Christian Eriksen is one of the most targeted midfielders in the English Premier League. After recovering from injury, the player was signed by English Premier League side Brentford. He spent the second half of the last season at the Bees, and his performances have gained the interest of a lot of clubs. One of the clubs that are after the Danish midfielder is Leicester City. The Foxes might end up losing their Belgian international midfielder, Youri Tielemans in the summer, and Christian Eriksen could be his like-to-like replacement. Eriksen is five years elder than Tielemans, but the player can be a temporary solution to replace the departing Belgian. This season, he was impressive in his short spell at the Bees, and here are some of the stats that show why he could be an ideal replacement for Tielemans.
Eriksen made 11 appearances in the English Premier League last season. The Dane scored his first goal for Brentford and also created four goals for his side. When looking at the above chart, the general rule is that the longer the bar, the better the performance — you can see the league average in the middle, and the % is the percentile rank the player is in. The above stats show the passing and progression stats per 90 minutes for Eriksen. The Dane averaged 46.29 passes per 90 minutes with an accuracy rate of 80%. By looking at the above viz, we can observe that the player attempted a lot of long passes, as Brentford players love to play with long passes during the game.
The above viz shows the pass start location as well as the threat created from passes at different intervals. We can observe that most of the passes were attempted from the left side of the field. Eriksen is also a set-piece specialist and was active on corner duties for his side. He dictated the play for his team and took different positions on the field.
The above viz compares Tielemans’ stats with Eriksen’s. Tielemans spent more minutes on the pitch than the Danish international. However, Eriksen played with a more attacking mindset and attempted more passes into the opposition’s penalty area. He even took more touches inside the box and had a high xG and xA rate. Eriksen was more threatening with his passing and helped Brentford to guarantee survival in the league.
Tielemans attempted more passes than the Dane per 90 minutes. But one thing to be observed is that Leicester City dominated their opponents more than Brentford. They kept more possession of the ball, and that allowed their players to attempt more passes. This is why Tielemans has better stats than his opponent.
Christian Eriksen impressed in his short spell in the English Premier League. He has previously played for Spurs, and that earned him a move to Italian giants Inter Milan. In the summer, the Dane will look for a new challenge and could end up at one of the English clubs. A lot of teams are interested in him, and Leicester City will face a lot of competition to sign him.
