West Ham United’s Jarrod Bowen has named who he believes are the three best defensive midfielders currently playing in the Premier League – Declan Rice, Casemiro and Rodri.

While he acknowledged the talents of Casemiro, he believes that Rice and Rodri are currently playing at a higher level than the Manchester United all-star.

He was full of praise of Rodri, saying that he was ‘incredible’ when he played against him and when he watches him on the field for Manchester City.

What did Jarrod Bowen say regarding Rodri, Declan Rice and Casemiro?

Speaking on FIVE’s official YouTube channel, Bowen said: “I think the only one who’s on a level with Dec is Rodri personally. I think, personally.

“You’ve obviously got Casemiro as well at United who’s won everything, done really well at United. So, those would be probably my three. But when I watch Rodri, I actually played Rodri not a long ago, the way he is on the pitch, he’s incredible.”

Is former West Ham star Declan Rice the best of the three?

Rice is certainly a world class talent – he has proven this time and time again in a West Ham shirt. Now, he continues to put out routinely excellent performances for Arsenal. In addition to this, he is also one of the best players in a star-studded England team.

We believe he is currently a superior player to Casemiro. In his prime, the Brazilian has been one of the best holding players of all time – however, it now seems that age is slowly catching up to him.

Last season, Casemiro was outstanding – but now, he often looks somewhat lethargic at best and stationary at worst. Rodri, on the other hand, is a completely different conversation.

The Spaniard proved his worth last season, as he propelled City to an historic treble. It is difficult to imagine the Citizens achieving what they did without Rodri at the base of their midfield.

In our humble opinion, we believe that Rice is behind Rodri in terms of their overall respective ability – nevertheless, the gap between them is not as cavernous as some may believe.