12 Best Right-Backs in the Premier League Right Now (2024)

The Premier League has been home to some of the best right-backs that the world has ever had the pleasure of witnessing. The likes of ex-Manchester City enforcer Pablo Zabaleta, Branislav Ivanovic, formerly of Chelsea, and defender-turned-pundit Gary Neville, all spring to mind when thinking of some of the best who played in the English top flight, but there are many, many more.

As is the modern era of football, full-backs are very different to the right-backs of yesteryear. Often revolutionising the game, the bare expectations are that they are as competent going forward as they are when having to do what the old guard were typically tasked with doing: defending.

Right now, the Premier League is stacked with quality right-backs, including Trent Alexander-Arnold, Kyle Walker and Ben White. We have taken a look at the current crop of right-backs in the England top division and offered our top 12 ranking.

Ranking factors

While compiling the top 12 list, the following was taken into account:

• Longevity
• Trophies
• Goals
• Assists
• Defensive ability
• Clean Sheets
• Individual Awards

1 Trent Alexander-Arnold

Liverpool

Going forward, there are not many full-backs better in the league than Trent Alexander-Arnold. He’s a dangerous creator in Liverpool’s side, capable of whipping in pinpoint crosses for his forwards or advanced midfielders. All the while, his passing and set-piece delivery is, quite simply, unfathomable – proven by his sublime free-kick against Fulham last season.

Over the years, there have been serious questions over his defensive abilities, with the 26-year-old guilty of switching off and presenting the opposition with a chance to score. That said, in 2023/24, we saw the Englishman become much more assured in the defending side of his game, helping the club lift a Carabao Cup in Jurgen Klopp’s farewell season. And, presently, under Arne Slot, he now looks like an all-encompassing, finished product, having recently been awarded back-to-back Man of the Match awards during Lee Carsley’s first international break at England’s helm.

2 Ben White

Arsenal

Arsenal’s number four has proven his innate versatility by playing outside his natural position throughout Arsenal’s second-placed season. Ben White, who is a centre-back by trade, has been utilised on the right under Mikel Arteta and the Poole-born defender has taken to his new role like a duck to water. The 27-year-old is solid in defence and isn’t too shabby going forward either, with him registering four goals and assists across his 37 league outings in 2023/24.

He was hoping to aid his side in going one better during 24/25 and has been a relatively immovable object on the right, with summer signing Jurrien Timber nursing an ACL injury until recently – but upon the former Ajax’s full return ot action, it’ll be interesting to see whether he can hold down the fort. However, following the relatively recent news that the defender signed a new deal with the north London-based outfit, it’d seem as if the club have White in their plans long-term.

3 Pedro Porro

Tottenham

While the likes of attacking stars James Maddison, Son Heung-min and Micky van de Ven have attracted Tottenham Hotspur-inspired headlines, Pedro Porro has flown under the radar. A vital cog in Ange Postecoglou’s well-oiled machine, the ex-Manchester City defender is ever so dynamic, making the Spurs right-back berth his in recent campaigns.

The Spaniard enjoyed three goals and assists apiece in 15 games in the 22/23 season but bettered his assist tally in 2023/24 with a total of seven across 35 outings and, at 25, is poised to get better by the day. Able to put a delivery on a sixpence, Porro’s influence on proceedings in north London has been unparalleled – and he would, understandably, be a massive part should they eventually end their trophy drought in the coming seasons.

4 Kyle Walker

Manchester City

There may be a fair few who feel as if Kyle Walker should be number one, and there would be little argument given what he’s accomplished with Manchester City (particularly in 2022/23) as well as what he did in previous years. The veteran full-back, a 90-cap England international, is widely regarded as one of the best worldwide – and deservedly so.

He possesses immense speed, a quality which helps him lock up some of the very best in the game. On top of his trademark pace, he’s strong, a good tackler, and a leader at the back. Then there is his trophy-laden cabinet to factor in as well. Since moving from Tottenham Hotspur, the 34-year-old has got his hands on six Premier League titles and helped his team complete an impressive treble. But now, as he enters his final few years in the sport, others are surpassing him, as his Euro 2024 performances showed it’s time for the next generation.

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5 Diogo Dalot

Manchester United

Jose Mourinho once described Diogo Dalot as ‘the best full-back in Europe in his age group’ when he signed for Manchester United in 2018. And while he might not be quite there yet, he has developed into a respectable figure in the Old Trafford dressing room. A loan stint at AC Milan between October 2020 and June 2021 helped him to progress, and since coming back, he has enjoyed a brilliant spell for the club.

Ten Hag played him 42 times in all competitions in 2022/23, and the Portuguese defender was a key reason why United returned to the Champions League for 2023/24 and got their hands on the Carabao Cup. He continued his incredible development into the most recent term, nailing down a regular place in the starting eleven, while Patrice Evra has called him United’s ‘most important player’. Given all of the above, there will be some people scratching their heads and wondering why he isn’t any higher on this list.

