Which players have had the most accurate passing in the Premier League so far?

Tiki-taka football seems to be a growingly popular style of play in the 21st century, which means the ability to pass the ball accurately is more sought after than ever.

Passing is often overlooked in a game obsessed with goals, which is why we will be looking through the top five players in the Premier League with the highest pass success rate percentage. To qualify for the list the player must have attempted at least 150 passes in the opening nine games of the season, all figures are valid as of matchday nine.

5 - Jack Stephens (Southampton) - 93.9% pass accuracy

Southampton are in the top six sides with the highest average possession this season (54.1%) despite not winning a game yet this season. This is why it is no surprise that their club captain has made the list as the Saints tend to make plenty of passes without doing a lot with the ball. Jack Stephens is a Cornish born central defender who has been contracted at Southampton since 2011! The longevity of his stay at St. Mary’s is reflected by his run of four starts in the first four games of this season. However this came to an end when Stephens picked up a five game suspension against Manchester United, so did not return to action until this weekend. Regardless, the fact Stephens made 337 successful passes in 439 minutes across those five games is an outstanding achievement.

4 - Ruben Dias (Manchester City) - 94% pass accuracy

Ruben Dias has been a regular at the Etihad since he signed for the club in 2020. The former PFA player of the year helped to deliver Man City their first-ever UEFA Champions League honour. Dias has also won 54 caps for the Portuguese national team since his debut six years ago, featuring in all of Portugal’s last four international tournament squads. He also happens to have made the most passes in the entire league so far this season, completing 737 passes successfully across eight Premier League starts.

Rúben Dias signed for Manchester City in 2020.

He has never 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐖𝐎𝐍 the Premier League Title! 🤯🏆 pic.twitter.com/Ojy6h5Morm

— mcfc lads (@mcfc_lads) May 6, 2024

3 - Andre (Wolverhampton Wanderers) - 95.1% pass accuracy

André Trindade da Costa Neto is a name a few may not be familiar with, having played in his home nation of Brazil until August 2024 when the midfielder made the switch to Wolverhampton. Andre has started almost every league match for Wolves since his transfer and has hit the ground running despite his side being bottom of the table. The Brazil-capped international just makes the cut with 155 successful passes, but taking into account the games missed there is definitely more to come from the youngster.

📊🇧🇷André’s Premier League full debut by numbers via @StatmanDave

100% pass accuracy
100% long passes completed
40/40 passes completed
4 duels won
3 tackles
1 key pass pic.twitter.com/vBOEVwjEVo

— 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐎𝐋𝐅𝐏𝐀𝐂𝐊™️ (@Wolfpackwwfc) September 15, 2024

2 - Manuel Akanji (Manchester City) - 95% pass accuracy

It is no surprise that another City player places so highly on the list as Manuel Akanji has made a whopping 648 successful passes across eight Premier League games this season. Akanji adapted to life in England almost instantly and is now in his third season in Manchester. Despite being a relatively new player to the Premier League Akanji is an experienced player with multiple seasons in Germany and his native Switzerland. The defender is known for his technical ability, passing range and flexibility across a back line, and therefore is deserving of second place on this list.

1 - Players in this season's UEFA Champions League with the most passes into the final third:

🥇 Angelo Stiller - 47

🥈 Olivier Boscagli - 42

🥉 Nico Schlotterbeck - 36
🥉 Manuel Akanji - 36

Driver. #UCL pic.twitter.com/sYNXpLiMgx

— OptaFranz (@OptaFranz) October 23, 2024

1 - William Saliba (Arsenal) - 95.2% pass accuracy

The Frenchman is widely considered one of the best centre halves in the Premier League, if not the world. Signed by the Gunners as an 18 year old, Saliba was nurtured via a few loan spells before being introduced to Arsenal’s first team picture. Alongside his defensive partner Gabriel, the pair are a key reason behind Arsenal’s improvement over the last couple seasons, and furthermore the reason why they have one of the tightest defences in the league. Saliba is good with his feet, completing 412 passes so far this season and will look to continue this form if Arsenal are to finally lift the Premier League once more.

Best tackle success rates in Europe's top five leagues this season (20+ attempted):

◎ 100% - William Saliba
◎ 91.7% - Mario Lemina
◎ 91.3% - Tyrick Mitchell
◎ 90.5% - Kelvin Amian
◎ 90.0% - Martín Zubimendi pic.twitter.com/w81mc6jiRd

— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) October 1, 2024

Honourable mentions:

Jan Bednarek (93.4%) and Micky Van de Ven (92.5%) miss out on this defender-dominated list by the narrowest of margins. Bednarek notably has completed 691 passes, the second most in the entire league behind Dias. Fulham’s Tom Cairney would have made the list with his 93.9% pass completion percentage but the midfielder has played just 108 minutes and completed just 95 passes.

All statistics are taken from fotmob.com

Ahead of another match weekend we've also looked into which players have the highest xG in the Premier League so far!