The Swansea City pass master has a better record than Barcelona’s Xavi, and Arsenal and Manchester City’s top stars and here’s the proof.
Through the Premier League season, Swansea have been collecting plaudits for their passing football.
Manager Brendan Rodgers has deservedly collecting much of the praise, but a vital cog in his masterwork is central midfielder Leon Britton.
It is no secret that Britton’s pass completion percentage rating has been up there with the likes of Xavi, it has been well documented that the Englishman sits in amongst the best.
Right now though- the stats show Swansea’s midfielder is the undisputed number one when it comes to getting his passes right.
Here are the top 20 midfielders by club and pass completion percentage:
1) Leon Britton – Swansea City – 93.3 per cent
2) Thiago Alacantra – Barcelona – 92.9 per cent
3) Seydou Keita – Barcelona – 92.5 per cent
3) Paul Scholes – Manchester United – 92.5 per cent
5) Xavi – Barcelona – 92.4 per cent
6) Nigel de Jong – Manchester City – 92.2 per cent
7) David Jarolim – Hamburg – 91.9 per cent
8) Sergio Busquets – Barcelona – 91.6 per cent
9) Samir Nasri – Manchester City – 91.3 per cent
10) Joe Allen – Swansea City – 90.9 per cent
11) Mikel Arteta – Arsenal – 90.8 per cent
12) Anatoliy Tymoshchuk – Bayern Munich – 90.7 per cent
13) Jon Obi Mikel – Chelsea – 90.7 per cent
14) Adriano – Barcelona – 90.4 per cent
15) Jake Livermore – Tottenham – 90.4 per cent
16) Yaya Toure – Manchester City – 90.2 per cent
17) Michael Carrick – Manchester United – 90.2 per cent
18) Andres Iniesta – Barcelona – 90.1 per cent
19) Javier Zanetti – Inter Milan – 90.1 per cent
20) Scott Parker – Tottenham – 89.9 per cent
Swansea City fans can rightly be proud of just how their standout performers compare to Europe’s best. The amount of Premier League players featuring in the list is remarkably high, with plenty of Englishman as well.
Scholes, Carrick, Britton and Livermore should all be candidates for England’s Euro 2012 squad, and featured in our poll yesterday asking who should be Jack Wilshere’s Euro 2012 replacement.
The sheer amount of Barcelona players in the top 20 is testament to their passing football, which has led to their success, and Brendan Rodgers is right in trying to get his side to emulate it.
Swansea City of course do not have a Lionel Messi to add a world class finishing touch to their polished brand of football, but it has been effective in securing their 40 point target.
Now Rodgers will have to examine how to further build on this, who to recruit, although Swans fans will surely settle simply for their manager staying put, with growing speculation over a potentially vacant Tottenham job.
Joe Allen is another Swan who features on the list and deserves a great amount of credit for his own performances. It is old-timers Paul Scholes and Javier Zanetti’s existence in the top 20 which will have fans purring, proving that class is permanent.
Which makes it even more impressive for Britton to be sitting right at the top.
Should Britton go to Euro 2012?
image: © Ronnie Macdonald
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
