One of Frank Lampard’s opening gambits when being appointed Everton manager was a desire for his players to “enjoy the ball” but just who are the Blues’ pass masters? The message came in stark contrast to predecessor Rafael Benitez who declared after the 3-1 defeat at Crystal Palace last December, “We are not amazing in possession. It’s a fact we have to realise.”
After Benitez was sacked in January after winning just one of his last 13 Premier League fixtures, Lampard himself subsequently had to deploy a significant amount of pragmatism during the run-in as Everton battled to retain their Premier League status with crucial 1-0 wins at Goodison Park against Manchester United and Chelsea achieved with possession statistics of just 32% and 22% respectively. However, with an entire pre-season ahead of his squad to prepare for his first full campaign in charge, the former Derby County and Chelsea boss could well be looking to develop how the Blues play.
This could require some fresh personnel in terms of potential new signings but who among the players that Lampard currently has at his disposal could be up to the task? Here’s an eye-opening look at the individual figures of those already in the Everton squad, using Comparisonator’s new Recruitment Shop tool.
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When it comes to actually making passes, it’s Fabian Delph, one of the players who faces an uncertain future at Everton given that his current contract expires at the end of this month, who leads the way with 39.71 per 90 minutes followed by Lampard’s transfer deadline day signing Donny van de Beek – on loan from Manchester United with 39.59 and Jonjoe Kenny, another potential free agent this summer, on 39.21. The trio are in the same order for accurate passing too with figures of 34.94, 34.6 and 31.55 respectively.
Breaking the play down to different areas of the field also shows different squad members dominate and when he’s on the field, Yerry Mina is making the most accurate passes in the defensive third with 14.03 per 90 minutes followed by Michael Keane on 9.54 and then Ben Godfrey on 8.16. When it comes to the middle third of the pitch, Delph leads on 19.47, ahead of Van de Beek (19.09) and Allan (16.82). In the attacking third of the pitch, Alex Iwobi is ahead on 12.86, followed by Kenny (12.31) and Demarai Gray (10.88).
Which passes are actually testing the opposition though? When it comes to making key passes, three Everton players averaged more than one a game last season and they were Gray (1.27), Dele Alli (1.16) and Van de Beek (1.14). Such numbers decline though when it comes to key passes that are accurate but again it’s Gray who leads the way on 0.69 followed by Iwobi (0.62) and Anthony Gordon (0.44).
- Comparisonator is a football data comparison tool from 271 professional leagues around the world which compares players and clubs by utilising over 100 different parameters. Click here for more details.
