The stats that prove just how far Steven Fletcher is ahead of his striker colleagues at Sheffield Wednesday

In terms of his all-round contribution to Owls play, his threat in front of goal and his movement, the ‘eye test’ alone proves the Scot leads the pack of five out-and-out strikers – leaving the likes of Fernando Forestieri and Josh Windass out – to have pulled on the Owls shirt this season.

A deep-dive into the statistics of the largely misfiring quintet reveal some interesting numbers, while a look at the ‘heatmap’ of the positions in which they pick up the ball show Fletcher’s ability to pick the ball up deeper than his colleagues have been able to bring the midfield into attacks more often.

His ratio of 0.54 goals per 90 minutes – better than a goal every other game – is a statistic any striker in the world would take. But what of the others?

Jordan Rhodes comes next, with 0.32 goals per 90 minutes, although when you consider all three of his goals arrived in a red-hot 45 minutes at Nottingham Forest in December, it’s a number that flatters to deceive in terms of his all-round contribution. Rhodes’ xG of 0.24 goals per 90 is half of that of Fletcher – at 0.5 – and is in-line with that of Atdhe Nuhiu’s 0.23.

The big Kosovan is the Owls second-highest scorer with five goals in all competitions and along with Connor Wickham provides more ‘shot assists’ – passes that lead to a shot – than anyone else at 0.62 per 90 minutes. Given the number of times he has emerged for substitute cameos, Nuhiu’s ratio of 0.24 goals per game isn’t to be sniffed at.

Wickham’s numbers lay bare the difficulty he’s had since re-joining Wednesday. No goals, no assists and an xG of 0.07 display the figure of a forward unable to impact matches at current, while Sam Winnall’s effort of just under on goal every five sets of 90 minutes shows his inability to finish chances – his xG would have him scoring 0.32 goals per 90.