The 2021-22 Premier League season has reached its 21st round, and the list of various technical statistics has also been released. Earlier, the Premier League officially announced the top 5 players in the ranking of the number of times they have regained the ball this season. On this list, we see two players who are close to Manchester United's rumors, namely West Ham midfielder Rice and Wolves' Ruben Neves.
So far this season, Rice has played for West Ham in a total of 19 league rounds, all of which have played all over the game, scoring 1 goal and assisting 4 times. On the defensive end, Rice is even more of a lone presence. Averaging 2.32 steals, 1.84 interceptions and 1.32 clearances per game, he regained the ball 152 times in total, ranking first in the same position in the Premier League, and 8 times per game, 4th in the same position. In addition, Rice averaged 7.28 points per game, the first place in the team and the second place in the same position.
There is no doubt that Rice has made overall progress this season. If West Ham can't finish in the top 4 this season, Rice will most likely choose to leave. His performance also proves that it is time for him to step into a higher platform and look for greater development. United desperately need to strengthen their backlines, with former manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer seeing Rice as the number one target. But it is still too early to say whether United will replace Lonnick in the summer and who will become the manager of Manchester United, so we can only continue to wait and see.
After Rice, the second-placer in the Premier League to regain possession is Ruben Neves. The Portuguese midfielder has regained the ball 148 times in 18 league games, averaging 8.2 times per game, a statistic that could also change the perception of many fans that Neves is not defensively strong. In addition to organizing the attack, Ruben Neves also helped the team a lot on the defensive end, averaging 1.94 steals, 0.94 interceptions and 1.11 clearances per game.
After the 1-0 win over Manchester United, rumors of Neves and the Red Devils began to heat up. Compared to Rice, Neves is much less valuable, with a transfer fee of about 40 million pounds and not too old. If Pogba leaves after the end of the season, Neves is a good alternative target.
In third place is Rodri, who has regained the ball 142 times, averaging 8.4 times per game. In the Manchester City squad, Rodri is the most inconspicuous of the midfielders, but the role is indispensable. Without any attacker up front, City's scene will not be much worse. But without Rodri, City's system is likely to collapse. The importance of a midfielder with a single back to a giant team is vividly demonstrated by Rodri. Only when the waist is hard, the midfield will not be disjointed.
In 5th place was Arnold, with 140 times in total. Why 5th first, because this is a Liverpool player and the only defender. In Liverpool's system, Alexander-Arnold's position is actually very high, and it is not an exaggeration to say that he is a midfielder. In particular, after he regained the ball, he quickly found Salah, who was inserted in the anti-offside front, a move that made opponents invincible.
Fourth is Brentford's 27-year-old Danish midfielder Norgao, a standard 6-sided fighter. As a promoted horse, Brentford can be in the middle of the table in the middle of the season. And only conceded 26 goals, ranking 8th in the Premier League, Noelgao's barrier effect is the most powerful.
In short, if any team wants to have a good record, the midfielder definitely needs to have a player with the top ability. Unfortunately, Manchester United did not, which is also the key to the team's record has not been stable. At present, the situation of Manchester United for 4 is already very unfavorable, if the winter window is not strengthened, and eventually loses the Champions League qualification, then the summer window wants to buy a top back, I am afraid that the attraction is not enough.