Eight high-profile players Harry Maguire completed more take-ons than last season

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What a year it has been for Harry Maguire, from signing for Leicester City to representing England at the World Cup and now being linked with another move, this time to Manchester United.

While Sheffield United fans may have already known the extent of Maguire’s potential during his Bramall Lane days, the centre-back rose to a wider prominence with Hull City in the Premier League in 2016/17.

Despite Hull’s relegation, Maguire did well enough to earn his move to Leicester and the 25-year-old has not looked back since.

His calmness and confidence on the ball saw him quickly endeared to the Foxes fans and then England during the World Cup as he was key to the Three Lions’ fourth-placed finish.

The Premier League’s best ball carrying centre-back, Maguire completed an impressive 51 of his 60 attempted take ons last season.

To put that into perspective, Lionel Messi and Eden Hazard led the way in Europe’s top five leagues with 185 and 165 completed take-ons respectively.

But there were some high-profile names who completed fewer take-ons than Maguire last season, showing just how good the centre-back was on the ball last season.

Cristiano Ronaldo

Team: Real Madrid

Take-ons attempted: 51

Take-ons completed: 31

The man that became synonymous with dribbling in the Premier League and early stages of his La Liga career has proven he no longer has a need for it.

Transforming himself into the greatest goalscorer in Champions League history and one of the best in Spain, Cristiano Ronaldo completed 31 take-ons in La Liga last season.

But that did not matter as the Portuguese forward scored 26 goals, having enhanced his game to still be terrifying defences at 33 years-old.

Xherdan Shaqiri

Team: Stoke City

Take-ons attempted: 68

Take-ons completed: 39

Despite Stoke City’s relegation from the Premier League last season, Xherdan Shaqiri’s performances were good enough to earn him a move to Champions League finalists Liverpool.

The Swiss international scored eight goals and recorded seven assists for Stoke, often feeling the need to take on opposition defences on his own due to his team-mates lack of coherence.

As a result, Shaqiri only managed to complete 39 of his 68 attempted take-ons in the Premier League having tried just a bit too hard to save Stoke from relegation by himself.

Dries Mertens

Team: Napoli

Take-ons attempted: 88

Take-ons completed: 42

Napoli were devastating brilliant last season and went so close to finally pipping Juventus to the Serie A title but for a poor final four games.

A large reason for that was Dries Mertens’ performances as a centre-forward having been converted from a winger by Maurizio Sarri.

Still a danger on the ball, Mertens completed 42 take-ons in Serie A last season, but often found himself more central not needing to test himself, scoring 18 goals in the league.

Dele Alli

Team: Tottenham Hotspur

Take-ons attempted: 105

Take-ons completed: 44

Dele Alli may not have had his strongest season in a Tottenham shirt last year, but that did not stop him from being a threat to opposition defences.

The Englishman scored nine goals and recorded ten assists in the Premier League, but completed just 44 of his 105 attempted take-ons.

However, Alli was the third-most fouled player in the Premier League last season, getting stopped ilegally on 84 occasions.

Thomas Lemar

Team: Monaco

Take-ons attempted: 89

Take-ons completed: 46

Monaco’s exciting winger may have struggled to replicate his form from the 2016/17 season but Thomas Lemar did enough to lure in Atletico Madrid.

Lemar was a regular starter for Monaco in Ligue 1 but completed 46 of his 89 attempted take-ons last season, not often testing himself against opposition defences.

Richarlison

Team: Watford

Take-ons attempted: 99

Take-ons completed: 47

As Watford started well under Marco Silva, Richarlison was threatening to make the Premier League his own scoring five goals in 12 games.

But, like Watford, he fell away in the second half of the season owing to playing a straight year of football having joined the club on the back of a full campaign in Brazil. In total he completed 47 of his 99 attempted take-ons.

Like, Alli, Richarlison was often stopped illegally by his opponents with the Brazilian having been fouled more times than any other Premier League player (95).

Angel Di Maria

Team: Paris Saint-Germain

Take-ons attempted: 86

Take-ons completed: 48

Following the arrivals of Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, Angel Di Maria found his starting chances at Paris Saint-Germain significantly drop.

Despite still managing to start 26 games, the Argentine attempted 86 take-ons and completed 48 – compared to Mbappe’s 79 completed and Neymar’s 142.

Roberto Firmino

Team: Liverpool

Take-ons attempted: 73

Take-ons completed: 49

Despite making his name as a testing attacking midfielder in previous seasons at Liverpool, the arrival of Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane saw Roberto Firmino’s role change.

Playing more central as a false nine, the Brazilian focused on other aspects of his game, defending high while also receiving the ball in the box as opposed to working his own way in.

The post Eight high-profile players Harry Maguire completed more take-ons than last season appeared first on Squawka News.



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