Best Defensive Midfielders in Serie A – Lazio Star off the Charts – Inter Milan & Juventus Men on Podium | OneFootball

An interesting study crowns Lazio star Nicolo Rovella as the best midfielder in Serie A in terms of defensive actions, at least among players who ply their trades at the big clubs.

The Background

The 23-year-old has been growing from strength to strength since joining the Aquile in the summer of 2023 on a two-year loan deal with an obligation to buy from Juventus. The Italy international is enjoying a superb campaign under Marco Baroni, cementing himself as one of the best deep-lying playmakers in the league.

Nicolo Rovella Firing on All Cylinders

But while Rovella has been catching the eye with his smooth passing and seamless ability to advance the play, his exceptional defensive work can sometimes go unnoticed. Nevertheless, a study from football writer and analyst Rohit Rajeev shed some light on the Lazio midfielder’s off-the-ball contributions.

This study took into account all midfielders with at least 1200 minutes on the pitch this season among those who play for the Top 5 clubs in Serie A (Inter Milan, Napoli, Atalanta, Juventus and Lazio) in addition to AC Milan.

Nicolo Rovella Leads the Charts

As the stats reveal, Rovella is the undisputed leader in terms of defensive actions (tackles and interceptions), with an average close to 4.5 per match. The next in line is Inter’s Hakan Calhanoglu with an average just above 3 actions per match while Juve’s Manuel Locatelli completed the podium with circa 2.9.

Milan’s Youssouf Fofana, Napoli’s Scott McTominay and Atalanta’s Ederson round off the Top 6, but no player came close to Rovella, which partially explains why Baroni has been heavily relying on his services in all competitions.

The Genoa youth product reportedly attracted interest from Liverpool and Manchester City, but it would require a sensational offer to prise him away from Lazio.