Bruno Fernandes? Declan Rice? Sky Sports ranks the Premier League’s top 25 players at the moment | Soccer News

Wayne Rooney has described Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes as the best player in the Premier League this season. Is he right?

We asked reporters and journalists to rank a longlist of the 40 best players in the competition at the moment and averaged their responses to create the Sky Sports Top 25.

The list includes players from nine different clubs, with leaders Arsenal being the most represented with seven of the top 25. But who will take the top spot? And how do the rankings below compare to the last poll at the start of the season?

25th place: Casemiro

Casemiro has enjoyed a resurgence at Manchester United this season, breaking into the top 25. His total of seven league goals is the highest of his illustrious career.

24th place: Enzo Fernandes

Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandes, who Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher described as one of the best midfielders in the Premier League earlier this season, comes in 24th.

23rd place: Marc Gehi

His outstanding performances at Crystal Palace earned him a move to Manchester City in January, and he quickly became an important player for Josep Guardiola.

22nd place: Brian Mbeumo

The summer signing from Brentford has looked comfortable in his new surroundings since arriving at Manchester United, ranking joint top of the Premier League’s top scorers with nine goals.

21st place: Bernardo Silva

A player that manager Josep Guardiola considers to be one of the best players he has ever coached. Bernardo Silva was one of the few players who had consistent results for Manchester City last season and continues to be a key player.

20th place: Elliot Anderson

Nottingham Forest’s Elliott Anderson has excelled in difficult circumstances this season, underscoring his status as one of the Premier League’s best all-round midfielders.

19th place: Martin Zvimendi

Martin Zvimendi has become Mikel Arteta’s mainstay at the heart of Arsenal’s midfield since joining last summer, securing his place in the top 20.

18th place: Reece James

Although injuries remain an issue, Reece James has had ample opportunity to display his outstanding qualities for Chelsea this season, excelling at both right-back and central midfield.

17th place: Moises Caicedo

Moises Caicedo is one of seven Chelsea players to be red this season, but he still ranks as one of the Premier League’s best midfielders, according to our reporters and journalists.

16th place: Hugo Ekitike

Liverpool’s Hugo Ekitike, one of the Premier League’s best newcomers this season, stepped up while teammate Alexander Isak was out injured, finishing in 16th place.

15th place: Bruno Guimarães

Bruno Guimarães continues to dominate Newcastle’s central midfield, bringing outstanding quality and leadership and continuing to make a huge contribution to the club even in the testing season.

14th place: Bukayo Saka

Although goals and assists are not flowing as freely as in previous seasons, Bukayo Saka remains a key part of Arsenal’s attack.

13th place: Igor Thiago

Few would have expected Brentford’s Igor Thiago to be in this top 25 at the start of the season, but the Brentford striker had an excellent season, scoring 19 goals in the Premier League.

12th place: Gianluigi Donnarumma

Who has the better goalkeeper between title contenders Arsenal and Manchester City? According to reporters and journalists, it’s the former. Gianluigi Donnarumma is in the top 10 overall, but not as high as the Arsenal player.

11th place: Julian Timber

Another key figure in Arsenal’s title challenge, Julian Timber continues to add to his attacking threat at right-back, as well as his defensive solidity. His total eight goal involvements this season are the most of any Premier League defender.

10th place: Morgan Rogers

Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers came in 10th place, the highest ranking player from a club outside the traditional Big Six. He has had a dip in form of late but has shown himself to be one of the game-changing talents in the Premier League under manager Unai Emery.

9th place: João Pedro

Joao Pedro’s potential was evident at former club Brighton, but he has reached new heights since joining Chelsea in the summer, scoring 14 goals and providing five assists in 30 Premier League appearances, putting him in the top 10.

8th place: David Raya

Despite facing Donnarumma this season, Arsenal’s David Raya tops the list among goalkeepers as he bids to win his third Golden Glove, according to our poll.

7th place: William Saliba

History shows that Arsenal are a much stronger team if William Saliba is available. The France international has had a fantastic season at the heart of Mikel Arteta’s defence.

6th place: Antoine Semenyo

Even when he moved from Bournemouth to Manchester City in the middle of the season, the explosive Antoine Semenyo’s rhythm never stopped. He has scored five goals in nine Premier League games for City, which ranks him sixth in the league, on top of the 10 goals in 20 he contributed at his old club.

5th place: Dominik Szoboszlai

Dominik Szoboszlai, Liverpool’s standout player in a difficult season, came in fifth. His stunning free-kick goals have lit up this Premier League season, but they are just part of his huge all-round contribution to Arne Slott’s side.

4th place: Erling Haaland

Erling Haaland’s scoring rate slowed in the second half of the season, but he maintains a unique position among Premier League strikers, leading the season’s top scorers with 22 goals in total. He also recorded seven assists.

3rd place: Gabriel Magalhães

Arsenal’s Gabriel Magalhães is the highest-rated defender in the rankings and continues to excel for the Gunners in both boxes, finishing third overall. He also displayed overwhelming power defensively, contributing with three goals and four assists this season.

2nd place: Declan Rice

Declan Rice has had a fantastic season with Arsenal, making a huge contribution to their title win on both ends of the pitch, and is currently ranked as the second best player in the Premier League, according to reporters and journalists.

1st place: Bruno Fernandes

Our reporters and journalists agreed with Rooney and voted Bruno Fernandes the Premier League’s No.1. The 31-year-old is enjoying perhaps the best individual season of his Manchester United career, with seven goals and 16 assists in 27 games.

Who has fallen the most and who has risen?

Amazingly, the top-ranked player in August isn’t even in the top 25 seven months later. Mohamed Salah’s omission from the list reflects his steep decline this term after helping Liverpool win the Premier League last season.

In fact, Salah is one of six Liverpool players to fall outside the top 25 this time around, with Alexander Isak and Virgil van Dijk plummeting from fifth and sixth respectively.

Alisson was 12th in August, but Florian Wirtz, Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenbirch are also nowhere to be seen, having been placed 13th, 17th and 24th respectively in the previous rankings.

Other notable dropouts are Chelsea’s Cole Palmer and Manchester City’s Rodri, who occupied third and fourth place in August but are now out of the top 25.

Martin Odegaard, Ebelesi Eze, Matheus Cunha and 2023/24 Player of the Year Phil Foden also dropped out of the top 25.

Meanwhile, the most notable riser was Bruno Fernandes, who came out on top in the August poll, coming in 9th place. Declan Rice moved up seven places to second place.

Liverpool’s Dominik Szoboszlai is the highest ranked new entrant, having not made it into the top 25 last time, and is ranked fifth, closely followed by Manchester City’s Antoine Semenyo in sixth place.

David Raya and Joao Pedro are also new names in the top 10, with Brentford’s Igor Thiago also an eye-catching addition in 13th place.