Smart Stats helps explain why Bumrah’s figures of 2 for 32 don’t do full justice to his impact on the match
ESPNcricinfo stats team23-Sep-2020Jasprit Bumrah was strangely off-colour in the first match of the season: against the Chennai Super Kings, he leaked 43 from four overs, and was the most expensive bowler of the match. As expected, though, it didn’t take him long to find his mojo. Against the Kolkata Knight Riders, he was back at his best, and ESPNcricinfo’s Smart Stats reveals just good he was.
According to the Smart numbers, Bumrah’s 2 for 32 was the most impactful performance of the match. It fetched him 113.5 impact points, marginally ahead of Rohit Sharma’s 111.1. Rohit won the Man-of-the-Match Award, but Smart Stats gave the award to Bumrah. This is because of the algorithm looks at not just the raw numbers, but the context under which the performances happened.There were four bowlers who bowled their full quota of overs at a better economy rate – Sunil Narine, Trent Boult, James Pattinson and Rahul Chahar – and three of them took two wickets as well, so why are Bumrah’s impact numbers so high? Here’s why.Of the 24 balls he bowled, 15 were to Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Eoin Morgan and Dinesh Karthik, four of the Knight Riders’ most dangerous batsmen. In those 15 balls, Bumrah conceded only three runs, which is incredibly low considering the quality of the batsmen he was bowling to. Smart Stats takes into account, among other things, the quality of the batsman a bowler bowls to, and calculates the pressure on the batsman and bowler for each ball of an innings. These 15 balls should have fetched far more runs for the Knight Riders, but Bumrah’s skill kept the runs down to three, which fetched him high impact points.In his last over he went for 27, but those runs didn’t matter a lot, for by then the result had already been decided. Since the match was already a sealed deal for the Mumbai Indians, the 27 runs at that stage didn’t negatively affect Bumrah’s overall impact much. According to the algorithm, the Smart Runs he conceded was 24.8; the fact that it was significantly lower than the 32 runs he actually conceded indicates he did extremely well when the pressure was higher.ESPNcricinfo LtdSharma’s 80 off 54 was a top effort too: his Smart Runs tally was 89.5, which means his innings was actually worth more than the runs he scored, taking into account the context. The third place in the overall impact ranking went to Shivam Mavi, who returned identical figures to Bumrah, 2 for 32. Mavi’s two wickets were those of top batsmen – Quinton de Kock and Sharma – and de Kock was dismissed very early, which is why Mavi’s Smart Wickets tally, which measures the actual worth of a wicket, was 2.91. Bumrah got two top batsmen out too, but his real value in the match was the way he choked the runs when the pressure was high. For that, he was the Smart Stats Player of the Match.
Bangladesh batter was dropped from the Champions Trophy squad on Sunday morning, and scored a BPL hundred later that day
Mohammad Isam13-Jan-2025Bangladesh batter Litton Das has accepted that he was dropped from the ODI squad for the 2025 Champions Trophy because of his poor form. Bangladesh announced their squad on Sunday morning and later that day Litton smashed an unbeaten 125 off 55 balls for Dhaka Capital against Durbar Rajshahi in the BPL.”The Champions Trophy selection wasn’t in my control,” Litton said after his performance. “The selectors took the call. They decide whom to play. My job is to perform. I haven’t been able to do that. I think I was a bit upset about it. I have the same mindset before and after the game today. The day has already passed. I have played a good knock but it’s in the past. I start from zero again. I will keep working hard, let’s see what happens next.”I was given a clear message. Maybe not from the selectors but it is easy to find out why I wasn’t picked in the team. I was dropped because I wasn’t performing. There’s nothing to hide about it. Basic, normal.”Related
