Beni Baningime leaves Celtic and Rangers midfield stars in the shade as he proves Premiership high pressure specialist

Lawrence Shankland may be hogging the Hearts headlines, but Beni Baningime's role as the quiet enforcer shouldn't be overlooked.

The Jambos are cruising to a second third place finish in three years after last season's collapse. A tenth game unbeaten in all competitions saw them strengthen their grip on the best of the rest position, 12 points clear of nearest challengers Kilmarnock. Shankland's 23rd goal of the season saw of St Johnstone, but Baningime's return to full fitness this term has been almost as vital.

The midfielder spent 18 months on the sidelines after rupturing a cruciate ligament in March 2023. He was back in action in August, but understandably took a while to get back up to speed. Now he's like his old self again and contract talks are ongoing with a view to tying him down at Tynecastle beyond this summer, with Hearts quietly confident he'll put pen to paper.

Steven Naismith wants his side to control possession, and often his team have had to remain patient in order to unlock stubborn defences. Baningime is key to them dominating the ball, and research carried out by the CIES Football Observatory on "game intelligence data" shows the ex-Everton man is the Scottish Premiership's top dog when it comes to keeping the ball under high pressure.

They define high pressure as: "A player is considered under pressure when he is in possession of the ball and at least one opponent player nearby him is trying to either recover the ball or limit his options. For each situation, SkillCorner determines the intensity of pressure by considering the speed of the players applying it, their distance to the player in possession and the angle of their movement."

Baningime's ball retention ratio under pressure is 87.9 per cent