FORMER Colchester United favourite Frankie Kent has enjoyed a productive first season at Hearts, so far.

And the 28-year-old’s form has been so good that he has been ranked as among the highest rated in Europe’s top ten leagues, according to research.

Kent holds the distinction of being involved in the most games, playing the most minutes, and making the most clearances among the top-rated defenders in Scotland.

READ MORE: Danny Cowley excited by U's forward options despite Joe Taylor exit

He has played 21 games, playing 1,890 minutes and making 17 tackles, 121 clearances, 19 interceptions and 22 blocks.

The team at SuperBettingSites has unveiled the highest-rated defenders in Europe’s top ten leagues.

They selected the top-rated defenders in each of the ten leagues using Whoscored.com

They next gathered metrics covering 11 different categories using Squawka.com’s comparison matrix such as “Minutes played”, “Tackles”, “Interceptions” and many more.

Gazette:

They also included Transfermarkt.com’s market value of each player from to create a comprehensive overview of the five best-performing defenders in each of the top ten European leagues, for the current season.

Kent came through the academy system at Colchester, having initially started out at Arsenal as a trainee.

He made his professional debut for the U’s as an 18-year-old, in 2014.

READ MORE: League Two promotion hopefuls appoint new boss

Kent went on to make 141 appearances in five seasons with Colchester before joining Peterborough United in 2019.

He left Posh after four seasons last summer and joined Scottish Premiership club Hearts for a six-figure fee, signing a three-year contract.