Former Aston Villa striker Darren Bent believes that current midfielder Danny Drinkwater is “nowhere near the pace at the moment”, as reported on Football Insider.
Drinkwater was handed a start by manager Dean Smith last Sunday against Tottenham Hotspur but was hauled off after 60 minutes.
Many fans have criticised the Englishman’s display and Bent feels that he should be dropped from the starting XI and we agree with the thoughts of the ex-Villa striker.
As reported on the official Premier League website, the on-loan midfielder has created zero big chances, lost an incredible 36 duels and not won a single aerial battle in five appearances this season.
That, simply, is not good enough for a team that is battling for survival.
Compare that to the statistics of Marvelous Nakamba, who missed out on a starting spot to Drinkwater against Spurs.
The Zimbabwe international has played considerably more matches but has won 101 duels, recovered the ball 119 times and won 19 aerial battles.
Furthermore, Nakamba only played 30 minutes against Spurs but made one key pass in that time period, the same amount that Drinkwater managed in an hour (WhoScored).
These figures go some way to proving that Drinkwater is not up to the levels to justify him starting intense Premier League matches, therefore, dropping him to the bench in favour of Nakamba could be the best option for the team.