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Litton hasn’t made it out of single digits in his last seven ODI innings and his previous 50-plus score was in October 2023. “Fans will support me but then when I don’t do well, people will be negative. That’s not really my concern,” he said. “I am focused on what I need to do. I haven’t been playing well, so I need to improve my game. I won’t change overnight, so I have to keep trying. People will love it when I score runs.”I am not out there to prove to anyone. I only look for improvement. I don’t think I was playing well for the last few months. I will try to become more consistent from this point, especially after this innings.”Litton began the BPL season poorly with scores of 31, 0, 2 and 9 before making 73 and 125 not out in consecutive games. The hundred helped Dhaka Capital end a run of six consecutive defeats.His unbeaten 125 contained 10 fours and nine sixes and his 241-run opening stand with Tanzid Hasan was the second highest partnership in men’s T20 cricket. Litton credited Shahin, a member of the Dhaka support staff who has given him throwdowns for years, for helping him out of his rut.”Shahin has been working in the [Dhaka Capital]) team. He has worked with Comilla Victorians for the last three years … He helps me in training all the time, and passes on information from time to time. He is capable of pointing out a batter’s mistake. That’s why I thanked him. But listen, please don’t make a news that he has now become a coach.”Litton believes Dhaka’s 149-run win against Rajshahi will help them perform better in the second half of the BPL season. “We have a good team but we haven’t been able to click so far. I think today was the first time we performed as a unit, both with bat and ball. We still have five matches left. Two teams are at the top, while the rest are around the same points. I think our run rate will improve after this game. We got our rhythm going. I don’t know if we can win the next games, but we feel more confident.”
Liam Dawson enjoyed a Saturday to remember at Emirates Old Trafford as Hampshire defeated Lancashire by an innings and 37 runs with a day to spare in their Vitality County Championship match.Having dismissed Lancashire for 200 in their first innings and enforced the follow-on, the visitors bowled Keaton Jennings’ side out a second time for 152. Dawson took five for 52 to finish with match figures of 10 for 99, alongside his first-innings century, and Mohammad Abbas bagged three for 18. Luke Wells offered the only significant resistance for the home side with 53.Hampshire gain 22 points whereas Lancashire collect just three.The victory is only Hampshire’s third by an innings in 158 matches against Lancashire, the complete sequence of games stretching back to 1870. The other two hammerings were achieved at Bournemouth in 1922 and Southport in 1973.And following their loss at The Oval last week, this defeat marks the first time since 1907 that Lancashire have lost successive County Championship matches by an innings.More seriously for the Old Trafford side’s immediate future, the home defeat leaves them still ninth out of the ten teams in Division One and plainly in danger of being relegated to the second tier of English domestic cricket.At the start of the day, it had taken Hampshire’s bowlers just nine balls to claim Lancashire’s last two first-innings wickets. George Bell was caught behind by Ben Brown off John Turner for 35 and Tom Aspinwall was leg before to Dawson for a five-ball duck, leaving the slow left-armer with season-best figures of five for 47 from 28.3 overs.Empowered by their 189-run first-innings lead and with thunderstorms possible on Sunday, Hampshire opted to enforce the follow-on and were almost immediately rewarded with two prime wickets.Having been deterred from coming down the wicket by Brown standing up to the stumps, Jennings was pinned on the crease by Abbas and was lbw for one. Three overs later, Josh Bohannon was lbw to John Turner for a 12-ball nought and Lancashire were 12 for two.Wells and Rocky Flintoff shepherded Lancashire to 34 for two after 25 overs at lunch, only for the home side to lose two wickets in just over half an hour of the afternoon session. Flintoff, having resisted for all but an hour, was caught by Brown off Abbas for eight, and five overs later Matty Hurst swiped at Dawson and was bowled for a 19-ball duck.Bell and Wells then settled for the attritional approach, adding 44 runs and thereby doubling the score in 20 overs of dogged resistance before Bell was caught at short leg by Fletcha Middleton off James Fuller for 21 and Wells was bowled for 53, five balls after reaching his half-century, when he played a slower ball from Dawson down and into the stumps.George Balderson and Venkatesh Iyer adopted a more attacking approach either side of tea but Dawson struck back on the resumption when he dismissed Iyer for 36, the Indian chopping the ball into his stumps.Next over, Balderson was caught at slip by Tom Prest off Abbas for seven and seven overs later Tom Hartley was bowled by Liam Dawson for 10. The match ended when Bailey skied Dawson to Abbott at midwicket to complete a remarkable game for the all-rounder, who had taken ten wicket and also scored a century, a feat he also achieved only last season against Middlesex.
