One Kevin Danso stat shows that he has arguably been Tottenham’s best and most consistent defender this season, above the likes of Romero and Van de Ven.
Danso ranks all the way down in 15th for the minutes played by each member of the Tottenham squad in the Premier League this season.
The Austrian international has been used as a stopgap whenever one of Cristian Romero or Micky van de Ven has been injured or suspended this season.
However, the 28-year-old is outperforming the Spurs first-choice centre-halves when it comes to a key metric.
Kevin Danso’s passing stats may surprise Tottenham fans
The perception of the former Lens man is that while he is good at reading danger and an expert at winning duels, he is not as good as Romero or Van de Ven on the ball.
However, this is disproven by FotMob, who reveal that Danso averages more passes per game (49.3) than any other Tottenham player this season.
| Tottenham player | Accurate passes per 90 |
| Kevin Danso | 49.3 |
| Cristian Romero | 47.7 |
| Micky Van de Ven | 46 |
| Rodrigo Bentancur | 39.8 |
| Pedro Porro | 35.2 |
The list is unsurprisingly dominated by the centre-backs, but it is telling that Danso ranks above both Van de Ven and Romero.
While the Austrian has a slightly lower passing accuracy than the Tottenham first-choice pair, these numbers suggest that he will feel at home in Roberto De Zerbi’s system.
| Kevin Danso vs Liverpool | Stats |
|---|---|
| Touches | 47 |
| Accurate passes | 21/29 (72%) |
| Defensive contributions | 13 |
| Passes into final third | 3 |
| Tackles | 2 |
| Last man tackle | 1 |
| Blocks | 1 |
| Clearances | 9 |
| Headed clearances | 5 |
| Interceptions | 1 |
| Recoveries | 2 |
| Dribbled past | 0 |
| Ground duels won | 3/6 (50%) |
| Aerial duels won | 2/2 (100%) |
Could Danso be a regular in the Spurs backline next season?
There continues to be speculation on the futures of Romero and Van de Ven, who are on the radars of some of Europe’s biggest clubs.
Tottenham will be boosted by the return of Luka Vuskovic, who has put an end to the speculation over his future by confirming that he will be a Spurs player next season.
Danso also came out on top when we analysed how he compared to Romero and Van de Ven across the first 31 Premier League games of Tottenham’s season:
| Player starting | PL starts | Wins | Draws | Losses | Goals conceded | GA per match | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kevin Danso | 10 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 14 | 1.40 | 30.0% |
| Cristian Romero | 21 | 6 | 5 | 10 | 33 | 1.57 | 28.6% |
| Micky van de Ven | 27 | 8 | 6 | 13 | 44 | 1.63 | 29.6% |
| Tottenham overall | 30 | 7 | 9 | 14 | 47 | 1.57 | 23.3% |
Rather than spending big on a centre-back or two in the summer, one wonders if De Zerbi would be tempted to give Danso a chance to establish himself as a regular in the club’s starting eleven next season.
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