Jed Wallace has been an increasingly influential figure in Millwall’s side over the last few years, and whilst he has often been a player who has gone under the radar, the past two seasons have seen the 27-year-old gain the attention that he deserves. Wallace has been directly involved in nine of their 15 league goals. It’s been his best start to a Championship season in terms of end product – with five goals and four assists after 14 matches. Scoring five times and assisting four already this season, the versatile attacker is once again proving to be an excellent player at Championship level.
Last time out, Wallace chipped in with 11 goals and five assists, whilst the season prior, he scored 10 and assisted 13. Struggling to break through at Wolves, the 27-year-old joined Millwall in 2017, and it appears he is continuing to improve and see his influence grow as seasons go by.
The Lions were trailing to 10-man Blackpool in late August and crying out for something special. Wallace provided it with a peach of a free kick that was nominated for Championship goal of the month. You don’t need telling who then produced the cross for Jake Cooper to head a 90th-minute winner.
Let’s take a look at his stats so far:
Wallace has made 13 appearances for Millwall so far in the season and has been starting on the right flank. He has been the major source of goals for Millwall. The heatmap for Wallace suggests that he spends most minutes into the final third, but also drops back in his own half when needed to defend against the opposition.
Wallace has incredibly high attacking stats as seen in the above visual. Almost all of his stats are way better than the median league value. He has an xG of 0.30 and this xG is better than 94% of the players in the league. He also has a very high shot on target percentage and has had 50% of these shots on target. Wallace has attempted 15.64 attacking actions per 90 and lies in the 94th percentile in the whole league.
Jed Wallace has been involved in nine goals for Millwall and has a high expected goal contribution of 7.52. He has an average expected goal contribution of 0.57 per 90 minutes and has been a threat to the opposition defence.
Wallace has completed 2.26 crosses per 90 minutes and has a total of30 successful crosses into the box in the 13 matches he has played. Playing from the right flank, Wallace has played some great crosses into the penalty area which have contributed to his tally for four assists so far. The former Wolves man is a set-piece master. He’s got a number of assists from corners and free-kicks he has taken in the previous seasons.
Jed Wallace has been highly involved in the build up towards goal and can also get into great positions to cross the ball into the opposition penalty area. As seen in the previous visual, Wallace has the third most successful crosses into the penalty area and most of these crosses have a very high expected threat. Wallace has not only stuck to playing from the right flank but also switches to the left flank when required.
Wallace has had a total of 24 attempts on goal and has managed to keep 12 shots on target. He has scored five times from these 12 shots which indicates he has a high conversion rate and is clinical in front of goal. The 27-year old can often conjure up the spectacular from free kicks. He’s mastered the technique of hitting a powerful dead ball with his sensational right foot. Wallace is a footballer who specialises in producing those moments of magic that can often decide a game.
As he nears the expiration of his deal at The Den, it will be no surprise to see more teams monitor his progress. Wallace is perhaps deserving of a chance in England’s top-tier, and subsequently, it will be no surprise to see him plying his trade in the Premier League next season. The possibility of Wallace signing a new deal with the club is also there, as it is clear to see that he has ambitions of progressing Millwall. However, a chance to play in the Premier League is an exciting prospect, and given the opportunity, it will be difficult to turn it down.