Having claimed full batting points, Essex now need to bowl out Surrey twice to finish third, ahead of Somerset
ECB Reporters Network28-Sep-2024
Dean Elgar recorded his fourth century of the campaign•Getty Images
Essex batters Dean Elgar, Tom Westley and Matt Critchley filled their boots with a century apiece as Vitality County champions Surrey suffered a post-title-winning hangover at Chelmsford.The former South African captain, batting ostensibly on one leg, led the way by posting 182, the highest of his four centuries for Essex this season during a stay at the crease that began on Thursday morning and ended 102 overs later on Saturday evening – five sessions having been wiped out by the weather on days one and two.Elgar and Westley put on a record 253 in 59 overs to eclipse the 95-year-old best of 206 for the second wicket against Surrey. Elgar then piled on further agony by adding 168 for the third wicket with Critchley, who played freely for his 112 from 171 balls before Essex declared on 508 for 8. Earlier, Westley had been in such explosive form that 106 of his 135 runs came in boundaries (25 fours, one six).Essex require 17 points from the game to finish ahead of Somerset in third place on games won. They have already pocketed the maximum five for batting and now need to bowl Surrey out twice on the final day of the season. Surrey finished the penultimate day on 30 for the loss of captain Rory Burns, caught at point off Simon Harmer.Under sunny skies, in contrast to the rain of the first two days, the third morning was only nine balls old when Elgar tweaked his left calf and required four minutes’ worth of treatment. He hobbled on manfully, picking the right moment to amble through for easy singles and the odd two but not contemplating anything too sharp.With Elgar largely incapacitated, Westley farmed the bowling in the lead-up to his century, hitting eight boundaries to every part of Chelmsford against James Taylor and Yousef Majid in a ferocious 21-ball blitz. He raced through the nineties and on to three-figures from 141 deliveries with three fours in five balls off Taylor, including one off the backfoot that rocketed past point.Westley twice waltzed down the wicket in three balls to deposit former Essex team-mate Dan Lawrence over his head for a one-bounce four followed by a maximum. Elgar watched the Westley show before finally driving Majid through the covers for a boundary of his own and then reaching his century from 169 balls, 28 slower than his partner.Westley was finally out just after the partnership went past 250 when he picked out Tom Lawes on the long-leg boundary to give Yousef Majid a maiden first-class wicket. The 21-year-old spinner did not celebrate the milestone, however, echoing the subdued mood within the fielding ranks. That feeling of after the Lord Mayor’s Show continued into the afternoon with a series of misfields as Critchley was the latest batsmen to tuck into some ordinary fare served up by a below-par Surrey attack.Nowhere did the Elgar limp look more noticeable than the quick single to reach his 150 from 234 balls. He took Essex to 400 with his 19th four, an audacious uppercut off Lawes to the boundary backward of point, but fell when chipping Ryan Patel to short extra cover to spark a middle-order collapse.Patel claimed three wickets in seven balls – and finished with 3 for 41 from 12 overs – when Luc Benkenstein played all around a slower ball and Paul Walter scooped to mid-on as Essex slipped from 425 for 2 to 433 for 5. Majid claimed his second wicket on debut when he had Adam Rossington lbw, but not before Essex had claimed all five batting points.Critchley became the third centurion of the day when he pulled Ollie Sykes to square leg, but was the first of two late wickets for Taylor, holing out in the covers. Shane Snater was then bowled to bring about the declaration.
da pinup bet： Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers will currently be plotting moves to bolster his squad after the summer transfer window officially opened for business on Sunday.
da esoccer bet： The Northern Irish head coach has already landed one signing in the form of Kieran Tierney, who is set to re-join the club from Arsenal after six years in England.
Greg Taylor’s contract expires this summer and Jeffrey Schlupp’s loan deal has ended, which means that the Scotland international is currently the only left-back contracted to the Hoops heading into the 2025/26 campaign.
