Manchester United fans have been told which players are arguably the most important in regards to progressive passes.
Players who tend to excel in progressive passes tend to be key players for their teams as it’s such an important statistic.
Most Progressive Passes per 90 for #MUFC, All comps 21/22
5.9 – Bruno Fernandes
5.8 – Diogo Dalot
5.6 – Paul Pogba
5.4 – Nemanja Matic
4.8 – Luke Shaw
4.2 – Fred
3.9 – Scott McTominay
3.5 – Alex Telles
3.3 – Jadon Sancho
2.8 – Harry Maguire
2.7 – Aaron Wan-Bissaka(Data:@fbref) pic.twitter.com/OSAUa3mycX
— The Devil's DNA (@TheDevilsDNA) March 1, 2022
Ralf Rangnick has himself described his tactics as passing vertically as often as possible and so it’s natural he would lead to those who move the ball up the pitch quickly.
The statistic above shows why Diogo Dalot got so much game time under the German boss, at least initially.
It also shows why Rangnick should perhaps return to the Portuguese after recently selecting Aaron Wan-Bissaka at right-back instead.
Dalot has done remarkably well to be amongst a host of the club’s best midfielders, sitting in between Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba.
It’s clear what he adds to a United team that relies on it’s full-backs for width, particularly under Rangnick.
Nemanja Matic and Luke Shaw ranking highly is no real surprise but perhaps Fred and Scott McTominay are higher up than most would have anticipated.
Another surprise is Jadon Sancho and how low on the list he is but perhaps it’s because his progressive carries rank highly instead.
He isn’t necessarily more of a dribbler than a passer but with the likes of Pogba and Bruno, maybe the onus isn’t on him so much to progress passes.
Nonetheless, it’s clear to see who Rangnick can and can’t rely on when it comes to the type of passes he wants to see more of in his team.