More Goals Than Ozil – Why This Southampton Star Is One Of The Most Underrated Player In The League

A lot of EPL followers and neutrals alike aren’t in the know concerning the many exploits of Ronald Koeman’s first signing at the Saint Mary’s – Dušan Tadić.

Like many of his unheralded kinds, his lack of plentiful goals, mind-blowing flicks and tricks, and even controversies have combined to sweep his name under the carpet.

Only Southampton’s fans truly appreciate his worth, and here are few reasons why the Serbian is one of, if not the most underrated player(s) in the English Premier League.

Wanyama and Mane have been the centre of attractions. Until now

Southampton isn’t the club that catches everyone attention. Except for their notoriety when it comes to cashing out on their blossoming stars. Selling Shaw, Lallana and letting Pochettino go highlight how a team playing in the Championship few ago can be in the news for all the “bad” reasons.

All that, and having the exceptionally talented duo of Sadio Mane and Victor Wanyama to drag the spotlight with definitely didn’t help Tadic. And emerging from their shadows was almost impossible.

The roles they played – preventing buildups that could lead to goals, in Wanyama’s case, and creating chances and scoring goals, Mane’s expertise also robbed off negatively on Tadic, despite 2 full seasons of pure class and excellence.

Their departure might be a blessing in disguise for him in the long run. At least until the Saints deem his market value high enough for profitable sales one of these coming transfer windows.

He deserves more attention for these qualities

Not many midfielders can bring what Tadic brings to the table on the same level of consistency like he does. The creativity of this not-very-popular attacking midfielder is top notch, and it’s why his relevance for the Serbian national team and even Southampton can’t be overemphasized.

He has been the reason for the club’s resurgence of late, and that has seen them record 2 recent league wins. With the 3-0 drubbing of West Ham a particular highlight. A match in which his beautifully-struck goal helped wrapped up an impressive performance.

His ability to lay down key passes, through balls and get excellent crosses into the opponent’s box are what stands him out in the crowd. Tadic also has a knack for playing the ball off the ground and cutting inside to aim a shot at goal.

If Claude Puel is to anyway surpass any of Koeman’s achievements and milestones, some of the responsibilities lie on the Serb, and saying he has been impressive thus far is stating the obvious.

And these statistics

Numbers don’t lie, and the 27-year-old has got quite the impressive stats. In all Southampton’s league games thus far, Tadic has created a whopping 21 chances. His shot accuracy stands at 67%, while he has recorded 75% pass accuracy and a pass length of 17 meters on an average.

Last season, he scored 8 league goals in 33 league games, 2 more than Ozil who appeared in 35 games. Comparing him with Alli who got the spot in the PFA Team of the year last time out, the Tottenham youngster created 55 chances while Tadic created 73.

And when it comes to being disciplined, he is the last to commit unnecessary fouls, getting himself only booked twice last season. If Dušan Tadić isn’t the most underrated attacking midfielder in the EPL, who is?