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He's lazy, his legs have gone, he's not interested … the criticisms of Yaya Toure have been many this season.

But the truth is that the big Ivory Coast midfielder does MORE running in a match than fans' favourite Fernandinho, and he is on course to have a BETTER season than normal.

The stats reveal what Manchester City and Manuel Pellegrini have said all along – that Yaya remains a cornerstone of this team – and it is by no means certain he will leave when Pep Guardiola takes the reins in the summer.

The consensus has been that Toure will be moved on, especially as he has just one year left on his contract, and part of that might be spent playing for Ivory Coast in the Africa Cup of Nations.

And with his loose cannon of an agent Dmitri Seluk again spouting nonsensical threats, you could excuse the Blues for wanting Yaya to go – if the popular perception was true.

But the City hierarchy pay no heed to Seluk, preferring to speak to Toure directly, and they say he is always professional and dedicated.

The reports they get back from Manuel Pellegrini and City's video analysis team also back that up.

Now figures given to MEN Sport by EA Sports, who provide official stats to the Premier League, show that Toure is far from being a washed-up, work-shy midfielder.

In fact, he averages 9.87 kms for every 90 minutes he plays – a higher figure than Brazilian ace Fernandinho (9.69), who is often seen as bearing most of the workload in that partnership.

That figure is also higher than Aleks Kolarov (9.76) and Bacary Sagna (9.45), whose full back roles are generally seen as the hardest-working on the team, and who tend to be rotated more often as a result.

David Silva, the only other player who is in the same bracket as Yaya in terms of creativity, has slightly better running stats, as he averages 10.26 kms per 90 minutes.

Not that such stuff will impress Guardiola – his game plan aims at his players running LESS than the opposition and he was proud of the fact that Lionel Messi regularly recorded the lowest distances when he was in charge at Barcelona.

But Toure's influence on the team has also not fallen off a cliff, as some would suggest.

Opta stats show that his six league goals this season so far are par for the course for Yaya, discounting the freak 2013-14 season when he netted 20.

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He is also on course to rack up his second-best season for assists and for chances created, underlining the fact that he is still the go-to man for breaking down stubborn defences.

It is Yaya's passing that has set him apart from everyone else at City in recent years, and his stats on that score also hold up well.

He is still accurate with 87.1 per cent of his passes, only slightly below his average.

His defensive work has also not fallen away. He has made 37 tackles this season, with eight league games still to go, meaning he is on course to better his average over his six seasons at City.

Data courtesy of the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index, the Official Player Rating Index of the Barclays Premier League

Do you think Yaya is as effective as he ever was? Have your say below