Comparing Kyle Walker-Peters’ Premier League stats to Manchester United’s current full-backs
Manchester United are reportedly showing an interest in Southampton right-back Kyle Walker-Peters – but would he improve Erik ten Hag’s squad? We’ve had a look at his stats to find out.
Walker-Peters came through Tottenham’s academy before joining Southampton in 2020 in search of regular first-team football.
The 25-year-old has since gone from strength to strength at St Mary’s and has been one of their standout performers during a difficult start to 2022/23.
Diogo Dalot has established himself as United’s first-choice right-back under Ten Hag but talkSPORT claim that they have shortlisted Walker-Peters as a possible replacement for Aaron Wan-Bissaka, who has recently been linked with moves to Wolves and Crystal Palace.
The report adds that the Southampton full-back is pushing for a move away from the south coast after stalling on signing a new deal while Chelsea and Tottenham are also keeping tabs on the situation.
Using data from WhoScored, we’ve taken a look at Walker-Peters’ Premier League stats from the current campaign to see how he compares with Dalot and Wan-Bissaka. We’ve also included Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia as he can play at left-back if required.
Goals and assists
Walker-Peters is yet to register an assist in the Premier League this season but did score in Southjampton’s 2-2 draw with Leeds United, meaning he currently averages a direct goal contribution every 1,225 minutes.
In comparison, Dalot hasn’t found the back of the net during 1,187 minutes of top-flight action but did set up Bruno Fernandes’ winning goal against Walker-Peters’ Southampton.
Wan-Bissaka has been restricted to just 253 minutes of Premier League football in 2022/23 and hasn’t registered a direct goal contribution in the competition.
Left-back Malacia, who joined United from Feyenoord in the summer, is also waiting for his first goal or assist in the Premier League in 2022/23.
Shaw has been United’s most productive full-back in the Premier League this season, registering two direct goal contributions at a rate of one every 528 minutes.
2) Kyle Walker-Peters Vs Leeds
Unbelievable all round goal. Great first touch and lay off from Che. Pure magic from Mara to spin and beat his man before playing an audacious through ball to KWP, who slots it home from a tight angle 👏🏼 #SaintsFC pic.twitter.com/JC5zk2uV0k
— JustSaints (@JustSaintss) November 15, 2022
Shots, dribbles, and fouls won
While Dalot hasn’t scored a Premier League goal in 2022/23, he’s still had a few attempts on goal and is averaging 0.9 shots per 90 minutes.
Walker-Peters, Shaw and Malacia are all far more hesitant in front of goal as they currently average 0.4 shots per 90 minutes.
Wan-Bissaka isn’t renowned for his attacking contributions and hasn’t had a single shot in the Premier League this season.
The Southampton right-back leads the way when it comes to dribbling, completing 1.2 successful dribbles per 90 minutes at a success rate of 40%.
Dalot follows closely behind with 0.7 successful dribbles per 90 minutes at a completion rate of 46.6%. Wan-Bissaka has been averaging 0.4 successful dribbles at a completion rate of 36.3% while Malacia is on 0.2 per 90 at a 20% success rate.
Shaw then finds himself at the bottom of the pile, completing just 0.1 dribbles per 90 at the lowest success rate (11.1%).
Walker-Peters also comes out on top for fouls drawn (1.6 per 90 minutes) ahead of Shaw (0.8), Malacia (0.8), Wan-Bissaka (0.4) and Dalot (0.2).
Passing
Dalot has been the most creative full-back out of the quintet, averaging 1.6 key passes per 90 minutes in the Premier League.
Despite his lack of Premier League appearances this season, Wan-Bissaka is still creating 1.4 chances per 90 minutes in the competition. Shaw follows closely behind with 1.3 key passes per 90 minutes, which is more than both Walker-Peters (0.7) and Malacia (0.1).
Shaw then comes out on top for passing accuracy with a pass success rate of 85.9%, which is marginally higher than Malacia’s 85.1%.
Wan-Bissaka’s pass success rate of 78.4% puts him ahead of the other right-backs in this respect as Dalot is on 78% and Walker-Peters has a 76.5% passing accuracy.
United are set to sign 6ft 6in striker Wout Weghorst on loan from Burnley, and he’ll probably enjoy playing alongside Dalot, who is averaging 0.9 crosses per game in the Premier League.
In comparison, Shaw is averaging 0.8 crosses per league game and Walker-Peters makes 0.4 while Malacia and Wan-Bissaka are both on 0.3.
Defensive contributions
While modern full-backs are expected to get forward and support the attacking players, Ten Hag still needs them to be solid defensively.
Walker-Peters has been making 1.8 successful tackles per 90 minutes in the Premier League this season but Malacia (2.4) and Dalot (2.0) are both posting higher averages. He’s then followed by Shaw (1.7) and Wan-Bissaka (1.4).
Malacia also comes out on top for clearances per 90 minutes. His total (2.9) betters Dalot’s (2.0), Wan-Bissaka’s (1.8), Shaw’s (1.5) and Walker-Peters’ (1.4).
In terms of interceptions, Wan-Bissaka leads the way with 2.5 per 90 minutes. Dalot and Malacia are joint second with 1.6 interceptions per 90 minutes, putting them ahead of Shaw (1.5) and Walker-Peters (0.8).
