After a horrendous start to the season, Villarreal were able to finish 8th, only a few points off the UEFA Conference League qualification under new manager Marcelino García. The left back position at Villarreal needs reinforcements after Alberto Moreno’s end of contract and the departure of Johan Mojica. Because of this, they have signed Sergi Cardona on a free transfer. In this article, we will be taking a deep dive into Sergi Cardona and what he can bring to Villarreal’s squad:

Name: Sergi Cardona

Position: Left Back

Age: 25

Country: Spain

Height: 186cm

Preferred Foot: Left

Last Club: UD Las Palmas

Sergi Cardona began his career in the Gimnástic Tarragona academy before signing for CF Pobla de Mafumet. Later on, after two seasons he signed for UD Las Palmas and he has spent the last 3 seasons playing for UD Las Palmas’ first team.

Attacking Threat

Crosses

In this image, we can see that Sergi Cardona has the lowest cross success rate and he has done this with one of the least crosses/90. His numbers are far worse than the Villarreal players currently in the squad. This is an aspect he must improve as Marcelino likes that his full-backs are able to get up the pitch and put dangerous crosses into the box. From the video footage, we can see that Cardona’s crossing ability is quite poor as he rarely finds another player to get on the end of the cross. 

Forward Crossing

This image highlights Cardona’s ability to progress the ball into more advanced positions with many forward passes attempted/90 with a very high precision. This image and the previous one indicate that Cardona plays in a deeper position and doesn’t go as much up the field compared to both Alfonso Pedraza and Johan Mojica who have forward passes as a liability as they play higher up the pitch.

Dribbling

In this image, we can see that dribbling is not one of Sergi Cardona’s strong points as his success rate is low considering he only attempts less than 2 dribbles per 90. Once again, this indicates that Sergi Cardona prefers to act from a deeper position rather than a more advanced one.

Offensive IQ

Cardona has a great understanding of the game offensively and is very well-suited to teams that want to have possession. He is able to act as an inverted left-back because of his technical quality and can perform well in this position as he has the ability to find players in between the lines.

Defensive Prowess

Ground Duels

This image tells us that Cardona’s defending is an asset to his game with the highest percentage of defensive duels won with the most defensive duels/90. He is far better in this aspect than Villarreal’s current players.

Defensive IQ

Cardona’s intelligence of the game while defending is not as good as his offensive understanding as he doesn’t cover the space behind him so well. In addition, his 1v1 defending has to be improved as he is very easily beaten by quicker and more agile wingers. Nonetheless, thanks to his height his ability to win aerial duels is quite good.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Sergi Cardona is a perfect fit for teams that want to play possession-based football as he has very good technical quality and short passing with the ability to find players between the lines. Nonetheless, his crossing and 1vs1 defending are quite poor and must be improved upon if he is to play in Villarreal.

Overall, this signing offers Villarreal another option for the left-back position as Alfonso Pedraza likes to go further up the pitch while Cardona prefers to stay deeper. However, because of his liabilities, he may not be a starter in Villarreal’s squad, but he has attributes that could offer a new playing style for Villarreal and therefore be less predictable.

By: Juan Fernandez Valencia / @ScoutLaLiga

Featured Image: @GabFoligno / Angel Martinez / Getty Images