Ernesto Valverde has gotten an early Christmas gift under his tree in Barcelona and it arrived in the shape and form of Jeison Murillo, the centre-back from Valencia. This comes as no surprise because, after yet another injury to Thomas Vermaelen, the Catalans were forced to step into the market a bit earlier than they wouldve wished.
Granted, there’s been talk about buying an experienced defender for a while now, and all eyes were set on the biggest prize in Matthijs de Ligt, but Barca will have to wait until at least until summer to get him.
Murillo, on the other hand, comes on a loan deal until the end of the season, solely to patch up the wounded Catalan giant who plan to challenge on all fronts. This tactical analysis will use statistics to determine whether their choice was a good one or not.
Player Overview
Jeison Murillo is a 26-year old centre-back that has plenty of experience in La Liga and the Champions Leauge, which was, in the end, the part that sealed the deal. His initial price of around two million euros for the loan deal, with the additional option to purchase for another 25 million, was the other part.
This Colombian international started his European career with Udinese but played his first football abroad on a loan spell at Granada’s academy. Cadiz and Las Palmas were the next steps, and eventually, in the season of 2013/14, he earned himself a place in the starting 11 of Granada, which closed the full circle.
Still, Murillo played his best football at Inter where he spent two seasons and played a grand total of 69 games. Another loan saw his transfer to Valencia and the Bats decided to buy the centre-back in 2017/18 and he’s been representing them ever since.
He also has of international pedigree with the Colombian team. Murillo played in the Copa America in 2015 and 2016, finishing third in the pecking order in the latter tournament.
On a side note, Jeison faced Barcelona three times during his stay with Granada, winning once against Tata Martino’s Barca in 2014 with a surprise 1-0 victory at the Nuevo Los Cármenes.
Murillo is a right-footed centre-back who spends most of his time (83 %) playing on the left side of the back line. He can also slot into the right side (9 %) and be deployed in other positions in the defence 8 % of the time.
Style of play
“I’m fast, intelligent, have a good touch and Im brave.” Were the words Jeison Murillo first spoke when he was presented to the public, and judging from those, he is actually a good fit at Barcelona. But let’s start from the beginning.
As with all other positions, Barcelona always look for a certain profile of a player more so than anything else. A Barcelona centre-back has to be good on the ball, able to play quick and accurate passes, maintain a high defensive line and be a big part of the build-up for the attack.
Jeison M
