Fabian Delph is the latest Villa player to reach 10 appearances this season. So likewise with Ron Vlaar and El Ahmadi, I’ve decided to review the young midfielders performance’s this year by looking at his stats and giving a personal reflection on why this is Delph’s best season to date at Aston Villa. Delph has appeared in 10 games and has played 870 minutes of football, the most of any midfielder. He has gone on to score 1 goal in the League Cup and has received 4 yellow cards (3 league, 1 cup).

I’ll be using ‘Whoscored’ to analysis Delph’s stats. Delph currently maintains an average score of 7.48, this is the 15th best score in the Premier League and 8th best midfield score. Delph is also Villa’s best player according to ‘Whoscored’. He is only beaten by the top midfielders in the League and the nearest midfielder is Lucas (7.54) and behind him, Mile Jedinak who has a score of 7.45.

Delph is a strong tackler, he has committed the second most tackles in Villa (3.7 per game) and he also has a low foul rate (1.3 per game). In defence Delph quickly impresses, he currently has the second most interception rate (2.3) and is only beaten by Baker. The young midfielder has also blocked the most shots from midfield (2). In attack Delph is the most fouled Aston Villa player (3.1) and is currently the Premier League’s third most fouled player (only behind to Sessegnon and Januzaj). This gives Aston Villa a good opportunity to score from set pieces. Additionally, Delph is very good at dribbling he has the highest successful dribbles stat (2.9 per game) in Aston Villa and also has the highest average passes stat (48 per game).

As a midfielder Delph has struggled to be creative, he is yet to make an assist and has only produced 7 key passes (8th best at Villa). Opposition players tend to have an easy time dribbling past Delph (has been dribbled past an average of 1.2 times per game [3rd highest at Villa]). But one of the biggest issues with Delph may possibly be his discipline, as he has accumulated the highest amount of yellow cards (4) at Villa.

Overall, I’ve been impressed with Delph so far this season. I’m not surprised he is the 8th best midfielder in the Premier League right now because he has offered a lot to the team, especially defensively. I also admire that he is very vocal on the pitch, he commands his area well and often helps out left-back Luna. I’m also under the impression that he is loyal to Villa and plays his heart out every game, this I appreciate a lot in a footballer. The only thing I seek from Delph is to try to create more from midfield. I want to see him in more advanced positions. Additionally, I’d love to see Delph get his first League goal for Aston Villa sooner, rather than later.