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

David Tully

5 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

Following our look at the players who have had the most shots in the English top flight this campaign, we will now be ranking those with the most touches.

This top 5 will be populated by footballers who are at clubs that keep possession, rather than those who are happy to sit back and play on the counter-attack.

Defenders also dominate this list as they are the players who generally get the most time on the ball.

Press the next page as we name the Premier League stars with the most touches so far this season.

5) William Saliba (Arsenal) – 1482 touches

Arsenal have the fourth-highest possession (60.3%) stats as a team in the Premier League this campaign so you would expect one of their players to make the top 5.

Saliba is very comfortable on the ball and he does also have the tendency to travel high up the pitch before offloading possession.

The 22-year-old is very much a modern-day centre-back. He glides across the pitch, and he never looks flustered even when put under pressure.

Saliba’s composure is a key trait for a top defender, and the fact that he rarely makes mistakes as well means he has a massive future ahead of him.

4) Ruben Dias (Manchester City) – 1485

The reigning Premier League champions are unsurprisingly top of the possession table this season, having 62.2% of the ball.

Like Saliba, Dias is tasked with carrying possession high up the pitch, and he is rarely caught out by opposition players pressing him.

The Portuguese international is not as elegant as Saliba, by any means, but he is just as effective.

Dias arrived from Benfica in 2020, and he slotted into the backline without needing any time to adapt, which is a testament to his ability as a defender.

3)Rodri (Manchester City) – 1545

The Spanish international is City’s “metronome”, which basically means he is tasked with the responsibility of progressing the ball up the pitch.

Guardiola has become more and more reliant on Rodri over the past couple of years, to the point where the City boss admits it has become a problem.

When Rodri is injured or suspended, the Cityzens have found it difficult to build attacks. It means their most attack-minded players get less of the ball and become less of a threat.

Without the midfielder this campaign, Guardiola’s team haven’t won a single game, whilst with him they haven’t lost.

2)Kieran Trippier (Newcastle United) – 1,604

The right-back’s presence on the list is less to do with Newcastle’s possession game, and more down to the fact that he is the team’s most creative player.

Magpies boss Eddie Howe has clearly asked Trippier’s teammates to feed the ball to him whenever possible.

It has been a very effective tactic as well. He has not only had the most touches of any fullback in the Premier League, but he has the joint most assists of any top-flight player.

Of course, if an opponent does focus on closing Trippier down, his influence on the game does wane.

1)Lewis Dunk (Brighton) – 1629

Brighton are very much a possession-based team under the guidance of manager Roberto De Zerbi.

They are only second to Manchester City in terms of possession (61.4%) in the Premier League this campaign.

It is, therefore, not a complete shock that Dunk tops the list. As Brighton’s captain, he is given the responsibility of playing out from the back.

On top of that, he is also required to hold onto the ball for extended periods when the Seagulls deploy their pressing traps.