Who Should Betis Sign to Replace Youssouf Sabaly?

The first choice right back at Real Betis, Youssouf Sabaly, has been sold to Al-Duhail SC in Qatar for €2 million, and with Héctor Bellerín having limited game time and reaching 30 years old this year, Betis are in need of a new starting right back. In this article, we will be looking at potential replacements for Youssouf Sabaly at Real Betis.

With the use of Scouting Stats AI and the McLachApp, both websites formed by football data enthusiasts on Twitter by the names of @ChicagoDmitry and @DEvansData on X, I have been able to find 3 potential replacements for Youssouf Sabaly at Real Betis.

With Betis’ other right back reaching the 30-year-old mark, we will be looking at younger full-backs who can develop and be important in the years to come, or market opportunities.

Name: Oliver Braude

Position: Right Back/ Center Midfielder

Country: Norway

Age: 21

Height: 174cm

Preferred Foot: Right

Current Club: SC Heerenveen

Context: Heerenveen signed Braude at a young age from Vålerenga in Norway, and has been playing in the first team for the past two years.

Radar charts of Youssouf Sabaly and Oliver Braude. (FBref, 2025).

We can observe in this chart that both players are very good at recovering the ball, though Sabaly is better at defending 1vs1 situations. Furthermore, Braude is a very aggressive defender with many tackles won, while Sabaly is more conservative; however, with experience, young players tend to become more conservative as they read the game better.

Moreover, when looking at their ability on the ball, we can see that Braude is exceptional when it comes to progressing the ball, ranking very highly for progressive passes and carries, as well as passes into the final third. Also, his technique is great as he has a good success rate for long passes, considering his volume of these types of passes. 

For a team like Betis, this could be a great asset as they are a team that likes to have possession to generate opportunities, averaging 52.6% possession in the league, the 7th most, according to FotMob. Just like Sabaly, he does not tend to appear in the final third to put crosses into the box or generate goal-scoring opportunities, though he does rank relatively highly for shot-creating actions.

Heatmaps of Youssouf Sabaly and Oliver Braude. (Sofascore, 2025).

These images show each player’s positioning this season. It is clear that both players like to hug the touchline and appear in the opposition half frequently, as expected. Nonetheless, we can see that Braude inverts into midfield both in his own half and in the opposition half, where he can display his phenomenal ball progression ability.

Overall, I believe that Braude would be an excellent signing as he is only 21 years old and proves that he is a modern full-back able to progress the ball very well and invert into midfield. Both actions fit Real Betis’ style as they like to maintain the ball, though he differs from Sabaly. Either way, at 21 years old and a market value of just €4 million, I think that he will be on the radar of many clubs soon.

Name: Omar El Hilali

Position: Right Back/ Center Back/ Left Back

Country: Spain

Age: 21

Height: 183cm

Preferred Foot: Right

Current Club: RCD Espanyol

Context: El Hilali was brought up through the ranks of Espanyol and has been playing in the first team since January of 2023.

This chart shows us that both players are very good when it comes to 1vs1 defending, though Sabaly recovers the ball far more than El Hilali does. Furthermore, El Hilali is a very aggressive defender, participating in many tackles; however, as mentioned with Braude, with time, he will be more conservative. Nonetheless, he is also very good at intercepting the ball.

When it comes to his ability on the ball, we can observe that he does not progress the ball frequently for Espanyol; however, he is very good at playing long balls with a high volume and success rate. Nonetheless, this is due to Espanyol’s style of play, as according to Fotmob, they have had the lowest average possession in the league with less than 40%.

Looking at his ability to play long passes, I am sure that he will also be able to play passes into the final third effectively. Finally, just like Sabaly, he does not participate in offensive movements with very low numbers for crosses or npxG + xAG.

Radar charts of Youssouf Sabaly and Omar El Hilali. (FBref, 2025).

This chart shows us that both players are very good when it comes to 1vs1 defending, though Sabaly recovers the ball far more than El Hilali does. Furthermore, El Hilali is a very aggressive defender, participating in many tackles; however, as mentioned with Braude, with time, he will be more conservative. Nonetheless, he is also very good at intercepting the ball.

When it comes to his ability on the ball, we can observe that he does not progress the ball frequently for Espanyol; however, he is very good at playing long balls with a high volume and success rate. Nonetheless, this is due to Espanyol’s style of play, as according to Fotmob, they have had the lowest average possession in the league with less than 40%. Looking at his ability to play long passes, I am sure that he will also be able to play passes into the final third effectively. Finally, just like Sabaly, he does not participate in offensive movements with very low numbers for crosses or npxG + xAG.

Heatmaps of Youssouf Sabaly and Omar El Hilali. (Sofascore, 2025).

In these heatmaps, we can see that El Hilali likes to hug the touchline and lacks participation in the final third. Furthermore, we can also observe a lot of red areas in the box and in the middle of the pitch, though this is probably due to Espanyol playing in a back 5 for some parts of the season, and him playing as the right center back.

Overall, El Hilali would be a player that is much more similar to Sabaly, who is also great at 1vs1 defending, and if the context is right, we might be able to see his ability to progress the ball. He is only 21 years old and despite having a market value of €15 million, his contract ends in 2027, and at such an age, he still has a lot to improve on.

Name: Nordi Mukiele

Position: Right Back/ Center Back

Country: France

Age: 27

Height: 187cm

Preferred Foot: Right

Current Club: PSG

Context: Mukiele began his career at Stade Laval, passing through the academy of Paris FC, playing in the first team for a year and a half, before signing for Montpellier for €1.5 million. There, he stayed for another year and a half before joining RB Leipzig for €16 million, where he played for 4 years. After that, PSG invested €12 million for his services in the summer of 2022, and this year he was on loan at Bayer Leverkusen.

We can observe here that both players are very good at recovering the ball and defending 1vs1 situations; however, Mukiele also excels in pressing, having high values for interceptions and tackles in the attacking third. Furthermore, we can also see that he is a more aggressive defender than Sabaly, and at 27, he will probably remain with this habit in the years to come. However, it is this nature that allows him to be so effective when it comes to pressing.

When looking at his possession stats, we can see that he is excellent at carrying the ball, as well as dribbling. Also, he ranks highly for passes into the final third and success rate in long passes, which shows that he is able to progress the ball in several ways.

Finally, when looking at his offensive data, we can see that he does not participate very often in the final third with a low number of crosses and shot-creating actions. However, he does rack up high numbers for npxG+ xAG, though this is probably due to his involvement in the box in corners and indirect free kicks.

Heatmaps of Youssouf Sabaly and Nordi Mukiele. (Sofascore, 2025).

These images show each player’s positioning this season, and it is clear that Mukiele does not get involved in the final third as mentioned previously, nor does he participate in his own third, probably due to Bayer Leverkusen’s pressing tactics. Also, we can see a lot of red areas in the middle, which is probably due to his involvement as a right center back in a back 5.

Overall, Mukiele would be an excellent signing as he has proven himself at the top level and would improve Betis’ ability in possession and physicality. With his contract ending in 2027 and a market value of just €10 million, I think that a loan with an option to buy is more than realistic and financially accessible.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I think that Mukiele would be perfect for immediate results; however, if Betis wants a younger player, Braude is great at progressing the ball, while El Hilali is proven in La Liga and is very similar to Sabaly, which would allow him to fit into his role seamlessly.

By: Juan Fernandez Valencia / @ScoutLaLiga1