Building a team with the best new signings in the Bundesliga – data analysis

With the new Bundesliga season already underway, many new signings have already been made by the clubs in order to strengthen their squads wherever they need. The beginning of the season is always an exciting time for every club fan because they get to see the new players in their team make their first appearances and prove their value, but also for every football fan, as the transfer window is for a lot of us one of the most exciting times of the season.

In this data analysis, we will be taking a look at statistics from the new faces in the Bundesliga so we can see and understand their output in key metrics. We will use that data, analyse it, and compare the players’ statistical profile in order to identify the best in each position. After that we will build a team with the best players as well as leave some honourable mentions of names you should keep an eye on during the season as well.

Methodology

For this data analysis, we are using data from Wyscout from last season, it is important to note that the players come from various teams and, as such, we should look at the stats having the difference of level and style of play between all the leagues in mind. Also worth noticing is that some players have little data available due to small playing time or the league from which they came and, in the appropriate section, they will be mentioned but not a part of the analysis as their data is not very accurate.

In order to find out the players that were newly signed in the Bundesliga we used data from Transfermarkt, we excluded players that moved from the club within the Bundesliga as the purpose is to discover what the “new faces” can bring to the league.

Chosen formation 

In order to build a team with the best players that will come out of this data analysis, we must first decide on a formation to use. Going for a personal favourite, we will be using a 3-4-3 formation to set up our players on the pitch, this means that our choices will also be influenced by the type of player needed in each position in this formation.

Having this in mind, we will be looking for the best three centre-backs or defenders that can play in a 3 at the back system, two wing-backs able to provide both defensive and offensive support, two central midfielders that are also capable both attacking and defending, although we can have one with a more defensive profile an the other with a more attacking one. In the attack, we will need two wingers/inside forwards able to operate in the half-spaces but also to play in wide areas if needed, and finally, one striker to occupy the front spot.

Players

After all the filtering and adjustments, we were left with a pool of 36 players that will be a part of this analysis. Starting from the back, the first position we are going to analyse is the goalkeeper.

Goalkeepers

Shortlist:

Josep Martínez  22 years-old ( from Las Palmas to RB Leipzig)

Lennart Grill  21 years-old (from FC Kaiserslautern to Bayer Leverkusen)

Goalkeeper is the position where there are fewer options in terms of players with only two names to pick from, as such, only one graphic was enough to put these two goalkeepers head to head in key metrics as we can see below.

Based on the graphic we can see that both keepers have a similar profile in the analysed metrics, however, there is a big difference between their background and the level they played at. Josep Martínez was at Las Palmas playing in LaLiga 2 and Lennart Grill was at FC Kaiserslautern playing the German third division. This already indicates that Martínez is used to play at a higher level, he also displays a better number in most metrics, his save percentage of 71.62% is slightly higher than Grill’s 71.43% although he faced less shots (74) than the German (84). Martinez has also kept more clean sheets (9) than Grill (7) and both keepers managed to keep their goals conceded number below the xG against number.

Final choice

Josep