Sheffield United star officially the best player in Championship so far this season

The only hint of surprise, for some quarters at least, will be his identity. Not Oli McBurnie, who has four goals in his last five games, or Iliman Ndiaye, who scored his fifth of the campaign at Preston last time out.

Not even Sander Berge, a player on his day capable of making a mockery of Championship football. Stats website SofaScore instead crunched the numbers to reveal that Oliver Norwood, the United midfielder, is officially the best player in the second tier so far this season, with an average match rating of 7.68.

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There remains a small section of United fans who refuse to believe it but Norwood’s importance to this team is unmistakable. When he plays well, invariably so do United and another piece of stats-based content this week highlighted that further.

The Second Tier podcast produced a Venn diagram of midfielders and the top 20 in the division for most chances created per game, most successful tackles per game and most interceptions per game. Only five players straddled more than one category and just one was included in all three – United’s No.16.

Much has always been made of Norwood’s passing ability – only four players in the league have played more long balls so far this season, and all are goalkeepers - but his off-ball work often goes under the radar, winning two-thirds of his ground duels so far – a record that soared to 88 per cent against Preston on Saturday.

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Only three players in the entire division have contributed more assists than Norwood from his deep-lying midfield role and his stunning free-kick against Blackburn Rovers saw him become the first player to score directly from such a set-piece since himself, in the promotion season against Aston Villa.

If he and those around him continue their form so far, who would bet against them repeating that feat?

(Additional statistics reporting: Sam Tweed)

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