Defensive work by forwards: Luton Town's Adebayo best ranked Nigerian player ahead of Dessers 

According to the CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post, Luton Town star Elijah Adebayo is the best ranked Nigerian player in 30 leagues around the world according to the amount of defensive work performed.

Against all expectations, the Fulham academy product has impressed in his maiden season in the Premier League, scoring 10 goals in 25 appearances for relegation contenders Luton Town. 

The rating of each football player was obtained through two indicators - the distance covered at high speed (greater than 25 km/h) in the defensive phase and the number of pressures exerted on opponents without physical or ball contact 

Adebayo is eighteenth in the rankings with an index of 79.8 while he was awarded 67.2 and 83.5 for distance and pressure respectively - a testament to his industriousness on the pitch. 

Only Heung-Min Son ((Tottenham Hotspur), Richarlison de Andrade (Tottenham Hotspur), Moritz Broschinski (VfL Bochum), Mikel Oyarzabal (Real Sociedad) and Jonathan David (Lille) ranked higher than Adebayo among players in the big-five European Leagues comprising Premier League, Bundesliga, La Liga, Serie A and Ligue 1. 

In the same rankings, Rangers striker Cyriel Dessers had the 32nd highest score with an index of 74.6, while he was rated 79.6 and 63.5 for distance and pressure respectively. 

Including his strike in the Old Firm derby on Saturday afternoon, the Nigeria international has mustered 21 goals in 51 appearances since his arrival at Ibrox. 

Only footballers who played at least 1,200 domestic league minutes during the current season were included in the rankings.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel

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