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#3 Piotr Zielinski (Napoli)
Compared to other Serie A midfielders like Kessie and Milinkovic-Savic, Piotr Zielinski plays a more advanced role for Napoli. The 27-year-old midfielder had an extraordinary 2019-20 campaign, ranking in the top five in every single ball progression metric.
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In the 2020-21 season, however, he turned into a more output-oriented player. Zielinski scored eight goals and further recorded 10 assists, taking his total goal contribution tally to 18. Ruslan Malinovskyi and Romelu Lukaku were the only two players to claim more assists, ranking the Polish midfielder third.
An interesting statistic is that Zielinski recorded the highest number of nutmegs in Serie A 2020-21, with 13. After an underwhelming campaign, Napoli will be hoping Zielinski can gain further ascendacy in the list of midfielders under new coach Luciano Spalletti.
#2 Nicolo Barella (Inter Milan)
Nicolo Barella was the most important player for Inter Milan after Romelu Lukaku under ex-manager Antonio Conte. His role, which is often referred to as a mezzela, is very important to how the team functions as a whole. Barella also executed the role brilliantly for Italy at the Euros.
The 24-year-old midfielder ended the 2020-21 Serie A season with three goals and seven assists, having featured 36 times. Now, while these may not seem like world-class numbers for midfielders, his real strength lies in providing the link between defense and attack.
Inter Milan usually lined up with just Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez up front, and Barella was tasked with converting the defense into attack. He was also instructed to watch Hakimi's overlapping run from right wing-back.
The Italian midfielder did everything that was asked of him. He was ranked sixth in Serie A in 2020-21 for progressive passes as well as passes into the penalty area. Barella was also ranked seventh in Serie A for through balls, and eighth for carries into the attacking third.
In fact, he is ranked in the 93rd percentile among midfielders in the top five leagues for progressive passes, and 94th percentile for progressive passes received. This means he gets into advanced positions, and also has the ability to carry the ball into more dangerous situations.
It will be interesting to see how new Inter boss Simone Inzaghi utilizes one of the most extraordinary midfielders in Serie A next season.
#1 Manuel Locatelli (Sassuolo)
Manuel Locatelli was simply on fire in Serie A 2020-21. The 23-year-old midfielder, along with Domenico Berardi, who bagged 17 goals, led Sassuolo to an impressive eighth place finish under Roberto De Zerbi. They finished level on points with Roma, but missed out on European qualification due to goal difference.
On paper, Locatelli had just four goals and two assists in Serie A in 2020-21. However, when one takes a look at how good he is at progressing the ball, it becomes evident why the Italian tops the list of midfielders.
Locatelli is not among the midfielders who usually like to move forward and rather prefers to operate from the middle of the pitch. He was impressive at Euro 2020 too, when he was given the chance.
Locatelli was ranked first for touches of the ball in Serie A in 2020-21, which means that every single Sassuolo move went through him. He was also ranked first for passing targets, as well as passes into the final third.
Locatelli ranked second in the league for progressive passes, only behind Lazio's Luis Alberto. However, it is easy to forget that the 23-year-old does not fall in the category of advanced midfielders, unlike Alberto who is a traditional attacking midfielder.
As if this is not impressive enough, Locatelli also ranks third in the league for tackles. All in all, Loctaelli is surely among any manager's wishlist of dream midfielders.
Juventus seem to be courting him seriously this transfer window after Locatelli reportedly rejected Arsenal's advances.
Regardless of whether the new Sassuolo boss Alessio Dionisi utilizes him, or if it is Massimiliano Allegri at Juventus, the Serie A fans will continue to have the privilege of watching one of the best midfielders.