6 Noussair Mazraoui

Manchester United

For all of the millions of pounds that Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his entourage spent in the summer to bolster the Old Trafford-based squad, it’s the former Bayern Munich utility man Noussair Mazraoui – who arrived to the least fanfare – that has had the most impact. Able to play on either side of the back line, the 29-cap Morocco international was a revelation under Ten Hag and will look to continue that under Ruben Amorim.

Not only is he defensively robust, but the former Ajax man – who started Manchester United’s Europa League contest against Fenerbahce in the No.10 role – but his attacking exploits cannot go under the radar. He’ll certainly be looking to cement himself as one of the first names on the team sheet under the incoming Portuguese.

7 Malo Gusto

Chelsea

Upon arriving from French top flight outfit Lyon, Chelsea fans assumed Malo Gusto would take up the role of Reece James’ understudy. However, following the skipper’s injury woes during the 2023/24 campaign, the young French defender has been given an opportunity to impress in the first team – and he’s taken the chance with both hands.

Arguably one of the best in his position in the league right now, the versatile defender has shown that he’s an effective player in the final third while proving to be a real asset in his own box. When James returns to fitness, newly appointed boss Enzo Maresca will have to find a way of having both of them on the pitch at the same time due to the Frenchman’s consistency on the pitch week in and week out.

8 Reece James

Chelsea

The Chelsea defender would be higher up on the list, but his brutal injury record keeps affecting his progress. When you consider that he only played 16 league games in 2022/23 because of multiple knocks, you do start to fear that he may be injury-prone. Couple that with Chelsea’s embryonic woes last term under Mauricio Pochettino, and it’s hard to rank him any higher. Perhaps this season, under the guidance of Maresca, we may be subject to prime James.

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Make no mistake about it, he is one of the most exciting full-backs in world football. The Cobham graduate possesses all the qualities you would want from a modern-day right-back, with Kyle Walker saying he is the most complete player in that role. He’s excellent at the back, capable of muscling attackers off the ball or cleaning them out with a superb tackle. He’s also brilliant going forward, with his inch-perfect crosses an attacker’s dream. In the 2021/22 season, he assisted his teammates nine times and bagged five goals himself, which is ample proof that he is a very capable attacker. He just needs a run of games to rise up the list here.

9 Tino Livramento

Newcastle United

Perhaps the most underrated player on this list, Newcastle United’s Tino Livramento’s name rarely creeps into said conversations, but his impressive start to the 2024/25 campaign has proven that the young Englishman is ready to take Trippier’s place in Howe’s lineup when the opportunity arises.

These so-called opportunities may have been somewhat scarce last season, but his competition for the right-back position is only ageing, and Livramento’s speed and energy in both attack and defence will bring a refreshing change to the Magpies’ setup when his time comes. Thus far, in 2024/25, the youngster has racked up 709 minutes in the league but is yet to nail down the right-back berth as his own.

10 Ola Aina

Nottingham Forest

Behind Nottingham Forest’s more-than-impressive start to the 2024/25 Premier League campaign, right-back Ola Aina – who is regarded as one of the most improved players in the English top flight this season – has been pivotal to the Tricky Trees, who are currently sitting in fifth place on 19 points in the season’s infancy thanks to his well-rounded tool kit.

Aina emerged from the famed Cobham academy ranks and was destined to become a key part of Chelsea’s first team proceedings – but finally found his feet at the City Ground following a number of loan spells at Torino and Fulham. Packed to the brim with dynamism and attacking intent, as evidenced by his strike against West Ham, the Nigerian is adept at all aspects of modern defending.

11 Kieran Trippier

Newcastle United

He might not have looked like an elite full-back while at Tottenham Hotspur, but Kieran Trippier found a new level in his first full season at Newcastle United. The Englishman was a regular fixture on the right side of the Magpies’ back line, having played in every single domestic outing. His quality going forward – only rivalled by few – is nothing short of incredible, with his passing ability and set-piece delivery a nightmare for defenders to deal with.

To help underline that point, only Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes played more key passes in the Premier League in 2023/24 than Trippier, per FBref. His quality on the ball is undeniable, and he has continued to be a forward threat under Eddie Howe’s tutelage. Fans did not see the best of the former Atletico Madrid man in the season just gone by; that said, he still finished with 10 assists to his name. That said, though, at 34 years old, he might be looking nervously over his shoulder as another Newcastle star – most notably, the aforementioned Livramento – is waiting in the wings to take his place.

12 Aaron Wan-Bissaka

West Ham United

At one point during the 2022/23 season, it looked as if Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s career in Manchester was coming to a lamentable end as he fell heavily out of favour. Unfancied by Erik ten Hag, dislodged by Dalot for multiple league games, and linked with a winter transfer to a set of different Premier League clubs, but the Englishman was industrious at the back-end of last season, and instead, a move to West Ham this summer was by choice in the end.

Monikered as ‘The Spider’ thanks to his gangly limbs and highly impressive 1v1 ability, the uncapped Englishman has obvious deficiencies in his game – going forward is one of them. However, there are not many full-backs, if any, on this list who are better defensively than the new West Ham man, and he’s finally got his time in the sunshine down in London after years of being swept under the carpet up north.