Arthur Cabral: Five under-the-radar alternatives for Barcelona – data analysis

Xavi’s arrival at Barcelona seems to have reinvigorated the team. They’re displaying a more dominant style, dominating possession and pressing higher and better, showing something closer to their golden years with Xavi as a player. However, they’re lacking goals with Memphis Depay not performing at a top-level (he’s not an out and out striker), Luuk De Jong not trusted by Xavi and Kun Agüero out. Only Ansu Fati seems a reliable finisher but putting all the pressure on a 19-year-old kid who has just recovered from a 10-month injury seems a very risky decision.

That’s why Barcelona are looking for a striker. Their precarious financial situation greatly limits what they can do in the January market so some creative options are emerging as their top targets. The one that has been most strongly linked to them is Arthur Cabral, a 23-year-old Brazilian striker who plays for Basel in the Swiss Super League.

Cabral started his career at Ceará in Brazil. After 29 goals in 81 games there, Palmeiras signed him for a million euros but he stayed just six months (1 goal in 5 games) before signing for Basel first on loan and then permanently for 6 million euros. Since he arrived in Switzerland, he has played 100 games, scored 62 goals and provided 17 assists, becoming the star of the Swiss Super League.

With 24 goals and 8 assists in 25 games this season, Cabral has been phenomenal this start of the season. His role as a big number nine who can hold the ball, put his teammates into play and then dominate in the box is the profile Barcelona seem to be looking for. At just 23 and having recently been called to the Brazil squad, he’s one of the hottest commodities in Europe at the moment. 

In this data analysis, we have used our exclusive xGOLD tool to find four players statistically similar to Arthur Cabral (data profile above) who are approaching young (under 23 years old) and who wouldn’t cost too much for Barcelona (valued at 8 million euros or less on transfermarkt). The analysis of the best five results with similar statistics to Cabral’s is presented here.

All the radars in this data analysis show the percentiles comparing each player to the rest of the strikers in their league. For example, a higher value on shots per 90 doesn’t mean that player takes more shots, it means he takes more shots than a higher percentage of strikers in his league. We must take into account the difference in level when interpreting the radars as it isn’t the same to perform in the Swiss Super League, the Argentinian Primera División, the MLS or the Bundesliga.