AnalysisJune 1, 2026 12:12 am EDT Updated It’s time to move up the pitch.Last week, we put you inside a recruitment room for the summer window and took you through the top nine options for goalkeepers, central defenders and full-backs.Today, we move onto central midfielders. Tomorrow will be the turn of attacking midfielders, which means those covered today are comfortable playing either as a No 6 or a No 8.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 central midfield 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 view“A Champions League midfielder in all but name.”A former Premier League head coach.Anderson was unanimous as a Tier One selection in the midfield category. Partly, as several respondents pointed out, that’s because his likely price tag — above £100m — puts him out of reach for anyone other than the wealthy elite and makes anyone else’s interest redundant.As and when he moves, it will end what has been a rapid ascent. Anderson spent almost a decade and a half at Newcastle, joining the club when he was a child and eventually making his Premier League debut as an 18-year-old in January 2021.The circumstances of his transfer to Nottingham Forest in 2024 were controversial. Newcastle sold him because they had been backed into a corner by the league’s profit and sustainability rules, and were at risk of a breach had they not agreed to Anderson’s £35m departure.Two years later, with the player on the brink of becoming one of the most expensive players in European football history, that must really sting.Not least because, whatever his value, Anderson is an outstanding player. Several respondents described his suitability for the top level of the game and his value in multiple phases. Anderson is an excellent ball-winner who can pass reliably but also effectively — and forward, to great effect — making him ideally suited to almost any type of challenge a top club can face across the course of a season.InfoAge: 23Current club: Nottingham ForestThe expert viewFernandes was picked exclusively in Tier One, receiving two fewer votes than Anderson. The Argentine’s qualities are self-evident and familiar by now, so hardly need explaining. He’s a world-class player who was decisive in Argentina winning the World Cup 2022 and will be key to their chances of defending their title in 2026.Among those who left him off their list — respondents put him in Tier One or nowhere at all — there was some concern that Chelsea might try to recoup what they originally paid to Benfica (€121m) in 2023, and that such an asking price would place him out of reach, following what has been a difficult season.Their point being that, despite casting doubt on his future, Fernandez should probably be listed as ‘unavailable’.For those who disagree, it’s an easy pick. Fernandez’s qualities can be applied to different roles in a midfield system, in a way that would make him an asset almost anywhere.InfoAge: 25Current club: ChelseaThe expert view“Talking about the technical range of his passing is obvious. It’s the disguise on that passing that makes him so successful.”A former Championship head coach.Our survey was conducted and completed before Wharton’s stirring performance in the Europa Conference League final, which helped bolster his reputation; on the German commentary, Lothar Matthaus was especially taken with him.Even before that game, though, the Crystal Palace midfielder had established himself as one of the most creative, between-the-lines passers in his position.Wharton did also appear in Tier Two, with respondents mentioning his defensive abilities and physicality relative to other midfielders — he even received a solitary nomination for Tier Three — but the vast majority selected him in Tier One.Among some heady praise, an important point was made: Wharton is a Tier One player by virtue of his abilities, but also because Crystal Palace’s asking price would likely be so high as to preclude all but the wealthiest clubs from making a realistic offer.InfoAge: 22Current club: Crystal PalaceThe expert view“He has a little bit of that Football League toughness. People misunderstand him. They see his hair and his socks and his skill, but not his fight. He’s a f*****g brilliant footballer.”An independent scout from England.The scout has a point: Scott is such an elegant ball-carrier that it’s easy — as fans — just to see him through that lens. His technical ability obviously gives him his definition as a player and allows him to receive the ball under duress and move it upfield, often beating defenders in the process, but he’s also a gnarly midfielder willing and able to compete for the ball.The jury is out on whether he’s a progressive passer. The data says no, but there is enough footage to suggest that he’s capable of being so, perhaps in a different system, with a different role. After all, Scott has spent the season playing in front of Marcos Senesi, who — among Premier League centre-backs — is certainly among the most progressive with the ball.In response to significant interest, Bournemouth are keen to extend Scott’s contract; until that happens, though, he sits right on the cusp between Tier One and Tier Two.InfoAge: 22Current