MUKIELE: STAT BREAKDOWN

Having arrived at the club from Paris Saint-Germain in the summer for £10 million, I think it would be quite the understatement to say that Nordi has made a pretty good impression on the Mackems. As we sit eight games into our Premier League return, how does Mukiele look statistically in comparison to some of the very best in English football?

Mukiele has found himself playing at both centre-half and also now full-back after Saturday’s victory, in which he of course scored the opener in after some superb link up play with defensive partner Trai Hume. The Frenchman has made 15 successful tackles in total, which sits him sixth in the league. However, if it were to just include defenders he actually sits third, with only Arsenal’s Jurien Timber and Crystal Palace’s Tyrick Mitchell with more.

When it comes to tackles per 90, which only includes the players who have played the equivalent of six full games, only Tottenham midfielder Joao Palhinha (2.99) has more than Sunderland’s number 22 (2.5).

It has already been pretty well established how impressive the Black Cats’ back four have been so far, including their dominance in the air. Mukiele has won 21 of his 30 aerial duels, and out of those to have won at least 20 aerial duels he has the fourth-best win percentage (70%) in the league, falling behind Everton’s James Tarkowski and the two Liverpool centre backs in Ibrahim Konate and of course Virgil Van Dijk who leads the way with 39 aerial duels won out of 50 at a 78% success rate.

He has been key for Le Bris’ side in games like Crystal Palace and Aston Villa in which we had to soak up an incredible amount of pressure to hold out for a point. Mukiele has made 50 clearances at an average of 8.33 clearances per 90, with only Bournemouth’s Marco Senesi (8.73) and once again Van Dijk (9.13) averaging more.

Some fans have already begun to question whether Nordi’s form could possibly even warrant a France recall, with the 27-year-old having just the singular cap to his name which came back in 2021 against Finland. To maybe back that point, no French defender playing currently in the Premier League has tackled more dribblers than Mukiele (10) including of course regular French internationals William Saliba (3) and Ibrahim Konate (6). Of course, context does need to be added for stats like this: Mukiele is obviously going to have more work to do than Saliba, who’s Arsenal side have only conceded three goals all season and are now firmly title favourites.

It has been an absolutely perfect start for Nordi Mukiele who has very quickly established himself as a fan favourite on Wearside. Not just that but also catching the attention of neutrals who are starting to take note of the Black Cats’ impressive start to the campaign. Whether a France call-up is on the horizon only time will tell, but it won’t change the fact it’s been a great first few months at his new club.

*Stats from FBREF