The Premier League’s top tackler since 2007 struggles to get into Liverpool’s team

A goal every 196 games, assists once a season, tidy passing. What more do they want from him?

Ask your average SportsJOE fan who they think the leading Premier League tackler of the past eight seasons might be and some usual suspects may crop up - Lee Cattermole, John Terry, Mark Noble, Pablo Zabaleta. If you did not guess Liverpool's Brazilian midfielder Lucas Leiva, hang your head in shameful wonderment. According to Opta, Lucas has racked up the most tackles since his arrival in the Premier League eight years ago. https://twitter.com/OptaJoe/status/615495701024391168 Lucas only started 16 games last season, and was a substitute on another four occasions. During that time, he averaged 3.9 tackles per match. It is the highest rate for any player to feature in five or more Premier League matches. Just as Liverpool supporters may start to appreciate the Brazilian, it seems he may be off to Serie A. Tuttosport has reported that the Nerazurri are extremely interested in securing his no nonsense services.