However, whilst Rodgers must think about potential transfer targets to improve the squad, the Celtic manager also has to be ruthless when deciding who will be a part of his team next season.
How Celtic's midfield could look next season
Football FanCast recently published an article outlining what a dream starting XI could look like for the Hoops next term, and it included a midfield trio of Callum McGregor, Arne Engels, and Lennon Miller, who could be signed from Motherwell as a potential replacement for Reo Hatate if he moves on.
That would leave Paulo Bernardo, Luke McCowan, and Hyeok-kyu Kwon as the senior central midfield back-ups heading into pre-season, after McCowan and Bernardo played back-up for much of this season.
The former Dundee star and the Portuguese whiz combined for ten goals and 13 assists across all competitions, with seven goals and nine assists for McCowan and three goals and four assists for Bernardo.
This suggests that they both provide enough attacking quality to be solid rotation options behind a first-choice midfield of McGregor, Engels, and Miller, which is why Rodgers must ruthlessly axe Kwon.
Why Celtic should axe Kwon
Kwon was signed from Busan IPark in the summer of 2023 and arrived as the ‘K League Rodri’, having averaged 3.3 tackles and interceptions and 5.0 ball recoveries per game in the K League 2 during the 2023 campaign.
Squawka noted that the midfielder was ‘likened to Rodri due to his similar stature and playing style’, as another towering number six who likes to make tackles and interceptions whilst also getting on the ball to complete passes and dictate matches.
Upon signing for the club, Kwon said: “I will become the best player in Celtic and go to higher places such as the German Bundesliga or the English Premier League.”
The 24-year-old star came to Glasgow with incredibly high ambitions, as shown by these comments, and was clearly plotting to be Rodgers’ own version of Rodri, who won the 2024 Ballon d’Or, as the star anchor of the midfield.
Hyeok-kyu Kwon (Scottish Premiership)
23/24 (St Mirren)
24/25 (Hibernian)
Appearances
8
21
Starts
8
12
Goals
0
0
Assists
0
0
Tackles + interceptions per game
2.5
2.0
Ball recoveries per game
5.0
2.1
Duel success rate
51%
53%
Stats via Sofascore
As you can see in the table above, though, Kwon has yet to play a league match for Celtic in two seasons, playing for St Mirren and Hibernian on loan.
Kwon, who was hailed as “excellent” by Saints boss Stephen Robinson, enjoyed a fairly decent start at St Mirren, starting regular matches, but his form tailed off at Hibs before his season was ended due to injury in March.
Celtic midfielder Hyeok-kyu Kwon.
The defensive midfielder failed to start games on a consistent basis, and his defensive numbers reflect that with a decline in tackles, interceptions, and recoveries per game.
His lacklustre statistics and his lack of starts for Hibs do not suggest that he is likely to break into Celtic’s midfield next season, or earn a move to the Premier League or the Bundesliga, which is why Rodgers must ruthlessly axe him from the squad this summer.
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If an opportunity to cash in on the 24-year-old flop arises, the Hoops should move on from him, as they already have options in midfield, because his performances do not suggest that Rodgers will be getting his own version of Rodri any time soon.
علق مصطفى محمد لاعب منتخب مصر الأول، على تأهل الفراعنة إلى نهائيات كأس العالم 2026، بعد الفوز على حساب جيبوتي في المباراة التي جمعت بينهما اليوم.
وحقق منتخب مصر الفوز على جيبوتي، بثلاثة أهداف دون رد، في المباراة التي أقيمت بالجولة التاسعة من عمر تصفيات كأس العالم.
وبهذا الفوز، حسم منتخب مصر، التأهل بشكل رسمي إلى نهائيات كأس العالم، المقرر إقامته العام المقبل في الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية وكندا والمكسيك.
طالع | نانت يحتفل بـ مصطفى محمد بعد تأهل منتخب مصر لنهائيات كأس العالم
وقال مصطفى محمد في تصريحات تلفزيونية عبر قناة “أون سبورت”: “الحمد لله فضل ونعمة مع اللاعبين الرجال، نستحق أن نصل لكأس العالم، إن شاء الله بعد ذلك يكون هذا الطبيعي للمنتخب”.
