After Girona’s outstanding season qualifying for the Champions League for the first time in the club’s history, they will be looking to maintain their output from last season. To do this, one signing they have made is Ladislav Krejčí, replacing the departing Eric García who was on loan last season at the club. Will he be able to maintain the standards Girona set last season or will he be part of a disappointing Girona side this year?

We will be taking a deep dive into Ladislav Krejčí and why Girona has decided to spend €8 million on the Czech Republic defender:

Name: Ladislav Krejčí

Position: Center Back/Defensive Midfielder

Age: 25

Preferred foot: Left

Country: Czech Republic

Height: 191cm

Last Club: Sparta Praha

Krejčí started his career at Zbrojovka Brno and was there until 2019 when he was signed by Sparta Prague for a little more than €300,000. He has not moved since and in his 5 seasons there he has scored more than 10 goals in 3 of them and scored 9 in another. Last year he played 39 games and bagged 11 goals, as well as 6 assists from the center-back position.

In this image, we can see that Krejčí must improve his forward passing if he is to replace Eric García as he plays fewer forward passes with less precision than the Catalan defender. In addition, under Míchel this is a crucial aspect that defenders must master due to his possession-based ideas.

This image tells us that Krejčí dominates his defensive duels more than both Eric García and Daily Blind who were starters last season. In addition, he has achieved these numbers in the Czech division which is more physical than La Liga and this shows that he is strong in this aspect and won’t have trouble adapting to the strength of the attackers in La Liga.

Here we can see that Krejčí is by far better at aerial duels than Eric García, probably thanks to his height (191cm). Once again, these numbers are achieved in a league more physical than the Spanish one, so aerially, Krejčí should not have many issues at first in Spain.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Ladislav Krejčí is an excellent signing for Girona as although he may not have Eric García’s ability to play the ball forward, he doesn’t lack this ability. In addition, he will be crucial to Girona’s success, especially in the Champions League where foreign clubs are more physical, and a center-back as big and dominating as Krejčí is something that Girona didn’t have last season which cost them in important games.

Furthermore, both his goal and assist output are very impressive and suggest that he is a menace in front of goal. We assume that the goals he scores are from set pieces with him getting on the end of them, this aspect is also very important to Girona as most of their players are small and so in set pieces, they lack a strong aerial player. Finally, the three center-backs currently in Girona’s squad are older than 33, meaning that a younger defender was needed to rejuvenate the backline and for the long-term.

By: Juan Fernandez Valencia / @ScoutLaLiga

Featured Image: @GabFoligno / Pressinphoto / Icon Sport