AnalysisMay 28, 2026 12:12 am EDT Updated On Wednesday, we put you in the recruitment room and took you through the top nine options for goalkeepers across the summer transfer window.Today, it is the turn of the central defenders.Welcome to The Athletic’s Transfer Tiers. We’ve assembled a panel of experts to put together a list of players in each position heading into the summer. With the knowledge of those experts, we think we have pulled together a fairly comprehensive list of the top nine players that will be under consideration in each role going into the window.Want to read more about our methodology? That can be found here.Based on that methodology, our understanding of the centre-back market can be found below.Tier One, Tier Two and Tier Three can be divided into elite clubs, those from the level just below and the wealthy middle-class, respectively. But it is worth remembering that if the other options move or are unavailable, elite sides could quite easily fit a Tier Three player into their teams.Inclusion here does not mean a player wants to move or that they are necessarily going to be available this summer. However, it is who our experts, which includes sporting and technical directors, coaches, scouts, intermediaries, analysts and, in a few instances, people with important local knowledge, would present in a recruitment meeting going into the window.The expert viewBastoni has had an extremely difficult year. He became something close to a national hate figure in February when, in an incident which attracted comment from the national government, he celebrated getting Pierre Kalulu sent off during the Milan derby.His own red card in the qualifying playoff against Bosnia was then among several reasons why Italy failed to qualify for this summer’s World Cup.So, 2026 has not been kind, but it does not seem to have damaged his stock. Bastoni was the most picked Tier One centre-back among those asked, and while some left him out completely, nobody selected him in any other Tier.For good reason. Bastoni has traditional, imposing defensive qualities, both one-on-one and in the air, but is also an elegant footballer, capable of carrying the ball forward and passing accurately across short, medium and long range.As a sidenote: all three centre-backs picked in Tier One were left-footed, perhaps making clear the value attached to having that attribute within a defence and the different passing angles it helps to create.InfoAge: 27Current club: Inter MilanThe expert view“You can do so, so much with him. It would be like buying two players.”A registered intermediary.A broken leg suffered in January ruined his final season under Pep Guardiola, but nobody seems discouraged; Gvardiol was not the most selected Tier One centre-back, but he was not picked in any other category. The belief is that either he stays at Manchester City or remains at the very top of the game with another elite club.It hardly needs justifying. Positionally versatile and able to play in a variety of different roles and systems, Gvardiol has every attribute required against the ball, while also being an asset with it. He’s an extremely progressive defender whose range of passing and quality of carrying are great strengths and provide his teams with a variety of different options in the build-up.His availability is unclear, with no indication that he is on the market, and he might prove unattainable. Ultimately, he has been included because Guardiola’s departure creates enough doubt for him to be included. In addition to this, City have a past record for allowing players to leave if they receive the right offer — think of Ferran Torres or Julian Alvarez.InfoAge: 24Current club: Manchester CityThe expert view“Left-footed centre-backs have scarcity value. When you factor in how well he carries and passes from his position, that’s what will attract the biggest clubs.”A scout for a Premier League club.In the late spring of 2026, Schlotterbeck signed a new Borussia Dortmund contract. That new deal runs until 2031, but includes a release clause that can be activated by a clutch of Champions League sides. The identity of those clubs remains a mystery. All that’s known (definitively) for now is that Bayern Munich are not able to activate that clause, meaning that that road — taken by Mario Gotze and Mats Hummels previously — is not open to him.Schlotterbeck, who can play as the left-sided centre-back in a back four or the outside defender in a back three, has been at the Westfalenstadion since 2022. It’s been a difficult period for Dortmund, featuring ups, downs, a Champions League final appearance and an oh-so-close failure to win the Bundesliga, but he has been stable.His football abilities — the scalpel-like distribution and his elegant carrying from the back — are well established, but he has also emerged as a dressing-room leader, also becoming a seasoned German international.InfoAge: 26Current club: Borussia DortmundThe expert viewVan de Ven has had an eventful three years at Tottenham. Hamstring issues blighted his first two, even though his goal-line clearance became the signature moment of Spurs’ Europa League win in 2025. Even though his durability was much improved this season — he played over 3,000 minutes in the Premier League alone — he was part of a fragile side that came within a few points of relegation.His strengths are obvious. He’s one of the quickest defenders in the world and is a powerful ball-carrier, a physical presence in both boxes and a strong last-ditch defender. Separating him from Tottenham’s issues this season is also difficult. Was his volatile form a product of a testing environment? Or did his individual performances contribute to the team’s overall instability? Most likely, a bit of both.There’s no question that he was part of Spurs’ resurgence and the short run of form they put together to avoid relegation, but it’s a difficult basis for judgement.