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.

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.

Ben White has been a model of consistency in north London ever since drifting out to the right side of Arsenal’s imperious defence. While he occasionally has issues defending one-on-one against nifty wingers, White pretty much does everything else to a very high standard.

Availability is the best ability and White can almost always be called upon.

With Kyle Walker edging towards his twilight, 2024/25 may be the campaign for the veteran full-back to pass over the torch.

Rico Lewis has never been overawed at the highest level and his performance against Chelsea suggests he’s ready for regular starts in City’s backline. A special talent.

Having started last season on the periphery, Gabriel was eventually reintegrated and the Brazilian embarked on his most impressive campaign for the Gunners.

A no-nonsense defender who certainly appreciates the art of defending, Gabriel has come on leaps and bounds under Mikel Arteta.

The tired old narratives surrounding Cristian Romero are woefully out of date.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 enters 2024/25 off the back of another imperious major tournament display with Argentina and, although many have fallen for Micky van de Ven and his majestic turn of pace, Romero remains Tottenham’s best and most important defensive operator.

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.

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.

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.

William Saliba started 2024/25 rather sloppily, especially in possession. There are certainly better performances around the corner for the Frenchman.

Nevertheless, 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.

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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