Sheffield United have started the 2022/23 season well.
The Blades sit top of the Championship table going into the first international break of the season with 23 points from 10 games.
One player who has stood out so far for Paul Heckingbottom’s side is 22-year-old Iliman Ndiaye.
The Senegalese international signed for the Blades in the summer of 2019 but did not make his full debut until 11th September 2021, scoring twice against Peterborough United.
The following visualisation shows the numbers of Iliman Ndiaye in the 2022/23 season so far.
Iliman Ndiaye has scored 5 goals in 10 league games this season and is Sheffield United’s top scorer.
The 22-year-old had scored only 7 goals from 30 league appearances for the entire last season.
The centre-forward ranks above average for most of the key metrics.
His biggest strengths are his dribbling and his finishing ability.
Ndiaye ranks 81st percentile for dribbles attempted per 90 minutes.
He doesn’t create many opportunities for his teammates and is not an all-around striker yet, as he ranks low for Expected Assists (xA) and Key Passes.
Ndiaye might need to improve his versatility if he wants to rise to the top of the best strikers in England.
The forward has played most of his minutes as a pure no 9 this term.
After a slow start to his career at Sheffield United, Iliman Ndiaye is slowly becoming one of the squad’s key players.
Sheffield United was close to promotion last season and looks like favourites to win automatic promotion and the title.
Ndiaye has started the season well, and Sheffield United will rely on the forward to continue his early-season form and achieve promotion to England’s top flight.
