How does Adam Forshaw compare to other Leeds United midfielders?

Leeds United midfielder Adam Forshaw has enjoyed a new lease of life at Elland Road since making the £4.5m switch from Middlesbrough in January.
Adam Forshaw.Adam Forshaw.
Adam Forshaw.

The 26-year-old has been lauded as a breath of fresh air in the centre of the park by many of the United faithful and in his short time in West Yorkshire has been tipped as a potential candidate for captaincy next season.

Most Whites fans would pick Forshaw as being a standout performer during a torrid 2018 run which has seen Leeds win just two games in the Championship this calendar year.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Despite his obvious impact the midfielder has missed both victories, one of which came against former club Brentford and most recently, the other against Bolton Wanderers on Good Friday.

After being ruled out with a calf injury United will be without Forshaw for the foreseeable future - so how does he compare to fellow central midfielders Eunan O'Kane, Kalvin Phillips and Ronaldo Vieira?

Here's what the stats say...

Forshaw has made eight starts for United and featured just once from the bench tallying up 765 minutes of action since his arrival.

He averages a pass completion rate of 85.7%, which is the highest of any other player in his position, and completes on average 49.9 successful passes a match compared to Phillips (30.2), Vieira (35.2) and O'Kane (41.6).

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The former Boro man also boasts the highest amount of completed tackles (3.4) on average and successful aerial duels won (2.8) of his peers.

Going forward Forshaw is also top of the charts in averaging the highest amount of key passes per game completing 1.2 compared to Phillips (0.6), Vieira (0.4) and O'Kane (0.5) who aren't as productive.

O'Kane commits the least amount of fouls (0.8) per game of the four with Vieira (1.5) committing the most.

Forshaw, again, sits top of the table in successful dribbles per match completing 2.4 on average ahead of Phillips (1.6), Vieira (1.1), O'Kane (1.3).

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

So will he be missed during a stint on the sidelines? The stats point to the overwhelming answer being, yes.

Despite his absence, oddly, from both victories for the Whites this year his importance to the team cannot be understated from the heart of midfield - Forshaw tops the charts in nearly every key column.

How Leeds now deal with his absence is a question Paul Heckingbottom must answer, starting with the trip to Craven Cottage on Tuesday evening.