The 10 Premier League players to crash the last six months

Martin Macdonald
Martin Macdonald
  • Updated: 21 Feb 2022 11:13 CST
  • 3 min read
‘I worry about these changes’ – Luke Shaw admits concerns about Super League
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Luke Shaw has declined as a player more than any other player in the Premier League over the last six months, according to SciSports.

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Using in-game data to calculate the performance of every player in the league, the Manchester United left-back has statistically enjoyed the sharpest fall in his personal level.

Shaw has not been far from criticism this season whether it be Ole Gunnar Solskjaer or Ralf Rangnick in charge, and after previously being undisputed first choice at left-back, he now shares duties with Alex Telles.

Defensively, he has regularly been caught out of position, particularly in big Premier League matches against Liverpool, Arsenal and Man City. Offensively, he has failed to provide as much in the final third.

Manchester United's overall decline is highlighted by the fact that they have three players in our top 10.

In addition to Shaw, there is Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Victor Lindelof and Nemanja Matic.

Like Shaw, Wan-Bissaka has lost his place in the team, while Lindelof is not playing as frequently as last season due to the presence of Raphael Varane. Matic very rarely starts games.

Leeds are suffering from second-season syndrome back in the Premier League and one player in particular who has struggled is Luke Ayling.

It is perhaps no surprise to see Dele Alli in the top 10, as he is looking to rebuild his career after suffering from a major drop in performance level at Tottenham, not just in the last six months but over the last couple of years.

Kasper Schmeichel, Caglar Soyuncu and Wilfried Ndidi of Leicester also feature, as the Foxes as a whole have struggled this season.

Premier League's declining players

PlayerClubSCISKILL DECLINE
1. Luke ShawMan Utd-13.1
2. Luke AylingLeeds-12.6
3. Aaron Wan-BissakaMan Utd-11.1
4. Kasper SchmeichelLeicester-11.0
5. Victor LindelofMan Utd-8.8
6. Dele AlliEverton-8.4
7. Caglar SoyuncuLeicester-8.4
8. Nemanja MaticMan Utd-6.8
9. Shane LongSouthampton-6.8
10. Wilfried NdidiLeicester-6.5

How is the SciSkill ranking calculated?

Over the course of a season in the Premier League, there are players who will enjoy increasingly poor performances and increasingly positive performances.

FootballTransfers, in partnership with SciSports, has determined 10 players over the last six months within the Premier League whose performances have declined to a higher degree than anyone else.

SciSports explains how our development ratings are gathered:

"Among others, a positive development could be boosted by more playing time, playing time on a higher level or better performances on the pitch.

"A negative development could be due to the player being active on a lower level than he used to play, bad performances or the fact that he does not play that often as he used to do.

"A SciSkill Development of 0.0 could indicate that a player is performing exactly like our algorithm expects him to do. Another reason could be inactivity (e.g. a long-term injury or suspension)."

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