Top 5 Players Who Have Had The Most Offsides In The Premier League So Far This Season

David Tully

4 months ago

Categories: Galleries, West Ham United News

Tags: Arsenal, aston villa, Brentford, Brighton, Chelsea, Everton, Fulham, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle United, Sheffield United, Southampton, Spurs, West Ham, Wolves

There are two contrasting schools of thought when a player has been caught offside.

On the one hand, you have those who say that a forward should always be looking along the line to ensure he is not on the wrong side of the last man.

However, there are others who feel strikers do need to take their chances in order to catch out the opposing defence.

Press the next page as we list the top five Premier League stars who have been offside the most times so far this campaign.

5) Jarrod Bowen (West Ham) – 12

The Hammers forward has been deployed as a no.9 over the past month or so with Michail Antonio sidelined with a knee injury.

Being played out of position probably doesn’t help Bowen when he makes his runs in behind.

He is used to angling his forward runs off the right flank and losing his marker, but he has found himself having to beat two centre-backs instead when starting through the middle.

Bowen’s pace means he should probably be more patient and hold his run, as he should have the beating of most defenders in a foot race.

4) Nicolas Jackson (Chelsea) – 15

The Senegalese international has had to face a lot of criticism since arriving from Villarreal in the summer.

There is no doubt that Jackson can be a frustrating player to watch. His finishing can be erratic and he can often make the wrong decisions on the ball.

However, at 22 years of age, he is still learning and there is a feeling that the rough edges in his game will become more polished over time.

Jackson has been caught offside plenty of times this season so that is just another area that he needs to work on.

=2) Son Heung-min (Tottenham) – 16

Considering the South Korean international is such an experienced player, it is slightly surprising to see him so high on this list.

Son does take chances by making late runs from deep in order to catch out opposing defences, but he has been caught on the wrong side of the line too often this campaign.

You could argue, though, that he has been taking more risks compared to last season, and that has led to him scoring a lot more goals.

Whatever the case may be, the assistant referee has been forced to raise his flag plenty of times with Son on the pitch.

=2) Anthony Elanga (Nottingham Forest) – 16

The Swedish international has made a strong start to life at the City Ground having left Manchester United in the summer.

Elanga has made 10 goal contributions in total (4 goals and 6 assists) since joining Forest for £15m back in July.

If he had been more disciplined when trying to beat the offside trap, though, the 21-year-old could have potentially scored a few more.

However, there is no doubt that Elanga poses a major threat to opposition defences.

1) Darwin Nunez (Liverpool) – 17

The 24-year-old creates chaos around him, and that is both a good and bad trait to have.

Defences have a very hard time keeping track of Nunez, whose unpredictable movement and pace make him a nightmare to deal with.

Even so, the Uruguayan can be rather lazy when it comes to staying onside, and there are occasions where he simply switches off and doesn’t get back into position quickly enough to receive possession.

Nunez can be infuriating but he is such a threat that you can’t stay mad at him for long.