وأكمل: “نحن طموحنا الآن ليس التأهل لكأس العالم ولكن تقديم شيء مستحق هناك، ونحن لدينا طموح بالوصول لأبعد مرحلة في كأس العالم ونتوج بكأس أمم إفريقيا”.
وواصل: “شرف لأي لاعب أن يرتدي قميص منتخب مصر، وأنا أعطي 100% من مجهودي، نريد الطموح يكبر معانا من الشعب المصري، الفرحة الأكبر أن نصل لمرحلة بعيدة في كأس العالم”.
وأتم: “في كأس الأمم سنبذل قصارى جهدنا، والطبيعي أن نصل لأبعد مرحلة ونحارب حتى النهاية، وأقول لجماهير الكرة المصرية كلنا نتمنى أن نفرحكم دايمًا، ويلا نشجع مصر في كأس العالم”.
da supremo： Ahead of Vitor Pereira’s first summer in charge, Wolverhampton Wanderers are now reportedly moving to seal their move to sign a South American talent at their manager’s request.
Pereira already requesting Wolves incomings
da esoccer bet： With Matheus Cunha reportedly on his way to Manchester United this summer, it should come as no surprise that Pereira has requested attacking reinforcements in the coming months. Recent rumours have indicated that the Portuguese manager is a particular fan of Corinthians forward Yuri Alberto and has now asked Wolves to make a reunion happen between himself and his former star.
Yuri Alberto in 24/25
Record (via Transfermarkt)
Appearances
34
Goals
13
Assists
1
Having worked with the Brazilian before, Pereira will already know all about Alberto’s potential. At 24 years old, he has shown consistent promise at Corinthians over the years and only added to his goal tally this season – scoring 13 in 34 games.
The Portuguese manager also knows just how important it is to get recruitment right at Wolves in the coming months, having told reporters when asked about the summer transfer window back in April: “I expect to go with Wolves to the next level, the next step. This is what I’m thinking about.
“We don’t need a lot of money, we just need to make the right decisions and have a plan. My focus is on this team and trying to get the best results possible until the end of the season.
Yuri Alberto celebrates for Corinthians.
“Keeping almost all of the players (is important) because we have a very good group. I want to work for another level, I want to take the next step with this club.”
Signing South American talents seems to be the manager’s chosen route towards that next step, too, with another promising talent now reportedly on Wolves’ radar ahead of the summer window.
Wolves moving to seal Araujo deal
According to reports in Brazil, as relayed by Sport Witness, Wolves are now moving to seal their deal to sign Evertton Araujo, who has a release clause worth as much as €40m (£34m) at Flamengo. Whilst such a price may seem steep, reports suggest that Pereira has requested the arrival of the midfielder and the Midlands club have already made contact over a potential deal.
Pereira’s request should come as no shock and Wolves, themselves, are no strangers when it comes to signing Brazilian talents after welcoming Andre last summer.
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Described as “strong” and “composed” as well as “aggressive” by analyst Ben Mattinson, Araujo could go on and make the same impact as Andre if he followed him to the Midlands in the coming months. Wolves’ transfer strategy has seemingly taken them towards Brazil once again and that should be seen as no bad thing.
Durham hope that Scott Boland’s arrival in the north east will provide them with a timely boost after their first match back in Division One of the County Championship was washed out without a ball bowled against Hampshire.Boland has been training at Chester-le-Street over the weekend – he had his Durham headshots taken on Monday – but did not arrive in time to be considered for selection in the opening round of games. He is now due to be available across formats until the end of July, and should make his debut on Friday against Warwickshire at Edgbaston.”He makes it another hard decision,” Ryan Campbell, Durham’s head coach, said. “We made some tough decisions ahead of this game: you would have seen Michael Jones and Bas de Leede miss out, which was a tough decision to come to. And now somebody else is going to miss out – if he’s ready to play.”
