Only three Premier League players are creating more than Liverpool’s Harvey Elliott this season, one of whom is Kevin De Bruyne. The teenager is shining brightly.
Harvey Elliott is playing wonderfully right now. Everybody recognises that, too, with Alan Shearer believing he’s one of only two Liverpool players currently playing at their best.
BT Sport pundits raved about the ‘exceptional’ Elliott after the Reds beat Newcastle United, too. He’s seriously catching the eye at the moment and growing his reputation at every turn.
But just how well is he playing? We looked at the data on Fbref, which uses information from Statsbomb. One key stat on there, particularly for an attacking midfielder involves ‘Shot Creating Actions’ per 90 minutes.
An SCA is anything from a player within two ‘actions’ of a shot. In other words, if you play the pass before an assist, you’ve helped to create a shot. If you have a shot and someone puts in the rebound? That’s another SCA. You could even register two actions for one shot – perhaps you dribble past someone and then play the assist.
It’s a good way of showing how often a player contributes to productive buildup. Is your playmaker making things happen? This stat goes some way to answering that.
Top of the pile is Kevin De Bruyne, which should surprise no one. He’s involved in creating 5.97 shots per 90 minutes. Second is Ilkay Gundogan at 5.90. Allan Saint-Maximin is then third at 5.79. The Frenchman is the dominant outlet for Newcastle United.
Fourth, though, is Elliott. He’s involved in creating 5.77 shots per 90 minutes – a fantastic rate. It’s also worth noting that four of the shots he’s created this season have come from dribbling. Only Saint-Maximin can beat that (5).
Harvey Elliott creating at a fantastic rate
It’s fantastic to see these kinds of numbers from Elliott as he was putting up similar last season before his injury. It appears he’s back to his best, then, and on the right path to becoming an absolute sensation in Red.
If Elliott can do this at 19, after all, what should he be capable of at 21? 23? 28? Liverpool have a true gem here and a player seems to play in the Premier League so naturally.
It’s also worth noting that Elliott is doing this in a team that isn’t thriving. They’re struggling to get the ball through midfield as often as normal, and there are clearly a few more levels to move up.
Get Thiago back in the side, for instance, and Elliott should find himself getting the ball in more dangerous areas. That, on its own, could take the teenager to even greater heights.
