Ranking the 10 best available center backs on the summer 2024 transfer market

With the summer 2024 transfer window opening up, it’s time to take a look at the best center backs available on the market.

The center back position has become increasingly coveted in world football, as top clubs want to have solutions to the best forwards in the world.

As Antonio Rudiger showed everyone in the Champions League quarterfinals against Manchester CIty and Erling Haaland, a world-class center back can make the difference between winning it all or sitting at home.

Here are the 10 best available center backs on the summer 2024 transfer market, ranked in order.

10. Jonathan Tah, Bayer Leverkusen

Jonathan Tah appears to be closing in on a transfer to Bayern Munich, who already signed underrated Stuttgart talent Hiroki Ito as part of their move to overhaul their defense.

Interestingly enough, Tah beats out current Bayern Munich central defenders Dayot Upamecano and Matthijs de Ligt, who are both on the transfer market after seeing their stocks plummet in what was a disastrous 2023/24 season.

A long-time starter for Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga, Tah had a career year as an individual and a leader, putting it all together as an elite ball-playing center back under Xabi Alonso.

The German international completed around 95 percent of his passes and was nearly as impressive for Leverkusen as national teammate Antonio Rudiger was for Real Madrid in 2023/24.

9. Goncalo Inacio, Sporting CP

All the big clubs in European football are circling around Goncalo Inacio, who has been eyed by Real Madrid as a possible solution next to Eder Militao and is very much on the Manchester United and Liverpool radar this summer.

Inacio was stellar in both the Primeira Liga and Europa League last season, showing the traits that could make him a top center back at the Premier League level.

Just 22 years old, Inacio showed signs of being a top ball-playing center back by completing nearly 90 percent of his pass attempts in both the Portuguese top flight and in European competition.

Inacio has a reasonable release clause of around 50 million pounds.

8. Antonio Silva, Benfica

Antonio Silva has flown under the radar with Goncalo Inacio and his Sporting CP center back partner Ousmane Diomande attracting more transfer interest, but Silva’s numbers are even stronger than both of his Portuguese league rivals.

The 20-year-old averaged 2.1 tackles and 0.8 interceptions per game in the Primeira Liga while being dribbled past just 0.3 times per match. He also completed a touch more than 93 percent of his passes.

Real Madrid were briefly linked with Silva in the winter and seemed to prefer him to other options. It is surprising that he hasn’t received more transfer love.

7. Alessandro Buongiorno, Torino

Alessandro Buongiorno is coming off such a stellar 2023/24 Serie A season that he was the best center back in Italian football, even above Juventus rival and former Torino star Gleison Bremer, as well as Inter Milan’s Alessandro Bastoni.

The numbers are striking. Buongiorno averaged 2.4 tackles and 2.4 interceptions per game for the Bulls of Turin, only being dribbled past 0.3 times while showing excellent ball-playing ability.

For potentially around 40 million euros, a club could sign a 25-year-old center back entering his prime and on the cusp of being recognized as a world-class defender.

6. Edmond Tapsoba, Bayer Leverkusen

Jonathan Tah is the bigger name of the Bayer Leverkusen center backs, but Edmond Tapsoba has a better overall track record of success over the past few seasons, turning in a strong 2023/24 campaign in his own right.

On the radar of Tottenham last season before Spurs ultimately decided to sign Wolfsburg’s Micky van de Ven, Tapsoba completed over 91 percent of his passes for Leverkusen while providing steady defense.

An intelligent covering defender, Tapsoba is capable of marking top strikers and is a consistent performer for Leverkusen. In the prime of his career at 25, Tapsoba has already proven to be a top Bundesliga center back for several seasons now.

5. Jarrad Branthwaite, Everton

Manchester United are pushing hard to sign Everton star Jarrad Branthwaite, who is the best young center back in England following an excellent 2023/24 season.

Only 21 years old, Branthwaite ranked among the elite center backs in the Premier League last season with 1.9 tackles, 1.4 interceptions, and 4.5 clearances per game.

The England international has few weaknesses to his game at such a young age, and Everton clearly know they have something special in him, so they are going to drive a hard bargain.

Whether it is Manchester United or someone else, whoever wants to sign Branthwaite is going to have to pay at least 70 million pounds in order to convince the Toffees to sell their most prized asset.

4. Jean-Clair Todibo, Nice

Manchester United and the other top Premier League clubs have also been monitoring Jean-Clair Todibo for quite some time, a former Barcelona academy product.

Todibo has been one of the top center backs in European football for a couple of seasons now, establishing himself as one of the elite defenders in Ligue 1 over the past couple of seasons.

The 24-year-old had 1.9 tackles and 1.3 interceptions per game, completing a career-high 90 percent of his pass attempts. The previous season, he averaged more than two tackles per game.

Todibo operates at the highest technical level with his passing and carrying out of the back while reading the game expertly defensively. He is an ideal modern center back who could start for most top clubs.

3. Gleison Bremer, Juventus

The 2021/22 Serie A Defender of the Year, Gleison Bremer has established himself as something of an heir to Giorgio Chiellini, which shows you how much Juventus fans adore him.

Bremer has proven to be a significant upgrade on Matthijs de Ligt, showing much better pure defensive abilities and the quality to shut down any Serie A striker one-on-one.

The Brazilian international is invaluable to Juventus and isn’t necessarily for sale, but there are rumors that a substantial offer approaching 70 million euros could convince the Bianconeri to sell.

Manchester United, unsurprisingly, are the chief potential suitors for Bremer due to their desperate need for center back help. Bremer isn’t a young player, but at 27, he is still very much in his prime as a central defender.

2. Giorgio Scalvini, Atalanta

The best young center back in Serie A, Giorgio Scalvini is one of the best possible defenders to buy in world football, and Atalanta have to be prepared for clubs to start launching offers in their direction.

Scalvini’s name has cooled off a bit on the transfer rumor mill, but that might just mean that whoever lands the Italian international could be getting a true bargain.

Last season, Scalvini thrived in Gian Piero Gasperini’s system, further cementing his status as one of the best defenders in Italian football.

The 20-year-old averaged 1.6 tackles and 1.8 interceptions in Serie A last season, even coming up with a trio of assists for La Dea. He is only scratching the surface on his potential.

1. Leny Yoro, Lille

There is no question that Leny Yoro is the best center back on the summer 2024 transfer market, and he is the best overall central defender to buy when combining his age and quality.

Yoro is only 18, yet he is already the best center back in Ligue 1. He completed over 92 percent of his passes in the 2023/24 season for Lille, providing the kind of rock-solid defense and advanced reading of the game that you just don’t see from a center back of that age.

Real Madrid and Juni Calafat are smitten with Yoro as a generational talent, and the sense with Real Madrid targets at this point is that if they want the player badly and the player wants them badly, that target is Madrid’s to lose.

Liverpool, Manchester United, PSG, and other elite clubs in Europe would like to sign Yoro, too, but Real Madrid are the favorites at this stage and could use their status to bargain a cheaper deal out of Lille than the others would be able to.