- 15 Apr 2024
The 10 highest tacklers in the Premier League in 2020/21
Martin Macdonald
- 27 May 2021 09:35 BST
- 3 min read
The Premier League is now over for another season, with Manchester City being crowned champions after winning the title back from Liverpool.
Pep Guardiola’s side were naturally the standout team in the division in 2020/21, with nearest rivals Manchester United finishing 12 points behind.
READ MORE: The 10 highest scorers in the Premier League in 2020/21
Though the flair players will undoubtedly grab most of the headlines for their performances this campaign, the Premier League was as combative as ever so the players constantly winning possession back through their tough-tackling proved just as important.
So, here is the top 10 list of the players with the best tackling stats for this past season.
Premier League top tacklers
| Player | Total Tackles (2020/21) |
|---|---|
| 1. Tomas Soucek | 463 |
| 2. Adama Traore | 426 |
| 3. Luke Ayling | 395 |
| 4. James Tarkowski | 384 |
| 5.Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg | 334 |
| 6. Harry Maguire | 328 |
| 7. Yves Bissouma | 318 |
| 8. Dominic Calvert-Lewin | 313 |
| 9. John McGinn | 300 |
| = Jan Bednarek | 300 |
Tomas Soucek may have made the headlines due to flurry of goals from set-pieces this season, but his contributions in the middle of the pitch cannot be undervalued as he completed more tackles than any other player in the Premier League in 2020/21 with 463.
Overall the Czech attempted 824 tackles which leads to a success rate of 56%.
FootballTransfers revealed that Adama Traore was, by far, the best dribbler in the Premier League this past campaign. But, he also surprisingly has an outstanding tackling record, too, as he is second on the list behind Soucek, having won 426.
For the next five entries on the list we go to perhaps more conventional players, in terms of tackling, compared to Traore, with Luke Ayling, James Tarkowski, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Harry Maguire and Yves Bissouma making up positions 2-7.
Thereafter, we get another forward in Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who won 313 tackles at Everton this season.
John McGinn and Jan Bednarek complete the top 10, making up the final two spots with 300 completed tackles a piece.
Within the top 10, Soucek attempted the most tackles, while the player who attempted the most without making the top 10 is Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins, who attempted 807 and completed 289 for a success rate of 36%.
The player with the highest success rate in the top 10 is Harry Maguire, who won 72% of his attempted tackles.
