Danny Murphy insists £63m star is still ‘levels’ above Declan Rice and Moises Caicedo

Danny Murphy believes that one Premier League midfielder is still ‘levels’ above Declan Rice and Moises Caicedo when fully fit.

The debate as to who is the best central midfielder in the Premier League has been raging on after last weekend’s action.

Caicedo strengthened his case for the crown after another all-action display against Liverpool, with his superb long-range effort helping to condemn the defending champions to a 2-1 defeat at Stamford Bridge.

The Ecuador international scooped Chelsea’s Player of the Year award last season and has continued in that vein so far this campaign, with Gary Neville quick to proclaim him the ‘best in the league’ after his latest display.

Rice, meanwhile, has been a stalwart in the heart of Mikel Arteta’s midfield since completing his record-breaking move to the Emirates in 2023, and was also on the scoresheet at the weekend against his former club, West Ham.

And while full of praise for Caicedo and Rice, Murphy believes that Liverpool midfielder Ryan Gravenberch should be in the conversation when considering the league’s best midfielder at present.

‘Caicedo has been outstanding,’ he told talkSPORT. ‘For me, Gravenberch, Rice and Caicedo – those three come to mind straight away. They’ve all got a little bit different attributes.

‘Caicedo has kind of changed people’s view a little bit in the last three weeks because he’s scored two worldies against Brentford and Liverpool. I think up until then, his goal tally was pretty damn dismal.

‘A lot of people say he doesn’t create, and he’s not a creative passer – he’s not going to get it out of his feet and split open a defence.

‘Gravenberch can do that a bit more; Declan can do that a bit. They’ve all got these wonderful qualities; they’re all tenacious and strong.

‘Although Caicedo is playing best at the moment, as a holding midfielder, I would still have Gravenberch ahead of him.’

However, Murphy is confident that a fully-fit Rodri still remains the league’s best midfielder by some distance.

‘Rodri is better than all of them. Levels ahead of them,’ he said of the Spaniard, who has won four titles as well as the Ballon d’Or since he joined Manchester City from Atletico Madrid for £62.8million back in 2019.

‘For two or three seasons, Rodri’s level were nothing short of magnificent, absolutely magnificent.’