Alex Scott, the newest call-up to Thomas Tuchel’s squad, says he feels his best position is as a No 8. But he is likely to be fighting for a different role this week.
The real battle in the England midfield right now is at No 6, in a more defensive capacity, and so Scott’s World Cup hopes may well rest on how well the Bournemouth man can prove himself in that position, if given the chance against Serbia and Albania.
Scott has played in a deeper role at Bournemouth and, previously, at Bristol City, and his stats indicate he is very adept there. However, it is Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson – who has dominated the No 6 role for England since making his debut in September – who is top of the defensive stats for English midfielders in the Premier League.
Let us compare the four defensive midfielders currently in Tuchel’s squad: Anderson, Scott, Jordan Henderson, and Adam Wharton – ignoring Declan Rice, who the England coach says he wants to use further forward.
The bulk of the statistics clearly show that Anderson is definitively leading the way – especially when it comes to defensive qualities. He is ahead of the rest in terms of total number of touches, forward passes, duels won, tackles and recoveries.
However, Anderson’s nearest rival is Scott when it comes to duels won and tackles, while Scott is ahead of Anderson for winning possession in the final third and making interceptions.
The heat maps of England’s deep-midfield options compared
The heat maps reveal that, of the four options, it’s Henderson and Wharton who are naturally the most deep-lying of Tuchel’s midfield options – Wharton, in fact, is probably the most natural No 6 of all, and rarely ventures deep into the opponent’s half.
Scott is clearly the most dynamic, and is happy to roam all over the pitch, but he will be asked to be much more disciplined defensively if he gets to make his debut in an England shirt. Anderson gravitates more to the left flank – which may be an issue for England going forward, as that is also the preference of Rice.
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Following his first England squad call-up, take a look at Scott’s great strike against Brighton in Bournemouth’s 2-1 win in September
Henderson is currently beating his rivals when it comes to blocks, and he ranks highly with both long balls and forward passes – something Tuchel has said is a priority for all of his players, to avoid the tempo from dropping in international matches.
When it comes to more attacking areas, the stats would suggest Wharton’s greatest strength is the way he can unpick a defence and the quality of his passing. He has created 14 chances this season – only one fewer than Anderson but the Palace man has played two fewer Premier League games to reach that total.
Again, it will be fascinating to see how Wharton adapts, if he gets to play alongside Rice in the World Cup qualifiers against Serbia and Albania this week.
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A look at Wharton’s best bits for Crystal Palace in the Premier League this season
However, going by the statistical evidence, and focusing in on defensive qualities, it is clear to see that Elliot Anderson is the best of the bunch so far this season.
I would expect Tuchel to take four or five central midfield players to the World Cup next summer, and with Rice a shoo-in, Henderson looking more secure than ever, and Anderson looking more and more the international midfielder, it may well come down to a straight choice between Wharton and Scott for the final berth (not ruling out, of course, a possible return to form and prominence for someone like Kobbie Mainoo, later in the season).
Rice is England’s resident No 8 and will be allowed to influence the play both in attack and defence. Whoever Rice’s deeper-lying midfield partner is, they will be expected to adapt to him, be an important playmaker and act as a defensive buffer in front of the England back four.
Sure, Tuchel will have half a mind on seeing which of Anderson, Wharton and Scott can be the best stand-in for the Arsenal man as a box-to-box midfielder in this international break. But his priority will be to assess which of those three can play best alongside Rice, build a relationship and understanding with him, and have the positional intelligence to fill in whenever Rice is elsewhere.
With that in mind, with only four matches to play before Tuchel selects his World Cup squad, it feels like this international break could be key in setting the shape for England’s midfield.
