The Everton man does well against fellow midfielders from Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool, Manchester City and Newcastle United.
Tom Cleverley’s stats for Everton this season show he may deserve a return to England’s squad for Euro 2016.
He was part of a 40 man squad that headed to Burton on Thursday, as England boss Roy Hodgson called him up following an impressive few weeks for the Blues.
It is the first time he has been part of the national set up in three years, with him last having played for the Three Lions against Germany in 2013.
And when compared to several other midfield hopefuls, the stats suggest he could be deserving of place in their squad this summer.
In the table provided by Opta, we can see that he does well against his England midfield rivals, scoring favourably in several key areas.
| Team | Goals | Ontarget Scoring Attempts per Game | Goal Assist | Big Chance Created per Game | Passing Accuracy | Won Tackle per Game | Interception Won per Game | Duel Won per Game | Appearances | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Cleverley | Everton | 1 | 0.43 | 3 | 0.21 | 83% | 1.86 | 0.86 | 4.93 | 14 |
| Fabian Delph | Man City | 2 | 0.33 | 0 | 0.08 | 86% | 0.83 | 1.25 | 4.17 | 12 |
| Jordan Henderson | Liverpool | 2 | 0.42 | 2 | 0.08 | 77% | 1.17 | 1.33 | 3.67 | 12 |
| Ryan Mason | Tottenham | 1 | 0.7 | 0 | 0.1 | 85% | 0.6 | 0.6 | 2.6 | 10 |
| James Milner | Liverpool | 3 | 0.4 | 6 | 0.15 | 77% | 2.1 | 0.85 | 5.75 | 20 |
| Jonjo Shelvey | Swansea / Newcastle | 1 | 0.6 | 4 | 0.4 | 84% | 0.65 | 1.65 | 2.35 | 20 |
The first of those is for on target shots per game, where he comes third in the table with a tally of 0.43, just behind Newcastle United’s Jonjo Shelvey and Tottenham Hotspur’s Ryan Mason.
He may have struggled for goals, having only managed one this season, but given the highest scorer of the group is Liverpool’s James Milner with three, he is hardly far behind his competitors in that regard.
Moving on to assists, Cleverley again scorers favourably having managed three so far this season, leaving him third in the table.
He enjoys a better position when it comes to big chances created per game, with a tally of 0.21, only just behind frontrunner Shelvey.
Even his passing accuracy is on form, with him scoring an 83% accuracy only three per cent short behind Manchester City’s Fabian Delph who leads with a score of 86%.
It is in the defensive stats where he truly shines though, coming out second behind Milner in tackles won per game and defensive duels won per game.
He struggles for interceptions won per game though, coming fourth in that regard.
A favourable return for Cleverley against his rivals then, with him sure to be hoping to maintain this form and push for a place in the final squad for Euro 2016.
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