Southampton have gone from being one of the favourites to finish in the top 10 of the Premier League to one of the teams fighting to stay up in the league within the span of a season.
With four draws and three wins from seven matches, they currently sit one place above the relegation zone on 17th with just one point cushion.
Since the departure of Danny Ings for Aston Villa this summer, Southampton have failed to score many goals with only five from seven matches but have conceded 10 goals in return. However, in a side which has been performing below the average of their potential, one player who has still tried to perform at the best level possible with consistent performances has been their full-back Kyle Walker-Peters, signed from Tottenham last summer.
We look at his stats to discuss his performance so far.
Walker-Peters has appeared in five matches so far for the Saints at the left full-back position even after being a right-back previously. The 24-year-old has been very mobile covering a lot of ground throughout the pitch, from one corner flag to the opposite predominantly on the left-hand side. He has contributed a lot in Southampton’ attack as much as he has in defence, playing mostly in the opposition half near the left flank in midfield. While Southampton love to press higher up the pitch, the English full-back has spent most of the time near the centre line to win the ball back – the red and orange areas in the above viz show that. He has provided a lot of width in their attack while dropping back equally to keep the defence intact and has been one of their best defenders.
He has played the majority of his passes on the left-hand side of the pitch occasionally trying cross-field balls to change the direction of the attack. The 24-year-old is clearly an attacking-minded player which is proved in the above image where he has played maximum passes in forward progressive manner than back and side passes. He has been really accurate and precise while passing the ball, attempting 186 passes in all with a completion accuracy of 87%, averaging a total of 47 passes per 90 while having 79 touches on the ball. Walker-Peters has played most of the passes in the final third trying to link up with the other attackers but has delivered only a few crosses into the box (10) sometimes with xT of 0.2800. He has not registered any assists so far in the league.
Walker-Peters has been one of the best Saints defenders even after playing on his weaker side. With an engagement in a total of 47 duels, he has come out on top on 29 occasions with a success rate of 62%, while most of his duels have been in the defensive third. He is not a very tall player but has managed to win 67% of his aerial duels as well. The full-back has a total of four clearances yet.
Walker-Peters has been a very careful tackler of the ball. He has had the most interceptions inside his own penalty area without throwing away any silly penalties. While other players have been on the ball, he has been able to take the ball in a precise way with ease. The 24-year-old has won 75% of his tackles. He has also won balls higher up the pitch to start counter-attacks for Southampton.
The full-back has been a clean dribbler with 13 successful dribbles and winning six fouls in return. He has only committed five fouls while getting into the referee’s book twice.
Kyle Walker-Peters has been one of the most consistent players at St.Mary’s stadium and his performances are going to be very vital in Southampton’ battle to stay up in the Premier League this season.
