It’s the time of year when Premier League statistics begin to be analyzed, and Nottingham Forest has a man that can dribble better than Eberechi Eze.
The Reds had a fairly dreary season, to say the least.
Forest finished 17th, but were six points clear of the relegation zone – ten if you exclude the four-point deduction.
Despite a difficult season, there have been some standout players on the Forest team.
One of those was a bargain deal, and he’s now outperformed a player called up to England earlier this week in one area.
These statistics come from X where The Other 14 have been sharing some statistics for the 2023/24 campaign.
They show that Hudson-Odoi has attempted 80 dribbles and been successful with 43 of them across the season.
The Nottingham Forest star is better at dribbling than Eberechi Eze.
This might come as a surprise.
Eze is an excellent player who just helped Crystal Palace reach 10th in the Premier League and earned an England call-up.
Despite his talent, he hasn’t dribbled as well this season as Forest’s Callum Hudson-Odoi.
These statistics are from X, where The Other 14 have been sharing information for the 2023/24 campaign.
They reveal that Hudson-Odoi tried 80 dribbles and was successful with 43 of them this season.
That gives him a success ratio of 53.8%, which is greater than Eze.
The Palace man has been successful in 69 of his 140 attempts, with a success rate of 49.3%.
Forest needs to keep Hudson-Odoi this summer.
It’s rather impressive that Forest was able to sign Hudson-Odoi for just £3 million last summer.
Admittedly, the squad was taking a chance on him after a dismal tenure with Bayer Leverkusen, when he struggled to find regular playing time.
Hudson-Odoi has been terrific this season, scoring eight goals.
He’s definitely improved under Nuno Espirito Santo, and considering his current form, he might fear the season is over too soon.
Eze is definitely a fantastic player, but these data show that Hudson-Odoi, when at his peak, is also a very brilliant young man.
It’s easy to forget that Hudson-Odoi is only 23 years old, and with a full pre-season, he might improve much more for Forest next season.
There have been some loose relationships between Hudson-Odoi and larger football clubs.
However, Forest must keep a player who is as direct and useful in carrying the ball as the winger for the following season.
Hudson-Odoi has grown in importance, and these statistics in comparison to Eze are quite fascinating.
