The role of the goalkeeper has evolved over the years, with the modern game often requiring keepers with a higher technical skillset than those of years gone by. The level of technicality required depends on the demands of the teams manager, aka their tactics. For example, Manchester City have Ederson, who is a talented player on the ball with excellent distribution skills – abilities that go hand-in-hand with Pep Guardiolas tactics. Brighton & Hove Albion have moved quickly in the summer transfer window to strengthen their goalkeeping department, which suffered from inconsistency last season in the Premier League, with the number one position shared by Robert Sánchez and Jason Steele.
Roberto De Zerbi has added some quality to the ranks by signing Dutch goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen, who joins the Seagulls for a reported £16.3m fee from Belgian club RSC Anderlecht. This scout report will provide a tactical analysis of the player – with the primary focus being an analysis of Verbruggens ability in possession. While this scout report will include analysis images of Verbruggen playing for Netherlands U21s and Anderlecht in various competitions, any data included will be taken from Verbruggens appearances this season in the Belgian Pro League.
Player Profile
At 20 years old, Verbruggen is still some way from what would be considered the prime years of his career but has already demonstrated outstanding technical and mental abilities in his short career. He joined the Belgian giants in 2020 from Dutch side NAC Breda, and up until the halfway stages of the 2022/23 campaign, was still playing his football for Anderlechts reserve side. Since his call-up, he featured 17 times for the first team in the league, conceding 21 goals. He also featured six times in Anderlechts impressive UEFA Conference League run.
When considering data compared to other goalkeepers in the Belgian Pro League, it is essential to remember that Verbruggen played significantly fewer games. This will be at least part of the reason for some of the low percentile rankings in the pizza graph above.
Noteworthy percentiles are his high save rate despite registering a relatively high goals conceded per 90 record – this paints the picture of Anderlechts inconsistent form. While his pass accuracy percentile is low (which is odd considering the quality on display when you watch him), his high pass frequency suggests that he is fearless in getting involved with possession phases – an essential element of Brightons tactics – the high percentile rank for received passes per 90 makes the same point here too.
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