Paul Scholes has explained why he ‘prefers’ Newcastle United midfielder Sandro Tonali to Declan Rice and Moises Caicedo.
Tonali has established himself as a key member of Eddie Howe’s squad since moving to St James’ Park in a £55m move from AC Milan.
The Italy international played 45 games in all competitions last season, helping Newcastle qualify for the Champions League and end their trophy drought by winning the Carabao Cup.
Legendary midfielder Scholes has been hugely impressed by Tonali and admits he ‘prefers’ the Newcastle star over Arsenal’s Rice and Chelsea’s Caicedo.
Rice is one of Arsenal and England’s most important players, barely missing a game for club or country since his £105m move from West Ham.
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The 26-year-old has helped Mikel Arteta’s side repeatedly challenge for the Premier League title and played in two European Championship finals for England.
Caicedo, meanwhile, is starting to justify the £115m Chelsea paid Brighton to sign him in 2023, scoring a superb goal in Saturday’s encouraging win over Premier League champions Liverpool.
Asked who he rates as the best midfielder in the Premier League, Scholes said on The Overlap: ‘Right now? That’s tough.
‘I still don’t class Moises Caicedo as an all-round midfield player. I know he scored a great goal and was brilliant the other day.
‘I got some stick last year having a go at him and I almost thought about taking that back because he was brilliant in the Club World Cup.
‘I just prefer the controlling type of midfield players who play with a bit more style and can score goals a bit more often than Caicedo. It was a brilliant goal but you wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t do that again for another 18 months.
‘He’s one of the best at what he does which is breaking up the play, he’s brilliant at that. But I prefer the other types.
‘Alexis MacAllister was absolutely brilliant last season, he controlled a lot of games and I think Liverpool are missing that at the moment.
‘I love Sandro Tonali as well. He’s been brilliant. Very good. I would probably choose Tonali at this point.’
Pressed if he meant as the best midfielder in the league, Manchester United legend Scholes added: ‘Yes, you’re going to say Declan Rice but I think he’s better than Rice.
‘I really like Rice, don’t get me wrong, I think he’s got everything. Sometimes he takes a few too many touches of the ball and tries to look a bit more stylish than necessary.
‘He can do everything but I just don’t think he does it enough. I prefer Tonali but they’re both good players.’
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