“I know how good he can be,” says a Premier League scout, “but I don’t know how good he is.”That was not a unanimous perspective. Eight respondents rated Van de Ven as a Tier One player — one raised the point that he might be viewed differently as an outside defender in a back three — but more than twice as many still have him at the level below.InfoAge: 25Current club: Tottenham HotspurThe expert viewYet another left-footed centre-back — there’s a case for saying that our experts might have a bias — but there’s no question that Senesi is among the best centre-backs in England.It’s not necessarily just that he can be trusted in possession or that he’s capable of passing through the first wave of opposition pressure. He’s a chance-creator in his own right. Last season, he had an xA (expected assists) rating of 0.13 per 90, which placed him among the 99th percentile for all centre-backs; considering he’s a highly competent defender as well, it makes him quite the proposition.Three respondents placed him in Tier One and one in Tier Three, indicating that while the vast majority see him with a club contending for the Champions League places — which was actually his situation with Bournemouth this season — there is still some disagreement about what his natural place should be.He’s available on a free transfer after the expiration of his contract.InfoAge: 29Current club: BournemouthThe expert viewThe first right-footer to make it. Van Hecke has actually been a Brighton player for six years now. He first joined in 2020 after just a handful of games for NAC Breda, moving to the Premier League at 20, before spending a season back in the Netherlands on loan with Heerenveen.A year later, he made some minor history. At the end of his first season on loan in the English Football League, he became the first Blackburn Rovers loanee to win the club’s Player of the Season award.It would prove instructive for the Premier League seasons ahead. While the cliches about Dutch centre-backs tend to focus on technical and cerebral attributes — both of which Van Hecke has proven many times he possesses — a lot of the feedback from our respondents mentioned his toughness.“Likes a battle,” was one scout’s comment, which was a bit surprising. But — actually — a deeper dive into his performances does show a level of aggression within his game and a physical suitability to the English style, which, doubtless, has helped him to be so successful.Four respondents picked Van Hecke as a Tier One option. Nobody picked him lower than Tier Two.It’s easy to understand why. Among his less elusive attributes, he is an excellent tackler, his positioning is sound, as are his defensive instincts, and like everyone else who made this Tier — or just missed out on it — he’s extremely accomplished with the ball.He actually suffered some criticism towards the end of this season, following a few high-profile errors — most notably being caught in possession against Tottenham — that began a disappointing end to the year. Mistakes are mistakes, of course, but Van Hecke’s defenders would say that the way he plays, with that slight risk, has been key to their possession phases. It’s a fair point; that’s the modern game. But that also might be the reason why he’s seen as a Tier Two option, rather than one for the level above.One note: Nottingham Forest’s Murillo received as many Tier Two votes as van Hecke, but was excluded after he signed a new contract last week.InfoAge: 25Current club: Brighton and Hove AlbionThe expert viewThere’s significant disagreement about Lacroix; he was picked in all three Tiers and it’s easy to see him succeed in most scenarios. Before he joined Crystal Palace in 2024, his reputation had been on the slide. He joined Wolfsburg in 2020 and was quickly bracketed as someone who would move swiftly to the top of the game; he was linked with elite sides.Badly timed injuries and dwindling confidence, partly attributable to broader team issues, altered the perception around him, meaning that his move to Selhurst Park was — back then — commensurate with his place in the game. He was a restoration project.But he’s had an outstanding few years under Oliver Glasner, winning the FA Cup in 2025 and establishing himself as one of the better centre-backs in England, capable of playing in a back-four or three. What his level is might be a cause for debate, but there’s no arguing his abilities: quick, proactive, tough in the air and more technical than often given credit for being.He appears in Tier Three — and that’s a surprise — but there appear to be people all over in the industry, in different roles, who believe he could succeed at most levels.InfoAge: 26Current club: Crystal PalaceThe expert viewStones is a free agent this summer, following the expiration of his Manchester City contract. He’s only 31, but has also suffered seven significant injuries since the beginning of last season, missing 55 games for City and England combined.Nobody selected him as a Tier One option, likely because of that injury record and his age, but he did feature several times in Tier Two, suggesting that he’s not seen solely as a squad player or a wise old head who can be of benefit to developing players.That seems to be Thomas Tuchel’s belief, too. Stones was among the players picked by England for the World Cup instead of Harry Maguire. It was controversial, but not necessarily wrong; between his experience, his quality and his value within a team environment, Stones still retains an obvious worth.He also featured five times in Tier Two, so nobody thinks that he’s about to embark on a pre-retirement tour.InfoAge: 31Current club: Manchester City (contract expires this summer)The expert viewWest Ham were ultimately relegated from the Premier League, but that they came close to avoiding the drop was partly to do with Disasi. His arrival on loan from Chelsea coincided with a significant rise in defensive standards.Disasi is now 28 and it’s not controversial to say that his original transfer to Chelsea — for €45m (£38.5m) from Monaco, in August 2023 — has been a terrible disappointment.A loan to Aston Villa last season did not alter his trajectory in England, but six months in London’s East End has — even if it ended in disappointment. Disasi has flaws. He’s not a ball-carrier and does not have a particularly progressive game, but he can be enormously physical, especially in the air, and paired with his availability and (newly proven) ability to perform at Premier League level, that makes him a credible supplementary option.InfoAge: 28Current club: West Ham (on loan from Chelsea)May 28, 2026Connections: Sports EditionSpot the pattern. Connect the termsFind the hidden link between sports terms