Data Analysis: Four players that are similar to Manchester City’s Jack Grealish

This is the second in a series of articles that I will be writing for the website that shows how we can use data and data profiling to identify potential targets in order to improve a squad.

Last week I wrote a piece identifying four players who were similar from a data perspective to Trent Alexander-Arnold of Liverpool. This week I will be slightly more topical in looking to identify four players that profile in a similar way to Jack Grealish who is now, of course, of Manchester City following his £100M move from Aston Villa.

I feel as though I need to be clear from the start, however, that when I talk of data profiling and finding similar players I am not suggesting that these players are exact Jack Grealish replicas. Instead, these players have similar skill sets and produce similar outputs.

It is also important to stress from the outset that I would never consider signing a player, or indeed suggesting that a club sign a player, if I had not also extensively video scouted the player. Data is a fantastic tool and one that is integral in any modern clubs recruitment network but it is only a part of a bigger picture. Data allows you to cut through a lot of the noise around football and if you are clever in your implementation of metrics then it can allow you to be very specific in your process but video and live scouting are also important.

As a part of Total Football Analysis we offer clubs, players and agencies a consultancy service and a large part of that is built around the use of data and video scouting to provide shortlists of players that fit a specific profile. To do this we make use of a tool that we know as xGOLD. This has been custom-built in-house to streamline the use of data in the identification of talented players. In order to create the shortlist for this article, I have used xGold to identify four players that best meet the profile of Grealish. From there I have created the profiles that you will see in this piece using my own bespoke dashboards in Tableau. Given that we are still at the early stage of the European season, if any games have been played at all!, we will be using data from the 2020/21 season with all data found in Wyscout.

Jack Grealish, 25-years-old, Manchester City and England

Last season, whilst still playing for Aston Villa, Jack Grealish finally emerged from being a player with considerable potential to being a player who I would label as being world-class. He played 2362 minutes in the league for his boyhood club and the quality and consistency of his performances were nothing short of astounding. His role for Villa tended to see him play on the left side of the attack where he could pick up possession in dangerous areas before affecting the game for his side.

Grealish is the embodiment of a modern attacking player. His movement profile can see him drop towards the ball in order to receive or to move away from the ball carrier in order to position himself in a pocket of space between the lines of the opposition defensive structure. He is comfortable receiving under heavy pressure where his touch and presence of mind allow him to create separation from opposition players. It is when receiving in those pockets of space where he is able to take a positive first touch, however, that Grealish is at his most dangerous.

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