Wolves have become a lot better at getting the ball back this season following the arrival of Gary O’Neil just days before the new season started.
It has been a really promising start by Wanderers, who are currently sitting 12th in the Premier League table with 15 points.
There is now a gap of 10 points down to the relegation zone, and there is growing optimism at Molineux following a very worrying period when Julen Lopetegui was leaving the club.
O’Neil is showing himself to be very tactically astute, and the players have completely bought into what he is trying to do.
One of the biggest things for O’Neil is hard work out of possession, and recovering the ball is essential.
Wolves have two very good ball winners/retrievers in Mario Lemina and Joao Gomes, but there is another player who may actually be even better than them when it comes to this…
Wolves star Tommy Doyle has the highest ball recoveries per 90 of all Premier League midfielders so far
When Tommy Doyle signed for Wolves, most expected him to be this technical player who would pull the strings from deep positions in midfield.
He has been doing that, but many would not have expected him to be as industrious as he has been.
Sky Sports have published some new quotes from Doyle and in their article, there is a graphic displaying some data about Doyle.
At the moment, he is the number one ranked midfielder in the Premier League for ball recoveries per 90 with a figure of 9.64.
Doyle feels that his biggest attribute is getting in the ball and dictating play from deep, but he says he has recognised the need to be strong defensively too. He told Sky: “Nowadays, you have to try to be as flexible as possible. As a midfielder, I want to be as complete as possible and I’m still trying to progress on both sides of the game – in attack and defence.”
Doyle also ranks second among all Premier League midfielders for long passes attempted (9.11 per 90), and second for opponent half passes completed (43.4).
Doyle looks a quality young player
Doyle has made a really good start so far at Wolves with the game time he has had.
He hasn’t quite been a nailed-on regular yet, but he expected not to feature too much initially having come to Wolves without a pre-season under his belt having been on England U21 duty. He also had a small knock when he signed on loan from Manchester City.
But in recent weeks Doyle has been looking impressive in the Wolves shirt. Against Bournemouth, he totally changed the game for Wolves and gave O’Neil’s side more control after he came on at half-time. He also showed really quick thinking against Tottenham Hotspur for Lemina’s winning goal.
The ball recoveries statistic is pleasantly surprising. He was billed as this great technician, but he clearly has a great all-round game and there’s a good chance he’ll become a key player for Wolves later in the season, just as Dave Edwards predicts.