50% defensive duel success: The 33-year-old linked with Derby County who had a forgettable 2021/22 season | OneFootball

Derby County are considering a move for free agent midfielder Dale Stephens, according to Alan Nixon’s Patreon.

The 33-year-old reached the expiration of his contract at Burnley this summer, and has struggled for regular minutes in each of the last two seasons with the Clarets.

In his peak years, Stephens was one of the most gifted midfielders in the Championship with Brighton and Hove Albion, and he made the step up to Premier League level in impressive fashion with the Seagulls.

However, with the clock ticking on his career, and without a sustained run in the team in either of the last two seasons, dropping down to League One could be smart at this stage, to a club where he would be valued again and should have a significant influence on proceedings from central midfield.

Here, we have taken a look at some of the numbers behind Stephens’ 2021/22 campaign in our latest performance in numbers piece…

It was an underwhelming season from a personal point of view and as a team for the 33-year-old, as the Clarets suffered relegation from the Premier League, after a six-season stint in the top-flight.

Stephens only made four appearances in total, three in the league, including just one start, and one in the FA Cup.

Across the 217 minutes of football he managed, according to Wyscout, Stephens only won 50% of his defensive duels, which would have been a concern when playing for a side like Burnley who spent such extended periods of matches on the back foot.

Quiz: 20 statements about former Derby County players – Are they true or false?

1 of 20

Phil Jagielka left the club for a transfer fee in January.

True False

In that time, the ball playing midfielder, who has become less of a goal threat and more of a deep lying playmaker, as his career has progressed, took one shot, it was off target, but did show promise in other measures.

On average Stephens completed 6.64 passes into the final third per 90 minutes, which is definitely transferrable to trying to break League One teams down with Derby, and he made 4.98 interceptions on a per 90 minute basis as well.

To have Conor Hourihane and Dale Stephens, if lacking a bit of pace, in a third tier midfield will be very easy-on-the-eye, and spurred on by an exciting crop of younger players at the club, this could be a smart pick-up for the Rams.