club: BournemouthThe expert view“My own personal opinion is that he should stay for another year. Stuttgart are back in the Champions League, Hoeness is still there, and it would do him no harm. But on the list of available 6s and 8s, he’s close to the top.”A former academy scout in the Premier League.Stiller’s progress has been tied to Sebastian Hoeness, his head coach at Stuttgart.Originally, Hoeness was in charge of the Bayern Munich Under-19s of which Stiller was part. Then, the two reunited in Hoffenheim, making their first step into senior football — as a coach and player respectively — at the same time.It was not a success. Hoeness lasted 18 months. Stiller never really delivered on his promise.But in Stuttgart, it could not have gone better. Hoeness rescued them from relegation in 2023, before signing Stiller that summer as a replacement for the Liverpool-bound Wataru Endo.It’s been a triumph. Stiller, a bold forward passer and a competitive midfielder, has provided the personality within a midfield which won the German Cup in 2025, has just been to another final, and requalified for the Champions League this season after finishing fourth in the Bundesliga.Individually, he was also elected to the league’s team of this season and, having established himself as a German international, will travel to his first World Cup this summer.InfoAge: 25Current club: StuttgartThe expert viewThere are some outlandish comparisons made between Smit and other players, some of them higher up this list. If he proves to be anywhere near as good as some of those predictions, then the bottom of Tier Two is going to look very conservative.But none of our experts placed him in Tier One — not one vote. Here’s an interesting comment from an agent, explaining why he, like everyone else, put him in this category.“A couple of things. Firstly, that road between the Eredivisie and the top of the game is really difficult. How many players have made that jump successfully? Secondly, he has not made the World Cup squad. That’s a red flag: why not? Is he not ready?”He’s also not getting the chance now to show himself against the best players in the world, which, because his club only played (in the Europa) Conference League this season, means that it’s very hard to judge him. It’s easier than ever to recontextualise performance and it’s possible to weight leagues properly now, but it’s still a big jump.”InfoAge: 20Current club: AZThe expert viewNobody at Wolves emerged with a great deal of credit this season, following their listless relegation from the Premier League. Gomes came second in the club’s Player of the Year voting (behind defender Santiago Bueno), so was better than most, but the campaign still cost him a place in Brazil’s World Cup squad.So, this is another case of having to isolate the qualities of the player from the obvious flaws of the team.Gomes was the most selected player in Tier Three, but very nearly crept into Tier Two — no surprise, because he’s one of those balanced No 8s that seem so popular with modern-day coaches. Despite his skill on the ball, he is really a combative player and has a spread of abilities that, in a previous generation, would have been shared by two different midfielders.However, he’s not especially ambitious with his passing and in a two- or three-man midfield, would need to play alongside someone capable of compensating for that. Most likely, that’s why he’s landed in Tier Three.InfoAge: 25Current club: Wolverhampton WanderersThe expert viewA name from the past, even though he’s still only 25. During his time at Borussia Monchengladbach, Kone was routinely linked with very big moves, straight to the top of the game. But it never happened. Gladbach fell into sharp decline following Marco Rose’s decision to leave for Borussia Dortmund, and gradually, as members of that side moved away or failed to deliver on their own promise, Kone’s own progress slowed to a crawl.He moved to Roma for just €18m in 2024 which — in a sign of how his stock had fallen — felt like an appropriate move. Roma are a big club, yes, but it was not where Kone had expected to be a few years before.But he has rebuilt his reputation. Kone is still the extremely skilful, press-resistant player he was in the Bundesliga, but the defensive side of his game has really evolved. He appeared in Tier One, Two and Three, and such has been his progress that it’s a surprise to see him this low down.InfoAge: 25Current club: RomaThe expert viewGoretzka is leaving Bayern Munich this summer after eight trophy-laden years, having not renewed his contract at the Allianz Arena.He’s now 31 and beyond his prime, but he remains valuable enough in Julian Nagelsmann’s eyes to be part of the Germany World Cup squad and remains a robust, energetic midfielder who can still score goals and play a range of midfield roles. In these last two years under Vincent Kompany, Goretzka has appeared as a No 8, as part of a double pivot and even, occasionally and in an emergency, as the more advanced member of a midfield three.There’s still worth to Goretzka, but he was selected exclusively in Tier Three.InfoAge: 31Current club: Free agent (Previously with Bayern Munich)