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#3 Reece James
Chelsea academy product Reece James was touted to grow into one of the Premier League's best much before he became a regular feature in the Blues' squad. James impressed during his loan spell with Wigan Athletic, which fast-tracked his promotion to the Chelsea squad as he made 24 Premier League appearances in his first season with them.
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He was a regular feature in Frank Lampard and then Thomas Tuchel's squad in the 2020-21 season as the Blues won the Champions League. He has now started the 2021-22 season firing on all cylinders. In just eight Premier League matches this season, James has scored four goals and provided three assists from right wing-back.
James is just 21 and has over a decade of top-level football left in him.
#2 Ruben Dias
Manchester City defender Ruben Dias made an immediate impact soon after his arrival in the Premier League. Dias won the 2020-21 Premier League player of the season award as Pep Guardiola's men romped to the title in the defender's first season in England.
At 24 years of age, Dias has seemingly ended Manchester City's search for Vincent Kompany's replacement. The Portuguese has enough in him to lead City to more titles. The center-back has brought much-required calm to the City back-line and has also fitted in seamlessly with Pep Guardiola's possession-based style of play.
Dias has started all 11 Premier League matches for Manchester City this season with the Sky Blues having the second-best defensive record in the league.
#1 Trent Alexander-Arnold
Liverpool right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold has divided opinions, with questions often raised over his defensive ability. But with time, the 23-year-old has quashed all such criticism.
His attacking prowess makes him one of the toughest players to handle in the Premier League. There have even been calls for Jurgen Klopp to use Alexander-Arnold in midfield, but the German is quite clear about where he wants to play the 'best right-back in the world'.
“But why make the best right-back in the world a midfielder? I don’t understand that really. As if the right-back position is not that as important as the others," Jurgen Klopp said.
The Liverpool academy product helped end the club's 30-year long wait for an English top-flight title, but not before adding a sixth Champions League title to the Reds' trophy cabinet. He is unarguably the best Premier League defender under the age of 25.
