Jesse Lingard's hints of Anthony Gordon and Mohamed…

Jesse Lingard's hints of Anthony Gordon and Mohamed Salah as Everton eye Richarlison replacement

Everton are considering a move for Jesse Lingard as a possible replacement for Richarlison but how does the free agent actually shape up next to the Brazilian and indeed the other players in his position in the Premier League? Lingard, who the ECHO understands is one of several options being considered, ticks several boxes for the Blues given that he is a proven Premier League performer and would represent a modest financial outlay given that he would not command a transfer fee.

While the former Manchester United man – who had been with the Red Devils since the age of seven until his contract expired overnight – has a wealth of experience in English top flight football, he turns 30 before the year is out which is an advanced age for an attacking midfielder. Examining his statistics from the 2021/22 season on Comparisonator showed that he stood out in two particular areas when up against other Premier League players operating in his position.

Lingard made more ball recoveries in the opponents’ half (intercepting loose possession) than anyone else with 1.36 per 90 minutes. Everton’s Anthony Gordon was next best on 1.31 followed by Tariq Lamptey of Brighton & Hove Albion on 1.29. When it comes to shots on target, only Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah (1.91) had more than Lingard on 1.82 with Manchester City’s Gabriel Jesus next up on 1.51.

In a direct head-to-head with Richarlison, Lingard offers a somewhat different approach to the player who has just joined Tottenham Hotspur in a £60million deal. Perhaps reflecting Manchester United’s style of player compared to Everton’s, Lingard was attempting 33.18 passes per game and making 27.37 as opposed to Richarlison’s respective figures of 18.71 and 12.62 although the gap is closed to 0.83 and 0.67 when it comes to key passes with the former Blue actually ahead 0.37 to 0.21 when it comes to successful key passes.

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Lingard also made more passes to the final third (17.21) and successful passes to the final third (13.48) with Richarlison on 11.12 and 6.69 in these categories. The Olympic gold medallist also dominates offensive parameters with more dribbles (4.43 to 2.07); successful dribbles (2.7 to 0.83); attacking actions (7.92 to 5.18) and successful attacking actions (3.6 to 2.07), ensuring he had higher figures for expected goals (0.29 to 0.18) and expected assists (0.14 to 0.07).

When it comes to off-the-ball work, both defensive parameters and duels are mixed. Richarlison had more ball recoveries (1.93 to 1.24) but Lingard had slightly more (0.83 to 0.8) in the opponent's half. Richarlison averaged more interceptions (2.43 to 1.24) but lost the ball more (11.62 to 5.39) compared to Lingard who carried out more successful defensive actions (6.01 to 5.46).

While Richarlison was up for a battle in the air, contesting 10.02 aerial duels to Lingard’s 0.21 plus winning 7.03 of his offensive duels compared to 1.45, the Warrington-born player did win more defensive duels (2.9 to 2). Also like Richarlison, Lingard offers a degree of versatility in forward areas with 108 games as a left winger (producing 26 goals and 30 assists); 100 on the right wing (14 goals and 12 assists); 80 as an attacking midfielder (20 goals and 10 assists); 16 as a second striker (6 goals); 13 as a centre-forward (5 goals) and a further seven matches in more withdrawn midfield roles.

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.

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