The data analysis series where we look at the most interesting players that play in the Bundesliga continues. In this week’s analysis, the task will be to use data and statistics to find some of the best and most undervalued wingers in Germany’s top division.
Hopefully, we will find players who are showing good potential to succeed in the future given the Bundesliga clubs’ willingness to promote and develop youth players. This data analysis includes wingers who have either played in a variety of attacking and defensive positions and have played a minimum of 800 minutes in the league this season. In the end, this analysis will produce a list of some of the most interesting wingers in the league who have the potential to make a step forward in their career and perhaps don’t get enough recognition.
Progressive runs and passes
The first section of this data analysis consists of the players ability to make progressions down the field either with a pass or a run. Wingers are crucial components for a team’s ability to progress the play, with their usual direct style of play forcing the team higher up the pitch.
Progressive runs are a good indicator of whether a winger can carry the ball into more advanced areas. Progressive passes can give us an idea of how often player tries advanced solutions.
The outstanding candidate in this category is Borussia Dortmund’s Achraf Hakimi who boasts a great combination of the number of progressive runs and passes per game. The Real Madrid loanee has 10.17 progressive passes and 3.65 progressive runs per game, which are very high numbers. It should be noted that Hakimi does often play as a wing-back so his progressive passing numbers will be slightly inflated.
This can be seen very clearly in the graph as the majority of the leaders in the progressive passing category are players who are predominantly full-backs or wing-backs. William, Wendell and Nordi Mukiele, the leaders in progressive passing with over 11 passes per game, are players who have featured in attacking roles but are mostly defensive players.
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