Tottenham Hotspur's Mousa Dembele is the best box-to-box midfielder in Europe, according to a new study by CIES Football Observatory.
Dembele ranked above Paris Saint-Germain's Blaise Matuidi and Borussia Dortmund's Ilkay Gundogan, while his Spurs teammate Dele Alli finished fourth.
Juventus star Paul Pogba finished a distant sixth, behind the Premier League's only other representative in the top 10, Yaya Toure of Manchester City.
The study assessed midfielders based on rigour, recovery, distribution, take-ons, chances created and shooting, and also ranked Europe's defensive midfielders -- with Bayern Munich's Arturo Vidal the best and N'Golo Kante of Leicester the highest Premier League representative in eighth place.
@LCFC N'Golo Kanté and @SpursOfficial Moussa Dembélé top of latest @sportCIES Football Observatory analysis https://t.co/n6OxSLHiht
- CIES (@sportCIES) 9 May 2016
Dembele has been superb for Tottenham this season, making 29 Premier League appearances, 26 of which he has started alongside Eric Dier in Spurs' two-man midfield pivot.
While Dier is tasked with shielding the back four, Dembele, who is currently serving a six-match ban for violent conduct, is allowed freedom to roam and has been hugely effective at both attacking and defending this season.
Four of Spurs' five league defeats this season have come without the Belgian, while in the other -- the 1-0 reverse at Manchester United on the opening day -- he started on the right wing.
Dembele and Alli missed the weekend's 2-1 loss against Southampton through suspension and they will again be absent for Sunday's crucial match against Newcastle United at St James' Park.
Spurs need a point to all but guarantee second place and a first finish above rivals Arsenal since the 1994-95 season.