Newcastle fans look away, Sunderland star is outperforming your beloved duo
Sunderland’s rivalry with Newcastle will be reignited in December, though debates are already ongoing.
Sunderland have had an excellent start to the campaign, and after nine games they sit five points above their rivals.
In December, these two North East giants will clash at the Stadium of Light, in the first league Tyne-Wear Derby since 2017.
However, while there may still be some time until the day of the clash arrives, there are still a lot of comparisons to be drawn from their starts to the season, and one in particular will rile the supporters at St James Park.
Granit Xhaka would walk into the Newcastle midfield
Walk may be ironic, given the fact that Granit Xhaka has covered the most distance in the Premier League this season, though the point still stands.
The 33-year-old was finished, and had lost his legs according to Newcastle supporters, who are already trying to avoid the fact that he has been one of the best performing midfielders in the top flight this season.
Understandably so.
However, those claims are silenced even further with the stats from the campaign so far, with Xhaka outperforming both Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali in nearly every attribute.
Via FotMob, one of the most reliable data sources out there, Xhaka has completed more passes than the Newcastle duo, despite Sunderland typically prioritising their play off the ball, looking to hit their opponents on the counter.
With a 57. per cent long ball accuracy, Xhaka also clears both Guimaraes and Tonali, the former of whom has a 55.3 per cent completion rate.
Defensively? Xhaka outperforms them both in just about every stat bar tackles, which Guimaraes edges by one.
Suggestions that Xhaka was finished have already been proven wrong, with stats like the above demonstrating just how good he has been for Sunderland.
Granit Xhaka’s career speaks for itself
There seems to be a strange idea going around that Arsenal fans never rated Xhaka, and that he has never been considered among the best.
Despite the fact that he finished 16th in the Ballon d’Or ranking just a few years ago.
Added to that, he was integral to the Bayer Leverkusen side that went invincible under Xabi Alonso, while winning the Bundesliga.
At 33 years old, Xhaka has several trophies to his name, with an FA Cup and a handful of German titles at Leverkusen, showcasing the quality he has had throughout his career.
When Sunderland host Newcastle in December, that quality will shine through.
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