Arsenal, Tottenham and Liverpool linked with Bournemouth star
Friday 17 April 2020 10:08, UK
Bournemouth winger Ryan Fraser has been linked with Arsenal - but what has he proved this season and where would he fit in Unai Emery's side?
The 25-year-old is set to star for Scotland against Cyprus and Belgium in the European Qualifiers live on Sky Sports after a stellar campaign.
I'm not going to lie, it's very nice... They [Arsenal] are a huge club, a massive club.
But Fraser only has one year remaining on his current contract and Bournemouth face a battle to keep their prize asset with several big clubs circling for his signature. So in what areas has the Scot excelled?
Fraser was involved in 21 of the Cherries' 56 goals in the top flight during 2018/19, the eighth greatest proportion out of all players in the league, behind team-mate Callum WIlson.
While Wilson converted 14 goals, the Scot assisted the same number for team-mates and created a team-topping 93 chances - more than twice as many as second-ranked Josh King.
He [Fraser] has been one of the main sources of assists for myself. I will be making sure I get him in a headlock and don't let him go to leave!
In fact, only Eden Hazard teed up more goals during the campaign, with Fraser surpassing the Real Madrid target for carving clear-cut opportunities - despite playing in a team that finished 11 places below the Blues.
According to the Power Rankings, Fraser's form boosted two-fold this season compared with 2017/18 - setting the standard against Cardiff on the opening day and peaking with performances against Leicester and Brighton.
As the graphic below reveals, the Scot was primarily stationed deeper than the Belgian, on the left of midfield - concentrating activity in the middle third of the opposition's half.
Indeed, the majority of chances he created came from the left edge of opposition boxes, but he also conjured a considerable number of opportunities from the right-of-centre area, while drifting or switching flanks.
The passing sonar below reveals how most of his passes were, unsurprisingly, directed to his right, but a high proportion of his distribution had progressive intent - resulting in a slightly lower accuracy.
Bournemouth break at a faster speed than any other Premier League club, according to Opta's advanced metrics - with Fraser producing an above-average number of sprints with 14.18 per 90 minutes.
However, should Bournemouth convince the winger to extend his six-year spell at the club, then Football Whispers data provides a range of alternative players with similar skillsets.
I will just keep doing what I am doing... What will be, will be.
Inter Milan winger Ivan Perisic has been linked with Manchester United on several occasions and has skillsets and performance levels strikingly similar to Fraser.
Other names include Jesus Navas, James Ward-Prowse, Robert Snodgrass and Andros Townsend, joined by the lesser-known likes of Oscar Rodriguez, Filip Kostic, Nico Schulz, Rony Lopes, Rodrigo De Paul and Lorenzo Pellegrini.
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