He's doing a solid defensive job, and he's doing it quietly, but it is not appreciated because he's a terrible passer and due to his brain farts from last year.
This season (per 90 minutes stats) he is in top 10 in serie A among the midfielders in tackles (4th), interceptions (2nd) and aerials won (8th). These are excellent defensive stats for a midfielder. The other midfielders, at least in some categories, also have solid defensive stats. For example, Locatelli is 1st in the league among the midfielders in blocked shots, while McKennie is 5th in the same category. Rabiot is 5th among the midfielders in won aerials.
But once it comes to their offensive input, then our guys don't even make the top 10 in the league. This is best seen in the "key passes" category, i.e in chances created. Our best "key passer" is 30th in serie A among the mids. All our midfielders together create 3.1 chances in one match, which means they make 3.1 passes per 90 minutes which lead to a shot on target. Calhanoglu alone makes 3.4 key passes per 90 minutes, while Inter's midfield (Calhanoglu, Barella, Brozovic, Vidal) makes 7 key passes per 90 minutes. They create 4 more chances than our midfielders per 1 match.
Someone like Pogba on that left side instead of Rabiot/McKennie and, of course, a top striker, would make what Locatelli and Bentancur do defensively look much better and more appreciated.
