'Anderson can go to the very top'
[Getty Images] Elliot Anderson has made the fifth most passes in the Premier League this season with 2,002 - at a success rate of 85. 8% - almost 200 more than the next midfielder on the list Dominik Szoboszlai. He has also won possession back 259 times - the highest in the division - and has won the most ground duels, 195 of his 359.
Anderson has carried the ball 5,406. 5m, only behind Jan Paul van Hecke, Declan Rice, Pedro Neto and Ryan Gravenberch this season. To some his success is no surprise.
Former Stoke midfielder Glenn Whelan coached and played with Anderson during his loan at Bristol Rovers in 2022. Anderson joined the Pirates on deadline day in the February and made an instant impact, coming off the bench to win a point-saving penalty in the 1-1 draw at Sutton on his debut. Whelan said: "The staff were a bit mindful at the time - Sutton were big, strong and aggressive and as a teenager would he be able to stand up to it?
"He came on and made the difference. He was a game-changer for Rovers. "The biggest respect I can give to Elliot is he was the one who got us promoted.
He was the difference. "Straight away you could tell he was different. He loves the ball, would take on two, three, four players and after the first game everyone was thinking 'we've got a proper talent here'.