Signed by the Blades in 2019, is this player the most underrated cog in Sheffield United’s system? | OneFootball

Paul Heckingbottom will be desperate to ensure that the Blades do not drop-off due to complacency in the remainder of the season, and the core of experienced players in the squad should help the club avoid anything of the sort.

Anel Ahmedhodzic, John Egan, Sander Berge, Iliman Ndiaye, James McAtee and Oli McBurnie have received rave reviews from supporters and pundits over the course of the season so far, but there is a strong argument that the Blades most irreplaceable and underrated player is Oliver Norwood.

The 31-year-old looks set to win promotion to the Premier League this season for the fourth time in his career, and the numbers certainly back up his importance to the first team.

Here, we have taken a look at the former Northern Ireland international’s statistics this Championship season in our latest performance in numbers piece…

Norwood could be described as a deep lying playmaker in Heckingbottom’s system at Bramall Lane.

Not an enforcer or someone known for protecting the backline, but a player capable of receiving the ball on the half turn, extremely adept at finding space to receive the ball and one of the first players a team-mate will look for when they are in possession.

Norwood has chipped in with two goals and five assists this season, which is very impressive having taken a look at some of his heat maps, and the areas of the pitch that he is typically picking up the ball, acting as something of a conductor for a large proportion of the Blades’ attacks.

The former Manchester United youth player does not usually look to go past players with the ball at his feet, but has a dribble success of 80% when he does, a riskier decision to make when in deeper areas, but will often look for a give-and-go, or square and lofted passes to move the opposition around.

Norwood is almost the perfect player to have at the top end of the Championship, as he has proven over the course of his career, with many sides coming to Bramall Lane and sitting back in a low or mid block, and Norwood often has the guile and speed of thought to play a key role in breaking them down.

Norwood has registered five assists from 6.75 expected assists (xA), meaning that he has created shooting opportunities for his team-mates to a value of 6.75 expected goals (xG) as per Wyscout.

Heckingbottom has made the Blades far more direct since taking over from Slavisa Jokanovic last season, and though Norwood’s pass accuracy is only at 80.3% that is in part down the type of higher risk passes that he is challenged to perform, due to his role in the side.

Norwood attempts 13.95 passes into the final third per 90 minutes, finding players in dangerous areas to average 1.6 shot assists also on a per 90 minutes basis.

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Defensively though, he can also hold his own, though he is less gifted in it, Norwood approaches his defensive responsibilities with the same commitment and enthusiasm, resulting in winning 70% of his defensive duels in the league this season, an impressive statistic considering his physical stature, and in using his footballing intelligence to complete 6.16 interceptions on a per 90 minutes basis.

Norwood is a known quantity at second tier level so is rarely underrated, but can be taken for granted at times for the relentless consistency of his high level performances.