The Top Five Most Underrated Attacking Midfielders Of The Premier League Era

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4 years ago

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Following our look at the most underrated wingers in Premier League history last week, we now move on to the attacking midfielders.

Number 10s and goalscoring midfielders have become less common in recent seasons, with shifts in formations leading to the midfield becoming less defined in their roles.

Premier League champions Liverpool, for example, do not have a playmaker in midfield, while the likes of Manchester United and Tottenham have also veered away from having a creative outlet in the middle of the park.

Attacking midfielders can come in all shapes and sizes, though, and today we look at five players whose contributions have not always been widely appreciated.

Press the next page to find out who we have chosen.

5) Clint Dempsey

The American international was equally comfortable playing as a midfielder or as a forward, and during his time at Fulham, he racked up an extremely impressive 50 league goals in 184 appearances.

Dempsey was strong in the air but also had a lot of finesse to his play, trying backheel passes at every opportunity.

He scored 23 times during the 2011/12 campaign before moving on to Spurs.

4) Leon Osman

The midfielder spent 16 years at Everton but he never got the recognition he deserved despite being a first-team regular in the top flight for so many seasons.

57 goals and 38 assists in 432 appearances is certainly not a bad return.

Osman should probably have been handed more than the two England caps he received during his long career.

3) Juan Mata

The Spaniard has had a strange career in England after having such a massive impact at Chelsea before Jose Mourinho famously drove him out of Stamford Bridge with David Moyes only too happy to sign Mata for United for a reported fee of £40million in the 2014 January transfer window.

Despite playing 262 times in the Premier League for Chelsea and Manchester United, he has never been fully appreciated at either club despite his creativity and undoubted talent.

Mata scored 20 goals in all competitions during the 2012/13 campaign for Chelsea, and he has hit double figures in three of his eight seasons at Old Trafford, but his career seems to have drifted into becoming a bit-part player for United over the last few years.

2) Tim Cahill

The Australian scored one in every four matches during his time in the Premier League. That is an extremely impressive strike rate considering he was not a striker.

Cahill was always a threat arriving late in the box, getting in between defenders to score headers or being in the right place at the right time to finish off a team move.

1) Aaron Ramsey

The Wales international’s injury record probably clouds some people’s judgement of the player, but there was a reason why Serie A champions Juventus picked him up on a free transfer from Arsenal last year.

During his time with the Gunners, Ramsey averaged a goal or assist every 2.85 games. When he was fit, he generally made a contribution every time he took to the field.