Ranking the Top 75 MLS Players of 2024: 47. Ashley Westwood

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Ashley Westwood captained Charlotte FC to its best season by a country mile in its young existence. The experienced midfielder showed zero signs of his age, as he played nearly every single minute of the 2024 season. His presence in the center of midfield was huge for Charlotte over the course of the season. He brings a calm, yet passionate demeanor to the squad, making him the perfect man to lead this group. The club finished fifth in the East under Dean Smith and is searching for even greater heights in 2025.

Westwood scored twice and assisted six goals from the midfield. He laced an absolute screamer of a volley home against Columbus Crew to win a match in March. He scored another match-winner on a perfect direct free kick in Chicago. In a 3-1 summer victory over FC Cincinnati, Westwood assisted all three goals in an incredible performance. An unreal first-time cross found Iuri Tavares at the back stick, a ball slid through set up Liel Abada and an out-swinging corner kick picked out Kerwin Vargas.

The Englishman isn't one for the stats, you truly have to watch a Charlotte match to understand his impact. With that being said, he does have some impressive numbers defensively. He was only dribbled past 0.33 times on average per game, which is a fabulous number for a CM. He also was dispossed 0.39 times per 90, also a very low tally for a player that is constantly under pressure. While it's a small sample size, he completed 80% of his attempted dribbles on the year. In the distribution realm, he connected on 4.28 of his long ball sprays into his attackers per game. Westwood comes in at No. 47.

47) ASHLEY WESTWOOD | MID, CLT | PER 90 STATS (PERCENTILE)

80% DRIBBLE SUCCESS (94%)

0.33 TIMES DRIBBLED PAST PER 90 (94%)

0.39 TIMES DISPOSSESSED PER 90 (91%)

4.28 ACCURATE LONG BALLS PER 90 (89%)