Key Soccerlytics Insights:
- Nigel De Jong is well known for his tackling ability and aggressive play, but this season, AC Milan's holding midfielder has added passing accuracy to his repertoire
- Among players with 750 passes or more in Europe's top 5 leagues, De Jong has the fifth highest passing accuracy at 92.41%
- Alex (PSG, 93.43% Passing Accuracy), Sergio Busquets (Barcelona, 93.41%), Thiago Motta (PSG, 93.40%, and Xavi (Barcelona, 92.72%) have the first, second, third and fourth highest passing accuracy respectively (See Prolific Passers charts below)
- De Jong also has the fifth highest final third passing accuracy among players with 550 passes (or more) in the final third at 83.98%
- Busquets (Barcelona, 87.16% Passing Accuracy), Xavi (Barcelona, 85.9%), Toni Kroos (Bayern, 85.56%) and Andres Iniesta (84.89%) have the first, second, third and fourth highest final third passing accuracy respectively (See Prolific Passers charts below)
- De Jong's technical improvement is likely to see him re-installed to Holland's starting midfield ahead of the the World Cup in June
Prolific Passers charts from BSports (Updated through 12/24/2013):
