Reading finished just above the relegation zone in the EFL Championship in 2021/22. They have made a good start to the 2022–23 campaign and are comfortably sitting in the middle of the table. One of the reasons behind Reading’s success is Tom Ince. The 31-year-old made a loan move to Reading in the winter transfer window last season. His loan move was made permanent on a free transfer at the start of this season. His father, Paul Ince, is the manager of the club, and their combination is helping Reading move up in the league table. Paul Ince is enjoying success after a few dry spells in recent years. We look at some of Ince’s stats to see how he has contributed to Reading this season.
Ince leading Reading to success
Tom Ince has been a regular member of Reading’s squad this season. He has appeared in 33 matches and scored nine goals along with four assists. The player features as a right-central midfielder and sometimes as an attacking midfielder. He likes to stay on the right side of the field. The above pizza chart shows the percentile rank of the player in comparison to other right-central midfielders in the EFL Championship. Tom Ince has a high percentile rank in the attacking department. He is also rated highly for making dangerous and progressive passes per 90 minutes. His success in the attack has helped his side stay up in the league table.
Netting and creating goals
Tom Ince has started to find the back of the net this season. His goal tally this season is his highest in the past five seasons. He averages 1.69 shots per 90 minutes and has a 34.5% accuracy rate. Ince has scored four goals from outside the penalty box, four from inside the box, and one from the penalty spot. His xG per shot is a bit low because of the area from where he attempts his shots. Most of the shots have been attempted from outside the penalty box.
Another area where Tom Ince has made an impact is in creating goals for his teammates. The player has provided four assists, and every assist came from a corner delivered into the box. By looking at the above viz we can observe that Ince likes to create chances for his team by delivering a few key passes into the penalty box. He averages 25.12 passes per 90 minutes, and 2.65 of them have been directed into the penalty box.
Tom Ince likes to progress with the ball from the right side of the field. The above viz shows the progressive passes made by the player this season. He likes to stretch the play down the flank and delivers a few crucial passes into the penalty box. Averaging 2.1 progressive runs per 90 minutes, Ince likes to make these runs on his favoured right side. His dribbling has been decent but the player makes fewer runs into the opposition penalty box.
Massive improvements from last season
Tom Ince spent the first half of the last season at Stoke City and the second half at Reading. He scored five goals and provided an assist. The above xG map shows that Ince managed to take more touches into the opposition’s penalty box and attempted most of his shots from inside it. Ince averaged 2.37 touches inside the penalty box per 90 minutes last season and this season the average has gone down to 1.31 touches. Despite the decrease in numbers, Ince has made more of an impact this season than the last season.
Betting analysis
The 31-year-old will have a massive impact on the betting rates for Reading this season. Tom Ince will affect the 1×2 betting odds as well as the over/under goals. If the player is benched, then Reading’s odds to win the match will rise.
Paul Ince will be happy with the way his team is progressing. His son is the key player behind Reading’s success. The 31-year-old has the most goal contributions for his side in the EFL Championship 2022-23. He will look to add more goals and assists and take his side to a top-half finish.
Visuals via TFA data viz engine
