Haven't seen much of Edu so can't comment on him but Thomson is the only midfielder who can tackle. he adds bite and energy in the centre and is also trying to add to his game by being more attacking.
He gets to many yellow cards but how many are really deserved? he gets booked for pretty much nothing these days. take the tackle on him today, the player never got booked yet if it was thomson
you would bet your live him getting booked
Most people only realise how much we miss thomson will he isn't playing.