4 Amazing Christian Eriksen Stats No One Talks About

There is no doubting that Christian Eriksen has been one of the Premier League's finest players this season. 

He has helped Mauricio Pochettino's team surge up the table. Eriksen's remarkable scoring late in games has snatched vital points throughout the season. 

Eriksen is brilliant, but there are some interesting statistics that demonstrate just how good he is and hint at the player that he could become. 

49 Caps at the Age of 23

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Born on Valentine's Day, Eriksen has just passed his 23rd birthday. The diminutive Dane has played like a seasoned veteran since his days in the Eredivisie with Ajax, but he remains in the formative years of his career. 

Eriksen made his international debut in 2010 at the age of 18 and has accrued appearances at a prodigious rate. Only days after his 23rd birthday, Eriksen has 49 caps. 

At the same age, Xavi and Xabi Alonso, two of Spain's centurions and the linchpins of their remarkable era of dominance, each had made fewer than 20 appearances for La Furia Roja. 

England stalwart and another member of the international century club, Steven Gerrard, had 21 appearances at age 23.

Even Mohamed Al-Deayea, the Saudi Arabian goalkeeper with 176 caps, had fewer than Eriksen at 23. If he picks up six caps in the next 12 months, he'll even be ahead of Lionel Messi. 

Eriksen made a minimum of 10 appearances for Denmark in each of the first four years of his international career. In 2014, he won only seven caps and fell just short of a remarkable half-century. 

He is virtually certain of reaching that mark this year and, at his current rate, could collect his 100th cap around the age of 28. 

Denmark is not a footballing powerhouse, but so many caps at such a young age, including two international tournaments, cannot be ignored. Eriksen is on course to collect an astonishing number of international caps. 

Legendary Danish goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel's tally of 129 could even be in his sights.

The Youngest Player at World Cup 2010

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At the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, 20-year-old Thomas Muller was a breakout star. His German teammates Toni Kroos (also 20) and Mesut Ozil (21) were part of a new generation of stars emerging at that tournament. 

Lionel Messi, then arguably the best player in the world, was still considered a young player at 22. 

Switzerland's Xherdan Shaqiri is the best known of the three players born in 1991 who were selected. 

Four months younger than even Shaqiri, Eriksen was the only player born after 1991 named in a squad for that World Cup. 

Eriksen was not simply selected for experience. He played in two of Denmark's three matches. 

Even at the UEFA European Football Championship in 2012, only nine players younger than Eriksen were selected, two of whom were goalkeepers that didn't make a single appearance in the competition. 

The fact that Eriksen was selected so young is remarkable. Many of the non-powerhouse countries have brilliant starlets who would benefit from going to a World Cup or European Championship. However, they are rarely selected because they could not contribute if called upon. 

Football managers are rarely in the business of grooming players who will be too young to help them. Eriksen went to the 2010 World Cup as its youngest player because he was already one of Denmark's finest stars. 

The fact that he was among the world's premier midfielders at 18 is the key point here. 

That tournament was almost five years ago, and Eriksen is still a young player. That experience has helped his development at Ajax and Tottenham and has served as a key building block in his blossoming career. 

The Best Premier League Goalscoring Rate of Any 23-Year-Old

Alastair Grant/Associated Press

Eriksen came to the Premier League as a 21-year-old and scored his first goal on Boxing Day, five months after arriving. 

Since then, the Dane has added 15 more goals in England's top flight.

Now 23, Eriksen's remarkable goalscoring return has him in truly elite company. 

According to the Daily Express, Eriksen has scored at a faster rate than almost any other Premier League midfielder at the same age. He has scored in 32 percent of his appearances for Tottenham.

Only Cristiano Ronaldo (36 percent), generously described as a midfielder in his early years, can claim to have scored more regularly than Eriksen. 

Frank Lampard was even unable to score at the same rate. 

Eriksen's chief qualities are his intelligence and his delivery. He is primarily a creator and facilitator. To be in the company of pure scorers like Ronaldo is astonishing. 

Lampard's scoring rate across his Chelsea career rose to 34 percent. Eriksen has some work to do if he is to match the Man City midfielder's exploits. 

Just 1 Assist for Spurs This Season

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Luka Modric made few assists during his time at Tottenham. Despite the paucity of statistical evidence, nobody that watched Spurs during that period would have missed the fact that he was the brain of the team. 

Eriksen seems to be a player who should collect assists. 

He plays further forward than Modric did, spending most of his time buzzing around the edge of the box, probing for weaknesses. He is also renowned for his ability to deliver at dead-ball situations with precision. 

This combination should result in regular assists, but Eriksen has only one in the Premier League this season. 

According to ESPN FC, Eriksen made 14 assists in all competitions last season, including eight in the Premier League.

Part of the the lack of Eriksen assists can be attributed to his taking more responsibility in attacking situations. This statistical analysis shows that he has taken almost double the number of shots this season while his overall rate of contribution to shots is virtually unchanged. This means that he is putting team-mates in scoring positions less often than last season.

This Telegraph article by Tom Edwards suggests that Eriksen is already the most valuable player in the league this season and has exceeded the contribution of Gareth Bale is his final, remarkable season at Spurs. 

Eriksen was Tottenham's player of the year in his first season at the club. In this campaign, he has taken a more direct role in Spurs' fate as they have improved around him. 

He may be contributing fewer assists, but Spurs look a better team and are winning more games.

If, as it seems, Pochettino has instructed Eriksen to shoot rather than pass when the occasion calls for it, it appears to having the desired effect.