Ranking each Premier League team's most important player during build-up play in 2019-20 using data analytics: Part 1

#3 Bournemouth – Adam Smith – xGBuildup Per 90: 0.265

AFC Bournemouth v Liverpool - Premier League

One of only 6 defenders to make this list, Adam Smith is part of this list despite being robbed off consistent run of games this season due to his injuries. His last game was on the 3rd of December against Crystal Palace, a game in which he completed as many tackles as Palace’s entire backline completed. Since he suffered his injury, Bournemouth have conceded 11 goals and scored only 2 in their 6 outings. There could be other factors that explain this slump but losing the experienced Premier League defender must surely be mitigating their performances.

A major reason why Adam Smith appears at the top of this list at Bournemouth is probably due to the players that play right in front of him. This season, Harry Wilson who predominantly plays as a right-sided midfielder for Bournemouth has taken the most shots by any player in a Bournemouth shirt – 32. Callum Wilson, who plays as a right-sided forward when operating with Dominic Solanke up front, comes in at the 2nd position, with 25 shots (Harry and Callum have 26% of all Bournemouth shots this season). xGBuildup, as explained earlier is calculated only for those passages of play that end up in a shot. As you can imagine, Adam Smith would be involved in a lot of plays that ended up in a shot by virtue of playing in a team with a right side whose players takes a lot of shots.