The captain of every Premier League club for the 2024-25 season

Real Madrid didn’t have patience with Odegaard, but Arsenal has, and it has paid off in a major way. The Norwegian midfielder is one of the best in the world at his position, and he has captained Arsenal since the start of the 2022-23 season. He’s only 25, and there’s no reason for either player or club to move on from one another, so Odegaard could serve as captain of one of the world’s top clubs for years to come.

It’s a big season for Aston Villa. It qualified for the Champions League for the first time in decades, and it will want to do so again for next year. McGinn will play a key role on both fronts. Villa is the only English club the Scottish national has ever known, having joined it in 2018. The midfielder was appointed captain around the same time as Odegaard, but only one of them is seeing Champions League football for the first time.

Brazilian goalkeeper Neto has been around the block. He’s seen action for Juventus and Barcelona! Not a lot of action, mind you, but some. Now, Neto has found his level with Bournemouth, a mid-table Premier League club. He was named captain during the 2022-23 season, and even with a change at manager, he’s held onto that role.

Norgaard left his hometown club Brondby for Fiorentina, but he did not take to Italian football. The Danish defensive midfielder decided to reunite with his old manager Thomas Frank, now at Brentford, even though Brentford was in the Championship at the time. Well, Norgaard proved pivotal to helping the club get promoted, and his efforts were eventually rewarded with the captaincy of a Premier League club.

If you aren’t a Brighton fan, you might not consider any players synonymous with the club. For Brighton fans, though, no player is more synonymous with the club than Dunk. The centre back was there when they were a League One club, a Championship club, and through its rise up to a mid-table Premier League club. At 32, he’s already played in over 450 games for Brighton. Dunk became captain prior to the 2019-20 season, and he’s now on his third manager to be happy with that designation.

You may have heard things have been pretty tumultuous at Chelsea the last few years. An obscene amount of transfers. Six managers since the start of 2021. Even James’ captaincy has been short-lived. He received the role just before the start of the 2023-24 season, and then, due to injury, only played in 10 games. Oh, and the right back picked up a red card at the end of the season, so he’s starting the 2024-25 campaign unavailable.

Ward joined Palace in 2012-13, which then turned out to be the last season the club was in the Championship. The defender has played a key role in keeping it from being relegated in the ensuing years. Ward turns 35 during the 2024-25 season, and he’s been signing short-term deal after short-term deal for the last half decade or so. At least he stuck around long enough to get to serve as captain, a role he picked up before the 2023-24 season.

Coleman has been around at Everton (and for Ireland) for years. The right back joined the Toffees all the way back in 2009! Coleman has served as captain since the start of the 2019-20 season, and it does feel like he will play the rest of his career with Everton. Or, you know, will do the MLS or Saudi Pro League thing.

Cairney has been in the Fulham midfield as the club has yo-yoed back and forth between the Premier League and the Championship. Through it all, though, he’s played a ton, including in 34 Premier League games last season. Cairney took over from Scott Parker as captain at the start of the 2016-17 season, making him one of the longest-serving skippers in the league.

It’s been a long time since Ipswich Town has been in the Premier League, and Egyptian national Morsy gets to serve as captain for its return season. The defensive midfielder spent years at Wigan Athletic, but he had to move on when the club went into administration. Ipswich pounced on an opportunity, naming Morsy captain a couple months into his first season there. This was when it was a League One club, by the way. Morsy’s leadership has helped the club rise to where it is now.

Leicester City is also a just-promoted club, but of course we are much more familiar with it, and Vardy. The Foxes were a surprise relegation team at the end of the 2022-23 season, and they unsurprisingly rolled the Championship to immediately earn promotion. A late-blooming player, the striker would not debut in the Premier League until he was almost 28, and then would proceed to win a Golden Boot. He was named captain when Leicester was relegated, but remains in the role.

The legendary Steve Gerrard handed the captaincy to Jordan Henderson. Henderson wore the armband as Jurgen Klopp brought Liverpool back to its glory days. Van Dijk, to many the best centre back in the world over the last several years, was part of that. Thus, when Henderson moved on, van Dijk assumed the captaincy prior to the 2023-24 season. Klopp is retired (for now), but unsurprisingly new Dutch manager Arne Slot has not moved on from his fellow Dutchman.

The captaincy at Manchester City has rarely been stable. Aside from Vincent Kompany’s tenure, you have to go back to Paul Power’s tenure in the 1980s to find a captain who has served for more than four seasons. Walker is only in his second season in the role, but the 34-year-old right back has shown that he is still one of the speediest guys on the pitch. The only question is if he plays long enough to put together a substantive run in the role.

It was kind of surprising that Erik ten Hag was kept on as manager by Manchester United. That may have helped Fernandes stay in the role. Now, the slick attacking midfielder has been a key cog for United since he joined the club in 2020. However, he only became captain prior to the 2023-24 season, once ten Hag was in charge.

Still nouveau riche, Newcastle United’s roster has changed quite a bit, though some guys have been able to stick it out. Lascelles, for example. The centre back has played in over 250 games for the club. Lascelles has been captain since the 2016-17 season, when Newcastle was relegated. He famously put off a double hernia surgery to keep playing in order to captain the club back to the Premier League. Thus, even though a lot has changed at the club, Lascelles’ captaincy has not.

Worrall’s captaincy feels flimsier than most. The centre back only got the role prior to the 2022-23 season. During the 2023-24 season, manager Steve Cooper was axed, replaced by Nuno Espirito Santo in December. In February, Worrall was loaned to Besiktas. While the 27-year-old is back with Forest, it wouldn’t be surprising if Santo taps his own man to wear the armband eventually.

Southampton is the last of the newly-promoted teams. Stephens has been a Southampton player for years, but he’s spent as much time being loaned out as playing for the club. Last year, though, with the club relegated, Stephens stuck around, and also was given the captain’s role. The defender successfully helped Southampton get promoted, and so now he gets to captain a Premier League team.

Spurs lost two icons prior to the 2023-24 season. Harry Kane, the best goal scorer of his generation, left Tottenham for Bayern Munich. Meanwhile, goalkeeper and captain Hugo Lloris “retired” (i.e. moved to MLS). Son stepped in on both fronts. The Korean international became both the team’s offensive focal point and captain. That will be the case once again.

Zouma is a menace on the pitch, in ways both good and bad. Also, a menace to cats off the pitch in a fully bad way. The animal abuse charges he faced once upon a time helped roil some fans when the centre back was named captain of West Ham United. Zouma may serve as captain for the 2024-25 season. There’s also talk he might be transferred out with a new manager in charge. Wherever he ends up, Zouma won’t make life easy for opponents.

Lemina is, to the best of our knowledge, the only Gabonese player to ever captain a Premier League club. He’s spent a lot of his career in France, and indeed the box-to-box midfielder was with Nice when he joined Wolves. Notably, Lemina is a freshly-named captain. The 2024-25 season will be his first wearing the armband for Wolverhampton Wanderers.