Within the last couple of years, the Bundesliga has become a hub for underrated and promising talent that have either developed in the league or have been sold to bigger clubs across Europe. Most people just remember the sales of attackers such as Luka Jović and Sebastien Haller who were bought for very little money by Eintracht Frankfurt before making big money moves.
Yet, there have been notable centre-back acquisitions from top clubs in Europe. Both Thilo Kehrer and Abdou Diallo joined Paris Saint-Germain for big money from Schalke 04 and Borussia Dortmund respectively. In addition to that, Caglar Söyüncü, one of the Premier League breakout defenders, joined Leicester City from SC Freiburg.
In this data analysis, we will look at several central defenders from Bundesliga that are noteworthy and should be further scouted. Players that are included in this analysis have played at least 900 minutes in the league as it provides a big enough sample size for the players’ data.
Defensive duels
We will start this analysis with defensive duels per 90 and how successful players are in defensive duels.
In the graph above players who stand out are the ones who won 75% of their defensive duels.
World cup winner Mats Hummels, who has had a renaissance with Dortmund this season, has a 75.52% defensive duel win percentage whilst contesting 6.46 duels per 90. The German has played nearly 2000 minutes this season and has helped Lucien Favre’s side become very stable at the back, all at the age of 31.
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