Valencia CF haven’t played in a European competition since 2020 when they lost against Atalanta in the round of 16 in the Champions League. Last season they were in 7th place on matchday 31 and on matchday 38 they were 9th, 8 points from 7th placed Real Betis. Can Rafa Mir be the man who brings glory back to Valencia CF?

We will be taking a deep look into what Rafa Mir can add to Valencia CF’s squad. It is important to consider that Rafa Mir’s data is from the 2022/2023 season as there is insufficient data from the past year due to his lack of game time to complete a data analysis.

Name: Rafa Mir

Position: Center Forward

Age: 27

Country: Spain

Height: 191cm

Preferred Foot: Right

Last Club: Sevilla

Rafa Mir began his career in Ranero CF (Murcia, Spain) before signing for FC Barcelona’s academy. Later on, Real Murcia signed Mir for their academy, and finally Valencia CF signed him for their youth before he signed for Wolves for €2 million. At Wolves, he didn’t quite succeed and went on loan to UD Las Palmas, Nottingham Forest, and Huesca where he scored 16 goals in La Liga.

After excelling at Huesca, Sevilla signed Rafa Mir for €16 million. In his first season at Sevilla, he scored 10 goals in La Liga and the next season 6 goals. Last season he didn’t have much game time at Sevilla and only scored 2 goals in Spain’s top flight. Before we begin the data analysis, it is important to take into account that the data of Rafa Mir is from two seasons ago as there is insufficient data from this season to carry out a successful analysis.

In this image, we can see that Rafa Mir averages more than 0.5 xG per match, this highlights his outstanding scoring instinct as he gets into good positions where he can score goals. However, he has underperformed his goals so he can still increase his goal tally. Nonetheless, his numbers are far greater than those of the Valencia strikers.

Here we can observe that Rafa Mir’s ability to win aerial duels is better than Valencia CF’s current players. This aspect is very useful for a side like Valencia CF that often play long balls, so to have a player like him that will win most aerial duels is important for the team to get into more advanced positions.

From the video footage, we can see that thanks to his height and how he uses his body he is a menace in aerial duels. Because of this, defenders sometimes prefer to protect the space rather than fight for the ball, and at times when he sees that no one is close to him, he is able to control and play the ball. Nonetheless, if under pressure, he usually flicks the ball on or tries to find a teammate.

In this image, we can see that dribbling is not one of Rafa Mir’s strengths as he has the least success rate in this aspect, and more agile players like Diego López are better.

Offensive IQ

Rafa Mir has decent technical attributes though they are very far away from the best. He can drop to help his team progress the ball, however, he usually plays a one-two with that player, as he doesn’t have the quality to face the defender and dribble as that is not one of his strengths. He is a player that likes to be in the box waiting for opportunities and also makes runs into space behind the defence, though, he isn’t the quickest of players.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Rafa Mir is a player who can be a great asset to Valencia CF because of his ability to win aerial duels as they don’t have a player of that profile. In addition, he is a player who can score lots of goals and is a menace in the box, as seen in the data, however, that amount of xG is obtained in Seville, and in Valencia CF he probably won’t have as many chances.

We also have to take into account that last season he had very limited game time, meaning that we don’t know what his physical state will be and if he will be able to play at that level once more. Overall, this is an excellent signing for Valencia CF that can offer many ways of playing and can lead them back to Europe.

By: Juan Fernandez Valencia / @ScoutLaLiga

Featured Image: @GabFoligno / Eric Alonso – Getty Images