While some might lament the Premier League's trend towards direct, physical play in the early parts of this season, there is value in embracing certain 'agricultural' elements of the game.

One of those is crossing. It is a rather broad term in isolation, with cutbacks, inswingers, outswingers, lofted balls, and back-post deliveries all qualitatively different in execution, but all fall under the umbrella of what we call a 'cross'.

As The Athletic noted last season, open-play crosses have experienced an uptick compared with previous campaigns as teams become increasingly fixated on condensing the space in central areas and forcing their opponents wide.

That brings us to the lesser-heralded near-post cross.

You know the kind, but for those seeking an example, we welcome you to relive Sunderland's Wilson Isidor's stoppage-time winner against Brentford in the third week of the season.

As illustrated in the goal above, the most effective attacking strategy for a team is to have runners targeting different areas of the penalty box when a cross is made. A near-post, far-post, and central runner allows you to disrupt the opposition's defensive line while occupying the best spaces to attack the cross.

Still, some Premier League sides target certain zones more than others. So, who is looking for the near post most often?

The Athletic's updated criteria defines a near-post cross as the following:

For those wishing to see a visual representation, the criteria are below.

Looking at all ever-present Premier League clubs since the start of last season, Oliver Glasner's Crystal Palace look towards the near post most often, with a 31 per cent share of their total crosses being the most of any side.

It perhaps makes sense to see Palace, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Manchester United among the highest shares for near-post crosses below, given that they are three sides who play most prominently with a wing-back system.

With wing-backs more likely to arrive onto the ball in advanced areas, there is perhaps a greater likelihood that the subsequent cross is driven low to an onrushing attacker compared with a deeper, aerial cross from wide -- hence their team-mates' run to the near post.

That was certainly the case for Tyrick Mitchell's near-post cross for Jean-Philippe Mateta in Palace's home clash with Leicester last season.

As Eberechi Eze drives forward, Mitchell looks to attack the space on the left flank. Note Mateta's positioning in front of centre-back Caleb Okoli, with a late dart forward to meet the low cross first time as he edges ahead of Wout Faes.

It is a common feature of the Frenchman's movement to get across his opposite number and attack the cross, as he outlined when analysing his game with The Athletic last season.

Comparing Palace's near-post to far-post crosses shows just how much these deliveries are a feature of Glasner's style, with Mitchell on the left and Daniel Munoz on the right.

No Premier League side has a larger difference in their share of near-post versus far-post crossing tendencies since the start of last season.

Elsewhere, Wolves are not the most prolific crossers (only Aston Villa average fewer than their 10.9 open-play crosses per 90 since the start of last season), but those that are delivered appear to have a pattern.

It is interesting to distinguish between the side of the pitch that Vitor Pereira's side are crossing from. From the left flank, there is a far higher likelihood that the delivery is going towards the near post, with 31 per cent in that zone compared with 12 per cent towards the far post.

Things are a little more unpredictable from the opposite wing, with a near equal share of targeted areas -- most often coming from Nelson Semedo, who left for Fenerbahce in July.

Again, with wing-backs having a higher starting position, it was often Rayan Ait-Nouri delivering from the left flank last season, just as he did for Jorgen Strand Larsen's near-post goal against Brentford last October.

Strand Larsen is behind centre-back Ethan Pinnock as Ait-Nouri gets the ball out of his feet, but the Wolves striker's penalty-box instinct allows him to dart ahead of Brentford's defender and redirect the low cross into the far corner.

Tottenham Hotspur are another fascinating case study.

Spurs' previous manager, Ange Postecoglou, often liked his opposite-side winger to attack the back post when a cross was delivered, with Brennan Johnson establishing a trademark goal with plenty of first-time finishes via that method.

Nevertheless, Postecoglou did still like his central striker to stay between the width of the penalty area to attack crosses, with Dominic Solanke and Richarlison often being the target of balls played to the near post.

Spurs have actually been more successful in converting their back-post deliveries (as shown below in yellow), but their higher share of crosses from wide areas has been more targeted to the same side since the start of last season.

Interestingly, Solanke and Richarlison both appear in the top 20 players who get on the end of near-post crosses since the 2018-19 season.

Those leading the charge are predominantly out-and-out box strikers playing for teams who frequently look to get it in the mixer -- not least Fulham's Raul Jimenez, whose team were the most prolific crossers in the Premier League last season.

It is telling to see which No 9s frequently look to get across their man and use their penalty-box movement to hoover up a large share of their goalscoring diet. Poacher instincts or not, the numbers help show which players are the biggest threats from near-post opportunities.

These details matter for an opposition analyst. Helping players to anticipate the zones that an opponent will aim for can be key in helping with defensive positioning when faced with such a delivery.

With the direction that the game is headed, understanding an opponent's crossing behaviours might be more crucial than ever.

Celebrating the importance of the near-post cross