Liam Scales' Celtic impact is best in Premiership as he beats out Rangers captain and Hearts hitman

Liam Scales is the most impactful player in the Scottish Premiership, according to new data.

The Celtic defender, who looked like heading for the Parkhead exit door after spending last season on loan at Aberdeen, was thrown into the heart of the Hoops defence for their 1-0 win over Rangers at Ibrox last September, and hasn't looked back. His form has been rewarded by Brendan Rodgers with a new long-term contract.

And research done by the CIES Football Observatory ranks Scales as the cinch's top dog when it comes to impact made over the season. Six key areas of the game were taken into account; ground defence, distribution, take on (successful dribbles), chance creation, finishing and aerial play. This was combined with domestic league minutes played and results to come up with an overall index score. The result saw Scales top of the pile with an overall score of 66.4.

He was closely followed by Rangers captain James Tavernier on 65.4, and Old Firm villain John Lundstram with a score of 65.4 Then comes John Souttar, Alistair Johnston and Matt O'Riley.

In fact the top 12 is made up of Celtic and Rangers players, with Hearts' scoring sensation Lawrence Shankland the highest ranked player from outside the big two with a score of 55.6. Kyogo, Todd Cantwell and Luis Palma follow the Tynecastle hitman before Kilmarnock's Matty Kennedy gets a look in ahead of Frankie Kent, Danny Armstrong and Stephen Kingsley. When filtered by position, Cyriel Dessers comes out on top ahead of fellow strikers Shankland and Kyogo.