The 11 Best Premier League Captains 2025/26 Season
- Think Football Ideas
- 1 day ago
- 7 min read
While the Premier League might have lost some of its iconic figures over the years, leadership on the pitch remains indispensable.
Captains often help shape the tactical execution and the spirit of their teams, setting examples through consistency, resilience, and composure. The following ranking celebrates those who carry the armband with authority and influence, leaving a mark on their clubs and the league.
Here Are The 11 Best Premier League Captains 2025-26 Season
11. Seamus Coleman (Everton)
Coleman has spent 15 years at Everton, combining loyalty, experience, and leadership. After overcoming a career-threatening infection and a loan spell at Blackpool, he became a key figure, earning PFA Team of the Year in 2013–14 and captaining the side from 2019.
Despite injury-limited seasons in 2024/25 and 2025/26, his influence on squad morale, guidance for younger players, and embodiment of Everton’s values remain profound, making him a cornerstone figure for the club beyond his playing minutes.
10. Jarrod Bowen (West Ham United)
Jarrod Bowen became West Ham captain in August 2024, replacing Kurt Zouma. Versatile in attack, he influences wide and central play and thrives in high-pressure matches, including the 2023 Europa Conference League final, where he scored the winner.
Milestones such as his first Premier League hat-trick, 100th league goal, and equalling Di Canio’s seasonal record highlight his know-how.
Recognised as Hammer of the Year 2025, Bowen influences teammates through his performance, and he has brought that to the 2025-26 season, where in his first 6 games, he scored 3 goals.
In those six matches, he completed 126 passes at an 82% success rate and 18 dribbles at a 44% success rate. This is a captain who is composed and has provided decisive contributions that have been crucial to West Ham.
Nuno Espirito Santo will be hoping that the player who scored his first goal as Hammers head coach can help lift the team out of the position where Graham Potter left them in the Premier League table. Bowen is looking for more goals like the one he scored against Everton on September 29.
9. Granit Xhaka (Sunderland)
Returning to the Premier League with Sunderland, Granit Xhaka brings international and captaincy experience from Arsenal and Bayer Leverkusen.
When he was linked with Sunderland, you knew the newly promoted side were getting a player who had contributed to Arsenal, winning FA Cups and Community Shield and also played a key role in Leverkusen’s recent unbeaten domestic double in 2023/24 under Xabi Alonso.
Xhaka guides midfield play, instils togetherness, and mentors younger teammates, blending tactical awareness with leadership.
In his first six league games for the Black Cats, he completed 83% of the 324 passes he made, and 62% of his 47 long-range passes. Tackles totalling 12, he registered 7 interceptions and added 3 assists. At 33, he is effective.
His ability to manage games, maintain team bond, and provide a model for professionalism makes him an influential presence for Sunderland’s 2025/26 campaign.
8. John McGinn (Aston Villa)
John McGinn’s energy and passion define his captaincy. This is a player who joined Villa in 2018, scored the Championship play-off winner, helped secure promotion and has also contributed crucial goals in European campaigns.
McGinn embodies the “hands-on” captain, guiding teammates through adversity while leading by example.
In his first 6 matches of the season, he registered 206 passes, with 84% of them completed. His first goal was in Villa's first win of the campaign.
Villa had gone five games without a win and needed to beat Fulham at Villa Park to seal a much-needed three points. McGinn showed up on that occasion like he has done in the past, doubling the lead after Ollie Watkins' opener.
Even though they have not had the kind of start they had wanted, his dedication and displays still ensure Aston Villa maintain competitiveness in domestic and European competitions this season.
7. Cristian Romero (Tottenham Hotspur)
Romero became captain following Son Heung-min’s departure in the summer. He is building on his vice-captain experience in the 2023/24 season.
Joining Spurs permanently from Atalanta in 2022, the Argentine has formed a defensive partnership with Micky van de Ven, which is key to team stability and to what they can achieve by the end of the 2026 campaign.
Romero's physicality and tactical awareness were pivotal in Tottenham’s 2024/25 Europa League triumph, earning him the Player of the Match award in the final against a drab Man United side.
Occasional red cards reflect intensity and competitiveness, while his leadership from the back under a more structured Thomas Frank side is undeniable.
6. Reece James (Chelsea)
Reece James, a Chelsea academy graduate, is among the Premier League’s most dynamic right-backs when fit, and he combines attacking instincts with defensive awareness.