Durham will also welcome the England Test captain back into their squad at some stage in the coming weeks: “We’ve been sitting around over the past few days trying to figure out the rotation between our bowling unit and we’ve also got Ben Stokes to factor in at some point as well, which will change the balance to our squad,” Campbell said.There seemed to be a possibility of play on the final morning at the Riverside, but captains Scott Borthwick and James Vince shook hands after a midday inspection. The recent downpours at the ground have come after a winter of little respite for groundstaff up and down the country due to consistent rainfall.”After 30-odd years in the game, I don’t think I’ve sat through four days without play,” Campbell said. “I think everyone in England knows how much rain there’s been, even though it has been fine during the game. The one thing that people haven’t seen is the amount of rain overnight.”It’s disappointing, obviously. We wanted to test ourselves against a very good Hampshire team but we didn’t get that opportunity, so we’ll put the cue back in the rack, shake it off and head down to Birmingham… I think it’ll be a brilliant game against a really good side who have done well in Division One in recent times. We are ready to be tested.”Related
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Vince said that the main area of concern was the bowlers’ run-ups. “I must admit, when we turned up on Thursday and saw the ground, we did fear that this outcome would be a possibility,” he said. “Although it has not rained much in the days, the top-ups overnight have meant that the run-ups and the outfield couldn’t cope.”I think it has marginally improved today, but still the run-ups are still kind of muddy. I think after one or two overs it would have turned into mud and there would have been the danger there for the bowlers especially at this time of year. It’s incredibly frustrating but at the end of the day, you can’t do anything about it.”With there not being much rainfall during the days, it feels a bit odd. I don’t think I’ve actually played a [four-day] game where there’s actually not been a ball bowled. It feels like we’ve been up here for a long time and done very little.” Hampshire face Lancashire at the Utilita Bowl from Friday.
The campaign is still a month away from completion, although attention at Manchester United is swiftly turning toward the summer transfer window and the need to bolster Ruben Amorim’s ranks.
While it would be foolish for anyone of a United persuasion to be too optimistic regarding the impact of potential new signings, amid the club’s wretched recruitment record over the last decade or so, it is difficult to argue that this side is in need of major surgery once again.
With departures expected to reach double figures, ahead of next season, there is likely to be something of an overhaul at Old Trafford, with drastic improvement needed amid the Red Devils’ place in the bottom half of the Premier League table.
Erik ten Hag
Much could depend on whether or not Champions League qualification is secured, via Europa League glory, although regardless of what occurs on the continent, it looks as if the INEOS regime are already closing in on the signing of wantaway Wolverhampton Wanderers man, Matheus Cunha.
The latest on Man Utd's move for Cunha
It’s fair to say that Cunha can’t have done much more to catch the eye of those at Old Trafford this season. Indeed, during Wolves’ 2-0 win over United on Boxing Day, the Brazilian was simply sensational for the hosts, having scored directly from a corner, while also teeing up Hwang Hee-chan for the second of the day.
That was followed by the 25-year-old’s impact in Sunday’s 1-0 win for the Old Gold, as it was actually his surging run which earned the free-kick that Pablo Sarabia duly converted.
Now onto 14 league goals for the season, Cunha appears all but certain for a Molineux exit this summer – following prior January interest – having already outlined his desire to “take the next step” in his career.
Cunha stats
As widely reported, that ‘next step’ looks set to lead the former Atletico Madrid man to Manchester, with positive talks having been held regarding the forward’s potential contract at the Theatre of Dreams.
That move for the £62.5m sensation could represent the first piece of business in a potentially hectic summer for the Red Devils.
Man Utd readying offer for new midfielder
Alongside that interest in the Wolves ace, it would appear that United are also keeping a close eye on Ipswich Town starlet, Liam Delap, with the Englishman set to be available for £30m amid the Tractor Boys’ impending relegation.
Transfer Focus
Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.
Elsewhere, meanwhile, reports in Spain have suggested that Amorim and co could also go back in for a long-term target, in the form of Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong, with the Dutchman said to be ‘back on the Red Devils’ radar’.
