AFC Bournemouth playmaker and West Ham United target James Tavernier is maybe not the first name which comes to mind when discussing the most effective attacking midfielders in the Premier League.
He lacks the star power of Bruno Fernandes, the goal threat of Cole Palmer, or a fan club as sizeable as that of Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers.
But as West Ham make a ‘serious push’ for Marcus Tavernier, as reported exclusively by Hammers News and revealed by football correspondent Graeme Bailey, the underlying statistics go a long way to explaining why the former Middlesbrough man may yet become one of the most intelligent, under-the-radar additions of the summer window.
With only three Premier League strikes to his name across 2024/25, Tavernier is a scorer of great goals rather than a ‘great goalscorer’. A tally of five assists will not have the hair standing up on end, either.
But there is a reason why West Ham United are so keen to beat Newcastle to Tavernier’s reported £25 million-rated signature [The Sun]. There is a reason why, as Mohammed Kudus attracts interest from rival Premier League clubs, The Hammers could turn to a late-blooming 26-year-old whose influence and form has flown under the radar of casual observers.
West Ham could replace Mohammed Kudus with Bournemouth’s Marcus Tavernier
Across the 2024/25 campaign, Tavernier actually produced more assists, created more chances, won more tackles, and played far more forward passes [245] than Kudus [90].
That is despite the fact that Kudus actually started 31 Premier League matches, compared to Tavernier’s 20.
Arguably the biggest issue holding back Graham Potter’s team, meanwhile, is a lack of urgency and athleticism in the centre of the park. James Ward-Prowse is famously a massive threat from dead-ball situations. But, from open play, the former Southampton skipper can often go missing in action.
By his own admission, Ward-Prowse endured a disappointing campaign. And, like the aforementioned Mohammed Kudus, Lucas Paqueta slipped some way off his 2023/24 form thanks largely to those well-publicised off-field issues.
Tavernier, in contrast, enjoyed perhaps his most effective season yet. While a relatively rare presence on the scoresheet, Tavernier was frequently the man who made Bournemouth tick. His driving runs through the thirds and his intelligent, probing passes into attacking positions meant he was often the lighter of the fuse. The platform upon which Antoine Semenyo, Dango Ouattara and Evanilson wreak havoc.
The Athletic, when reporting on Matheus Cunha’s £62.5 million switch from Wolves to Manchester United this week, produced a graphic showing the Premier League’s most productive ‘forward positive dribblers and passers’.
To put it simply, they ranked the players who carry the ball from defence into attack the most across England’s top flight against those who make the most passes into attacking positions.
The stats show that Tavernier completes more progressive passes than Morgan Rogers, Dejan Kulusevski, Amad Diallo, Anthony Elanga, Alejandro Garnacho and the aforementioned Cunha. He also completes more ‘progressive carries’ than the likes of Kobbie Mainoo, Martin Odegaard, Bruno Fernandes, and Mikkel Damsgaard.
Tavernier would bring ‘a real intensity’ to Graham Potter’s squad
If Brentford schemer Damsgaard is the most underrated footballer anywhere in the Premier League, then Tavernier is not too far behind.
“He’s dynamic, a bundle of energy, comfortable on the ball but not afraid to do the dirty stuff,” Dominic Shaw, who watched Tavernier very closely in his Middlesbrough days, told Dorset Live. Attributes Tavernier has honed and developed to a considerable extent on Andoni Iraola’s watch.
“He travels extremely well with the ball, has a superb left foot and is a good set-piece taker. He’s always able to find himself a yard and plays with a real intensity on and off the ball. He’s always on the want for the ball as well, is brave in possession and doesn’t let his head drop if things aren’t going his way.”
Marcus Tavernier is unlikely to have been the number one target on the minds of many West Ham supporters. But, as the Hammers step up their interest with a summer deal in mind, the numbers highlight a footballer whose talents remain criminally underestimated.
One who, at the age of 26, may not be among the division’s biggest names but certainly belongs among the division’s most effective operators.
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