As captain, Chelsea won the Europa Conference League and the Club World Cup in the 2024-25 campaign, and returned to Champions League football, all in Enzo Maresca's debut season as Chelsea boss.
Despite injury setbacks and occasional disciplinary issues, James' tactical understanding, assists, and guile are key to Chelsea’s advancements this year, as he still offers a blend of experience, influence, and on-field authority.
He has often started a few games from the bench this season, and only Enzo Maresca can tell you why.
5. Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)
Bernardo Silva became captain following Kyle Walker’s departure in January 2025. Since joining City in 2017, he has contributed to multiple Premier League titles and crucial European matches.
Capable of playing centrally, wide, or defensively, Silva guides play with vision. At age 31, he still reinforces Manchester City’s high standards and ensures squad unity.
He influences matches and maintains performance during intense domestic and European campaigns. He is still key to what Guardiola City can achieve this season.
4. Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United)
Bruno Fernandes has overseen silverware victories, including the League Cup and FA Cup, while captaining United. He became club captain in 2023 when Erik ten Hag took the armband off Harry Maguire.
Albeit United are in the doldrums, the Portuguese can still influence every facet of play. He recently reached 100 goal contributions for the club, scored landmark goals such as a 50-yard equaliser against Liverpool, and orchestrated key comebacks in the Manchester derby in recent seasons.
His start to the 2025-26 campaign has been below par. In saying that, in his initial six league matches, he made 373 passes and completed 82% of those, with a 3.54XG, scoring 2 goals, all in 537 minutes.
Even though Ruben Amorim's system now has him orchestrating play from deeper in midfield, he remains their best player at 31.
Setting Premier League records for chance creation and consistently producing decisive goals and assists, Fernandes demonstrates the capacity to inspire and elevate teammates even amid occasional disciplinary setbacks. He is still one of the league’s most impactful captains.
3. Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace)
At 25, Guehi is as important to the Eagles as Van Dijk is to Liverpool. Since joining Palace in 2021, he has become a key centre-back who helped Crystal Palace reach the FA Cup semi-final and guided the team to its first major trophy in the FA Cup and Community Shield in 2025.
Even amid injuries, the occasional own goal, and transfer speculation, he maintains professionalism and focus. Guehi influences matches defensively and offensively. He also scores decisive goals like he did at Villa Park to earn Palace a 3-0 win on the 31st of August.
In that game at Villa Park, he exemplified a commanding presence and showed why Liverpool were keen on signing him in the summer.
2. Martin Ødegaard (Arsenal)
Martin Ødegaard leads by example rather than vocal commands. He often dictates Arsenal’s play and sets standards in technical execution.
He became the permanent captain in the 2022/23 season and has really influenced their three second-place finishes for three seasons in a row. They also performed in the Champions League last term, not to forget those two incredible wins over Real Madrid, before they were eliminated by PSG.
Consistently contributing goals and assists, Ødegaard fosters team cohesion in his own way. We have often heard the debate about whether he has what it takes to lead the Gunners to title glory. He can and he does inspire through his performances.
Ødegaard exemplifies modern captaincy and is still key to maintaining Arsenal’s challenge for trophies this season and long-term competitiveness. Aside from injuries, Eberechi Eze's addition to the squad might help Mikel Arteta manage his play time, which would help produce a better Ødegaard.
1. Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Van Dijk’s ascension to Liverpool captain in 2023 cemented his role as the club’s defensive and organisational anchor.
Since he joined in 2018, he has helped Liverpool seal two Premier League titles, forming key partnerships with Joe Gomez in 2020 and Ibrahima Konaté in 2025 at the back. He certainly has the experience.
The Dutchman's commanding presence helps stabilise Liverpool's backline, and his ability to lead and score decisive goals permeates through every area of the pitch.
His first six league matches of the new season saw him win 40 duels, 31 aerial duels and 89% passes completed from 494 attempts.
His crucial dying-minute winning goal against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League phase on September 17 at Anfield was a reminder of how important Van Dijk is to the Reds.
Even short absences are felt immediately, and this underscores his value as a leader. To win a second consecutive Premier League title under Arne Slot, Van Dijk's presence on the pitch is crucial for keeping Liverpool competitive at the highest level in the 2025-26 campaign.
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