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    Soccer News: Premier League 2021-22: Sancho, Daka and the exciting newcomers

    The new Premier League season is on the horizon and there are many exciting new signings to keep an eye on.

    Jack Grealish has moved into the league for a record £ 100 million, while a familiar face like Romelu Lukaku is set to return to the English top flight.

    However, Premier League fans can also look forward to watching many new stars.

    Stats Perform selects four interesting additions …

    Jadon Sancho

    An English international who has never played in English football, Sancho will attract a lot of attention to Manchester United this season – and rightfully so.

    Since the start of the 2018-19 season, Sancho has the highest number of goal involvement among English players in the top five European leagues, his 78 matched by Three Lions captain Harry Kane.

    These engagements came on average once every 87 minutes and included 41 assists, behind only Thomas Muller (48) and Lionel Messi (43) in this regard.

    Sancho left Borussia Dortmund to the max with DFB-Pokal’s final triumph in May, but the 2019-20 campaign was arguably his best.

    The winger has scored 17 goals and 16 assists in the league; in the last 10 seasons, only Eden Hazard, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Luis Suarez have also scored at least 15 goals and 15 assists in the same season.

    And Sancho now joins a United squad that already had six players with 10 or more appearances in all competitions last season (Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford, Edinson Cavani, Mason Greenwood, Anthony Martial and Paul Pogba).

    Patson Daka

    Leicester City have now firmly established themselves as one of the Premier League’s leading clubs, but Jamie Vardy’s advancing years had provided a concern on the horizon. The great Foxes has been a key man for so long.

    But there were signs that Leicester moved on from addiction to Vardy last season as Kelechi Iheanacho scored 12 times in the Premier League.

    Now, Daka’s arrival could really put pressure on Vardy’s place.

    The Zambian striker scored 27 goals in 28 league games with Salzburg in 2020-21, adding four assists for notable involvement every 63 minutes. By comparison, Vardy delivered every 119 minutes and Iheanacho every 104 minutes.

    Despite playing fewer minutes, Daka (101) attempted significantly more shots than Vardy (82) and also scored with a larger share (26.7 percent versus 18.3 percent).

    Still only 22 years old, Daka looks perfect for the role of veteran Vardy, taking a comparable 19% of his touches last season in the penalty area (23% for Vardy).

    Cristian Romero

    The Kane transfer saga is providing an unnecessary distraction, but Tottenham are on the move, bringing Bryan Gil and Pierluigi Gollini alongside Romero.

    The center-back should be suited to the Premier League, having established himself as one of Serie A’s most aggressive and physically dominant defenders.

    Romero was ranked ninth among all Serie A players for success in aerial duels last season (68%), putting him ahead of the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Matthijs de Ligt.

    This was particularly impressive as only 15 players contested more dogfights for 90 than Romero (5.9).

    The Argentine international – who arrived from Atalanta on initial loan – is an impressive defender even on the ground, with 3.4 interceptions every 90 for second place in the division.

    He should strengthen a Spurs defense now without Toby Alderweireld.

    Raphael Varane

    There is no shortage of signings of central defenders in the Premier League. Ibrahima Konate has arrived at Liverpool but must fight to be the first choice. The same is not true for Varane.

    United are hoping the World Cup winner can team up with Harry Maguire to make Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team real title contenders.

    Like Romero, Varane is dominant in the air, leading La Liga defenders with his 76% win rate in aerial duels last season.

    This is an area of ​​need for United as well, as only Leeds United (15) conceded more goals on set pieces excluding penalties last season than the Red Devils (14).

    United have conceded 32 percent of their league goals this way.

    And Varane will also look to get Sancho and teammates on their way, having initiated 22 open game sequences that ended with a shot in 2020-21 – behind only Clement Lenglet (24) among La Liga center-backs.

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