As per the report, United are ‘willing to present a proposal’ in order to entice the LaLiga giants into a summer sale, with the Premier League said to be ready to ‘test the limits’ of Barca’s resolve.
Benfica's Kerem Akturkoglu in action with FC Barcelona'sFrenkiedeJong
The 27-year-old was famously linked with the Old Trafford side back in the summer of 2022, during Erik ten Hag’s first window in charge, albeit despite an agreement on a fee, a deal for the former Ajax midfielder couldn’t get over the line amid issues regarding personal terms.
There may be a feeling of De Jong’s chance having come and gone, although United should still jump at the opportunity to land such a statement signing.
How De Jong could fit in at Man Utd
There could well be a fresh look to Amorim’s 3-4-3 set-up next term, with a new goalkeeper and centre-forward seemingly set to be prioritised, while Cunha would likely line up in one of the two number ten berths.
The Wolves talisman has already thrived in a similar system under Amorim’s compatriot, Vitor Pereira, in recent months, with his overall record in England’s top-flight now standing at 39 goals and assists in just 77 games.
What the one-time RB Leipzig man will need, however, is quality service from those around him, hence why bringing De Jong into the fold could be a dream scenario.
Likely to operate as part of the midfield two – potentially alongside Bruno Fernandes or Manuel Ugarte – the Netherlands international is simply a master at progressing play, as emphasised by the fact that he ranks in the top 9% of European midfielders for progressive passes, and the top 16% for progressive carries per 90, as per FBref.
Also ranked in the top 1% for pass completion, the experienced metronome has rightly been lauded as “one of the best midfielders in the world” by former boss, Xavi Hernandez, ensuring he would be a worthy upgrade in Amorim’s ranks.
Non-penalty goals
0.12
Top 25%
Assists
0.12
Top 28%
Shot-creating actions
2.59
Top 36%
Passes attempted
82.09
Top 4%
Pass completion
93.8%
Top 1%
Progressive passes
7.17
Top 9%
Progressive carries
2.09
Top 16%
Passes into final third
9.20
Top 3%
Tackles (in attacking 3rd)
0.49
Top 10%
As stated, that forward-thinking ability that De Jong provides would ensure he is the ideal figure to pick out the likes of Cunha ahead of him, as indicated by the fact that he also ranks in the top 3% for passes into the final third, at an average of 9.21 per 90.
What also sets the 5 foot 11 maestro apart is just how effective he is at regaining possession too. As evidenced last season – considering he has only started seven league games this time around – De Jong averaged 2.2 tackles per game, having also recovered the ball 5.9 times per game in LaLiga.
For context, United’s ball-winning monster, Casemiro, has only recovered 3.9 balls per game in the Premier League this term – albeit while enjoying a far superior record with regard to tackles made (3.5).
For De Jong to then have such quality both in and out of possession would ensure he can comfortably cope in a midfield two, with United having the chance to acquire two players entering their peak years, in the form of him and Cunha.
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Goalkeeper into last year of contract
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WHAT HAPPENED?
The Blues have made contact with Milan as Enzo Maresca aims to add a new goalkeeper to his squad this summer. According to Gianluca Di Marzio, the Rossoneri have told Chelsea they must pay €30 million (£25m/$34m) to sign Maignan this summer.
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THE BIGGER PICTURE
Chelsea may well be unwilling to match Maignan's fee as he has just one year left on his contract and, as things stand, will be available for free next summer. Yet the No. 1 position is of concern at Stamford Bridge due to doubts over both Robert Sanchez and Filip Jorgensen.
DID YOU KNOW?
Chelsea also had three goalkeepers out on loan last season and all are due to return in the summer. Mike Penders will head back to London from Genk, Doree Petrovic spent last season with Strasbourg, while Kepa Arrizabalaga enjoyed a good campaign with Bournemouth.
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WHAT NEXT FOR CHELSEA
Chelsea look set for a busy summer transfer window as Maresca continues to shape his squad. Dario Essugo has already arrived from Sporting, while the Blues are hoping to complete a deal for Liam Delap. The club are also being tipped to offload as many as 13 players before the start of the new campaign.