Bournemouth’s 2022/23 league season has so far been very underwhelming. The Cherries have been in poor form since the league resumed after the World Cup break. Off the pitch, they had to sack manager Scott Parker. After an interim period, Gary O’Neil was appointed the permanent manager. The Cherries also changed ownership recently and will be hoping to play in the top flight next season. Amidst a lot of changes on and off the pitch, one thing that has remained consistent is the performance of 26-year-old Philip Billing.

Billing, after having started his career as a deep midfielder, started playing an advanced role in the midfield for Bournemouth in The Championship and developed an excellent partnership with forward Dominic Solanke. This season, in the Premier League, the Denmark international has played a major chunk of his minutes as a centre-forward in the absence of Solanke.

The below visualisation shows where Philip Billing ranks for some of the key metrics when compared with the other centre-forwards in the league.

Only two Bournemouth players have played more minutes than Philip Billing in the league this season. Billing is usually hard-working up and down the field and is one of the most involved players in everything his team does on the pitch. With six goals against his name, Billing is the leading goalscorer for the Cherries this season but his goal tally is a big overperformance on his xG.

Ranking below-average for most of the offensive metrics in spite of being one of the best offensive players for Bournemouth this season, Billing is not expected to play the role of a CF in the long term. He can function as an attacking midfielder, a deep-lying midfielder or a box-to-box midfielder.

One can see in the visual above that Billing’s aerial prowess is his biggest strength, ranking him in the top 4% for success in aerial duels. His awareness and positioning allow him to be at the right place at the right time both offensively and defensively.

Passing-wise, Billing is usually less involved in the build-up of the attack but has a good eye to create an opportunity for his teammates. However, Billing is more often than not found to be making a run to the box to finish an attack and it is this ability of his that has made him one of the most offensive players for the Cherries this season.

If Bournemouth are to survive in the league this season, then they will want Billing to continue his excellent form. Still, if the Cherries do end up getting relegated, then there is a very good chance that Philip Billing will play in the Premier League another season, for another club.