Plenty of Chelsea fans have mocked Manchester United winger Daniel James after a recent stat emerged which compared him to Blues midfielder Matteo Kovacic.
The Welshman made the move from Swansea City last summer in a deal worth £15 million and has been a regular under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in his debut top-flight campaign.
He’s made 21 Premier League appearances, scoring three times and providing six assists during that time.
James is known for his blistering pace and ability to take on a man, however, he’s struggled to do that week in week out.
A stat from Whoscored.com was shared on social media on Wednesday, looking at the success rate of players to attempt at least 50 dribbles in the Premier League.
Chelsea’s Kovacic topped the list with an excellent 84.1% ratio, while James was the least successful of any player, completing just 40% of his attempted dribbles.
The stat made its way across social media, which allowed these Blues fans to weigh in with their views.
Twitter: @WhoScored dAnIeL jAmEs wAs A bArGaIn (@why_chelsea)
Twitter: @WhoScored 40% isn’t bad at all
Last season
Mbappe had 56%
Zaha had 55%And they were the top 10 best dribbler in… https://t.co/9UE4Vs6ezk (@Lp7Le)
Twitter: @WhoScored Daniel James is overrated
(@Ryan_jb17)
Twitter: @WhoScored They thought we dont have a new Hazard. They were wrong
What a player
https://t.co/iIlAd4Ffwo (@CFCLamps_)
Twitter: @WhoScored MK17. My midfielder
(@CFCHale)
Read Chelsea verdict
Of course, the two play in completely different positions, but it just highlights Kovacic’s class in recent months.
Transfermarkt show that the Croat has turned out in a central midfield role in 19 of his 29 appearances this season, which makes the stat, in our view, even more impressive.
Turning out in the middle of the pitch sees everything become more compact, whereas James would mainly have the chance to take on a full-back one-on-one out wide.
Kovacic’s impressive success rate has caught us by surprise, and it just underlines that the Blues made the right decision to sign him permanently in the summer for £40 million.
Add his dribbling statistic to his five-goal involvements, 90.2% pass success percentage and overall displays, makes him, in our view, one of the club’s most impressive performers this season.
