriel as the league’s best, and most consistent, central defender.

Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah has been a revelation since joining the Reds in 2017, becoming the club’s record scorer in the Premier League. While many thought that he’d drop off in the post-Jurgen Klopp era, the Egyptian actually had one of his best-ever campaigns during Arne Slot’s maiden year and was influential to the Reds claiming just their second ever Premier League title. There’s no doubt he’s the best player in the Premier League when at his best, but his numbers this season have dipped, and he must now accept there’s one player better than him.

First is the inevitable Erling Haaland, formerly of Borussia Dortmund. A goalscoring machine of the highest order, the Norwegian record-breaker entered last campaign as prolific as ever, but his astonishing rate slowed down throughout the season. It was actually considered a disappointing year for the striker, but he still managed to score 32 goals in all competitions. If that doesn’t tell you how good he is, not much will. Now with 14 goals in 11 games of the 25/26 Premier League campaign, he is putting the rest of the league on notice for questioning his previous seasons’ output.

All statistics in this article per Transfermarkt – correct as of 21-11-25.