Welcome to The Radar, a Sky Sports column in which Nick Wright uses a blend of data and opinion to shed light on need-to-know stories from up and down the Premier League. This week:
⚪ Solanke enhancing Spurs’ pressing
💪 Tielemans taking responsibility for Villa
🚜 Hutchinson’s work-rate key for Ipswich
Solanke showing signs of what he can bring
Dominic Solanke’s Tottenham career has lift-off after he scored for a second consecutive game in their Europa League win over Qarabag on Thursday. But it was his assist for their opening goal that best typified the ways in which he can excel for Ange Postecoglou’s side.
His pass to tee up Brennan Johnson came after he had pounced on a loose touch from a Qarabag player to steal possession in the final third. It is worth noting Solanke’s goal against Brentford came in similar style, albeit with James Maddison winning the ball.
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Why James Maddison and Dominic Solanke could thrive together for Tottenham
Solanke’s threat in those moments of opposition instability was evident last season at Bournemouth. His total of 55 shots in transition was the highest in the Premier League. Forty per cent of his 15 open-play goals occurred within a few seconds of turnovers.
One example came in a famous 3-0 win at Old Trafford, the ground he returns to with Tottenham on Super Sunday, when he flicked home a low cross by Lewis Cook after the midfielder had intercepted a Bruno Fernandes pass near Manchester United’s box.
Spurs, the Premier League’s most aggressive high-pressing side under Postecoglou, will look to Solanke to help force similar errors, as he has done in his early appearances. Second Spectrum data shows he ranks third among Premier League for final-third pressures creating turnovers this season.
Dominic Solanke ranks third despite only playing three out of five games
Those numbers help show why Postecoglou was so eager to take him to Spurs and his presence among the top five is some going given he missed two of their games with an ankle injury.
On top of dealing with that interruption, Solanke is having to adapt to a different set of circumstances tactically.
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The speed and intelligence of his movement is another of his biggest strengths. Inevitably, though, there are fewer opportunities to run in behind opposition defences when playing for a side averaging 64 per cent possession, against opponents sitting deep, compared to Bournemouth’s 44 per cent last term.
As such, it is not surprising that his percentage of off-the-ball runs defined as “challenging the opposition’s backline” has dropped, from 37 per cent last year at Bournemouth to 24 per cent at Spurs. He has so far only had four games to get to grips with this change.
As he is finding out, though, a £65m fee brings high expectations, even more so given the scoring feats of the player he is succeeding in Harry Kane. Solanke will be judged on goals, ultimately. But even at this early stage, he is showing he brings other valuable qualities too.
Tielemans stepping up for Aston Villa
Aston Villa invested heavily in their midfield following Douglas Luiz’s departure to Juventus in the summer, bringing in Amadou Onana, Samuel Iling-Junior, Enzo Barrenechea and Ross Barkley. But the void is being filled by a player who was already there.
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Youri Tielemans has been outstanding in the left-sided No 8 role vacated by Luiz. Having started only 15 of Villa’s Premier League games last season, and in various positions, he is now one of only two players, along with Morgan Rogers, to have played every minute.
He has been key to Villa’s excellent start and his heightened influence is evident in the statistics. Tielemans is averaging roughly 30 per cent more touches of the ball than he was last season. What matters most, though, is just how effectively he is using it.
Youri Tielemans is making more passes and creating more chances
Tielemans has become the orchestrator of Villa’s attacks; the player they lean on to unpick their opponents. He is creating more than twice as many chances as last season. Even his passing accuracy rate has increased, from 86 per cent to 89 per cent.
That last statistic is particularly impressive given how often he has opposition players breathing down his neck. According to Second Spectrum, his total of 205 pressured passes is second only to Manchester City’s Manuel Akanji in the Premier League.
His ability in tight spaces is invaluable against pressing opponents, and, happily for Villa without Luiz, his delivery, both from set-pieces and open play, is another strength, as shown most recently with the teasing cross for Ezri Konsa’s goal in the win over Wolves.
Youri Tielemans ranks second for passes played under pressure
That assist was his second of the season in the Premier League and followed a goal and assist in Villa’s Champions League win over Young Boys. But a deeper look at the numbers is required in order to reveal the full extent of his attacking influence on the side.
According to Opta, Tielemans has been involved in five open-play passing sequences leading to goals this season, the joint-most in the Premier League along with Liverpool’s Alexis Mac Allister, and a figure which represents half of his side’s overall total.
It helps that he is demonstrating an appetite for the defensive side of things too. From the press box at Villa Park during their defeat to Arsenal, it was striking to see him celebrate a tackle in the second half with the same gusto you might normally see for a goal.
As you would expect under the famously meticulous Unai Emery, none of this has happened by chance. “When we signed him last year, we were doing a plan with him,” he said. But even the Villa boss could not have envisaged such a smooth changing of the guard.
Hutchinson’s work-rate helping Ipswich
Newly-promoted Ipswich welcome Aston Villa to Portman Road on Super Sunday as the Premier League’s bottom-ranked side for shots, shots on target and expected goals.
The circumstances have not been ideal for their attacking players, especially given they have averaged only 38 per cent possession this season, down from 53 per cent in the Championship last term. But one of them, in Omari Hutchinson, is making an invaluable contribution in other ways.
Omari Hutchinson has registered the most pressures in the Premier League
Kieran McKenna has asked his side for greater intensity out of possession and the 20-year-old, a £20m signing from Chelsea following an excellent loan spell last year, is leading the way. According to Second Spectrum, he has registered the most pressures in the Premier League.
His off-the-ball work-rate ensures that, even when he is not sparkling in an offensive sense, he remains key to McKenna, so much so that he has played 444 minutes of a possible 450 so far.
The next step for Ipswich is to demonstrate greater attacking threat to match their defensive efforts. The talented Hutchinson has a big role to play there having contributed 10 goals and five assists in their promotion-winning campaign. But he is already doing his bit.
Player Radar: Who else to keep an eye on
It was interesting to hear Luis Diaz detail the ways in which Arne Slot has unlocked his scoring potential at Liverpool’s training ground this week. Expect the Colombian to feature prominently against Wolves on Saturday as he aims to add to his tally of five goals in five games.
Live Radar: What’s on Sky this weekend?
Liverpool will hope to continue their strong start to the campaign when they travel to Wolves live on live on Sky Sports Premier League and Main Event on Saturday, kicking off at 5.30pm.
Super Sunday kicks off with Ipswich’s home clash against Unai Emery’s Aston Villa live on Sky Sports Premier League and Main Event from 1pm ahead of the 2pm kick-off. Then it’s onto Manchester United against Tottenham, kicking off at 4.30pm.
Don’t miss Monday Night Football, with Jamie Carragher and David Jones live on Sky Sports Premier League and Main Event from 6.30pm ahead of Bournemouth against Southampton at 8pm.
Read last week’s Radar
Last week’s column analysed the task facing Manuel Ugarte to fix Manchester United’s midfield and looked at how Callum Hudson-Odoi is blossoming under Nuno Espirito Santo at Nottingham Forest.
