18. Andros Townsend
The only player to have made more successful dribbles per game than Ross Barkley in the Premier League is Andros Townsend, with 5.5. The Tottenham Hotspur winger has also taken more shots per game than any other, with 4.3 each match in the English top flight.
Whilst his Premier League performances may have seen him dismissed as a poor man’s Arjen Robben – nothing to do with his hairline, we stress, but more indicative of his tendency to cut inside onto his left foot and fire erratically at goal – Townsend’s recent performances for England suggest there is a more intelligent and less one footed player than previously thought waiting to be unearthed.
An unquantifiable fear has seemingly gripped past England teams and their managers in recent major tournaments. The speed in which Townsend has taken to the international stage signifies a drive, resolve and perhaps naiveté beyond some more established England players.
That can only be a good thing.
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