England have named their 26-man squad for EURO 2020 and all the focus has been on the right-back role with Gareth Southgate selecting as many as four right-backs in his final squad. But apart from the right-hand side of defence, the manager also needs to make a key decision at the left-back role since both Luke Shaw and Ben Chilwell have been at the top of their games this season.
Ben Chilwell has just won the Champions League with Chelsea and after a slow start to his career at Stamford Bridge, the full-back has finally picked up pace under Thomas Tuchel.
Luke Shaw, on the other hand, was almost dubbed as a failure after spending a couple of mediocre seasons with Manchester United and this time around, he was all set to be replaced by Alex Telles.
But, it looks like the new left-back’s arrival has spurred Luke Shaw and right now, he is one of the best full-backs not only in the Premier League but also across Europe.
Both these players are more than capable of playing for the England first-team at the Euros so we decided to look at the stats to find out who is the more worthy defender amongst the two.
Luke Shaw vs Ben Chilwell: DEFENCE
Ben Chilwell has a slight edge over Luke Shaw when it comes to the defensive qualities since the Chelsea man has made more interceptions as well more clearances in the Premier League, in comparison to Shaw.
Despite playing lesser games(27), Chilwell has made 24 interceptions and made 47 clearances for Blues while Luke Shaw managed 39 and 20 respectively.
These stats very much reflect the defensive cohesiveness that Chelsea have shown ever since Thomas Tuchel took charge at the club. Under their new boss, Ben Chilwell has played as a left wing-back despite which he has better defensive numbers than Luke Shaw.
ATTACKING PROWESS:
The Chelsea man might have an edge over Luke Shaw in the defensive departments but when it comes to attack, the Manchester United full-back is winning hands down.
Shaw has played 32 Premier League games this season for Man United and in those games, he has attempted 189 crosses as compared to Chilwell’s 136.
Luke Shaw has also made 20 successful crosses from open play while Ben Chilwell has managed only 15. The Man United full-back also created a staggering 72 chances in his 32 League matches while Chilwell could only manage 30 in 27 games.
The United defender has been much more active in the opponents half, having made 839 passes in enemy territory vs the 730 passes made by Ben Chilwell.
Overall, Luke Shaw has been much more influential and impactful this season so if common sense prevails then Southgate should be using the Man United as his first-choice left-back.
But if Harry Maguire is ruled out with his injury then the manager could opt for a 3-4-2-1 system, in which case Ben Chilwell has a better chance at starting for England.
Stats courtesy Squawka
