Jermaine Jenas says he once played with someone at Tottenham who was better than Luka Modric.
Jenas spent eight years with Spurs between 2005 and 2013 and was fortunate enough to work alongside several of the sport’s greatest midfielders.
Indeed, he dovetailed with the likes of Edgar Davids, Modric and Michael Carrick at club level, while he also featured next to Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard for England.
The player-turned-pundit was recently asked to reflect on his career and credited one world-class team-mate with making the lives of those around him so much easier.
Jermaine Jenas picks Michael Carrick as best midfielder
Ranking his best midfield partners for club and country, Jermaine Jenas chose Carrick as the winner.
He told the Beast Mode On podcast: “I think from playing with him at Spurs, seeing Michael at the peak of his powers controlling midfields in the way that he did, it gave everyone else more freedom.
“It gave Davids more freedom, it gave me more freedom. He absorbed so much pressure.”
The legendary Luka Modric was forced to settle for the runner-up spot, while Gerrard completed the top three. Lampard then came in fourth, with Davids in fifth.
Carrick made 75 appearances in total for Tottenham after joining in 2004, but moved on to Manchester United just two years later, winning five Premier League titles and the Champions League.
He was renowned for his intelligence on the pitch, and Rio Ferdinand thinks Carrick was smarter than Paul Scholes. Jermain Defoe also said he had the best footballing brain he’d seen.
Michael Carrick impressed with Tottenham’s midfield
Carrick, now a pundit after being sacked by Middlesbrough, delivered his verdict on Tottenham’s Champions League victory against Villarreal in September.
He was particularly impressed with Spurs’ strength in depth in midfield.
“[Joao] Palhinha came on when they needed a bit of solidarity, and then there will be games where he starts,” Carrick told Amazon Prime.
“It’s great, I said to Thomas [Frank] before the game, it’s great to have the option to decide what game suits what players, and I think it shows the strength in depth they’ve got.
“I think it’s a strong unit, that midfield.”