Ahead of Aston Villa's Europa League qualifier against Rapid Vienna on Thursday, Opta give Villa fans cause for hope should influential midfielder James Milner move to Manchester City.
For the second summer in a row, the majority of the transfer talk in England has revolved around the purchases of Manchester City, and specifically their pursuit of James Milner. This chase now seems to be over, with Milner moving to Eastlands and Stephen Ireland and a rumoured £16 million heading to Aston Villa.
Though fans of the midlands club will no doubt be upset to see their player of the season leave, there is plenty to suggest that Ireland could be as much of a success at Villa Park as Richard Dunne was last season.
1. Despite playing 17 fewer games, Ireland has scored more goals (11) in the Premier League over the last two seasons than Milner (10).
2. The former Manchester City man has also been more clinical in front of goal, converting 16% of his efforts to Milner’s 12%.
3. In the same period, Ireland has created a 1.8 goalscoring chances per 90 minutes of football compared to 1.7 for Milner.
4. Additionally, the Republic of Ireland international has completed 77% of his passes, a much higher proportion than his England counterpart (70%).
5. Though he has been nowhere near as attacking as Milner in terms of attempting dribbles (0.8 per 90 minutes vs 2.6 for Milner) or crosses (1.3 vs 6.4), Ireland has been more involved in the defensive side of the game, making 3.6 tackles per 90 minutes compared to just 2.8 for the man he replaces.
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