Finding the Best U-23 Fullbacks in Spain’s Second Division
With the winter transfer window open and the summer transfer window incoming, clubs are beginning to scout the best young players who are showing signs of potential. This is a data analysis to find the best U23 full-backs in the Spanish second division that will be fought over in the summer.
The data metrics we will be looking at are:
- Progressive Passing
- Crosses
- Assists
- Defensive Duels
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Furthermore, all the full backs in the charts have more than 400 minutes under their belt this season.
We will begin by forming scatter plots of the data metrics mentioned beforehand, to find the level of the full-backs aged 23 and under, compared to the rest of the full-backs in the league. In this manner, we can identify how they are performing and decide which full-backs clubs should be keeping an eye on. Later, we will find the best fullbacks depending on how they perform in the scatter plots and we will look at each one individually.
Progressive Passing
This passing metric gives us more depth into the danger of each player’s passing rather than just passing the ball forward 5m. This is because this metric only includes more specific passes such as a pass 10m closer to the opposition goal if the pass comes from the opposition side of the pitch.
Crossing
For full backs, being able to go up the field and join the attack is an important aspect of their game, and their ability to put in dangerous crosses is an aspect that is not overlooked by coaches.
Assists
For full-backs, how many assists and their xA can provide us with an intuition of if they are more offensive profiles and how effective they are for their club.
The names of Marcos Navarro, Rubén Sánchez, Rafa Obrador, and Marc Pubill don’t appear because they overlap with Brais Martínez and Mario García.
Defensive Duels
Dominating defensive duels is key for any defender as their principal role is to defend their goal and not concede.
Final Results
In our final results, we can observe that the best full-backs U23 so far in the second Spanish division have been Javi Rueda of Albacete, Rubén Sánchez of Granada, Miguel Ángel Brau of Granada, Marcos Luna of Zaragoza, and Andrés García of Levante.
Javi Rueda
Position: Right Back/Left Back
Country: Spain
Age: 22
Height: 177cm
Preferred Foot: Right
Current Club: Albacete
Context: Javi Rueda began his youth development at Málaga before joining Real Madrid in 2018. In the capital, he went on a series of loans to Sanse and Real Murcia before joining Celta where he played last season in their B team and this season he has been on loan at Albacete.
In the charts, we can see that the best facets of his game are offensively given that his xA is above average, and his precision for crossing is quite high. This tells us that he is a player who is able to generate opportunities for his teammates and has the capability to move further up the pitch.
Meanwhile, his numbers in defensive duels are quite poor and something he must improve if he wants to reach the first division. Furthermore, although his precision for progressive passing is high, his volume of passes is quite low, therefore, elevating his precision given the smaller sample size.
Overall, he is a player who offensively has much to offer, nonetheless, in defense and playing out from the back he faces more issues. If he is able to refine his defensive capabilities, he will surely end up making the move to Celta’s first team or another club in the first division.
Rubén Sánchez
Position: Right Back/Right Winger
Country: Spain
Age: 23
Height: 185cm
Preferred Foot: Right
Current Club: Granada
Context: Rubén Sánchez got signed when he was young by Espanyol from Badalona, since 2022 he has been considered a first-team player. Nonetheless, last season he was on a 6-month loan at Mirandés, and this season, he has been loaned out to Granada.
From the scatter plots, we can observe that Rubén Sánchez is quite a complete full-back without specializing in any part of his game. This is due to the fact that he is successful in his defensive duels, in addition, his crossing is effective just as his progressive passing.
Nonetheless, his xA is very poor and tells us that he is unable to provide goal-scoring opportunities which is something he has to improve especially considering his second position as a winger.
Overall, I doubt he will reach the first division unless Espanyol brings him up as I do not believe he has the level nor can he improve so much that he can be eligible for a first-division side. However, I do see him fighting in the second division for the playoffs to get promoted.
Miguel Ángel Brau
Position: Left Back
Country: Spain
Age: 23
Height: 183cm
Preferred Foot: Left
Current Club: Granada
Context: Brau began his career at Granada going through just one loan in 2022 to Talavera and has started to be part of the first team this season.
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We can observe that Brau is an offensive player with an xA that is above average despite not having any assists thus far, in addition, he is able to give a high volume of crosses with good precision. Furthermore, in his defensive duels, his success rate is quite high, though this number is inflated due to his low number of duels. Finally, in his progressive passing, we can see that he attempts many of these and perhaps does not have the highest precision, nevertheless, his volume is very high in this aspect.
Overall, Miguel Ángel Brau is a player who adds value in attack and will surely start adding assists to his tally, in addition, his crossing makes him a valuable asset on the wing. Nonetheless, given his low amount of duels, his success rate should be higher and if he can improve his precision in his progressive passing he can make a reliable full-back in the first division, and with some more experience he may make the move to Spain’s top flight.
Marcos Luna
Position: Right Back/Right Winger
Country: Spain
Age: 21
Height: 180cm
Preferred Foot: Right
Current Club: Real Zaragoza
Context: Marcos Luna was brought up through the ranks of Real Zaragoza and began to be a first-team player last season, however, in January he was sent on a 6-month loan to Real Irún. This season, he has been playing with regularity in the second division being his first full season in professional football.
The charts tell us that the Spaniard is a very complete full-back who has been standing out in all of these metrics despite his young age and his lack of experience. Offensively, he stands out far above the rest of the full-backs in his xA with more than 0.2, though he has been unlucky that his assists don’t tally his deserved numbers in this remark. Nonetheless, we can also see that he is a formidable crosser able to play many crosses with high precision.
Moreover, defensively, we can see that he is successful in his duels with a high success rate and a high volume of these also. Finally, his progressive passing is quite impressive with a high precision and high volume showing his ability on the ball.
Overall, Marcos Luna is a player who should be on the checklist of many first-division clubs due to his age given he can still improve a substantial amount and in his first division in professional football, he is standing out among all the full-backs in the league.
Andrés García
Position: Right Back
Country: Spain
Age: 21
Height: 185cm
Preferred Foot: Right
Current Club: Aston Villa
Context: In 2020, Andrés García was scouted and signed by Levante from San José and has been playing for the first team of Levante since last season, until one week ago when he was signed by Unai Emery’s Aston Villa for €7 million.
Andrés García is like Marcos Luna, quite a complete full-back who doesn’t lack in any of the metrics analysed. He stands out in his xA where he has quite a high value, in addition to his crossing as we can see he is a player who constantly bombs the box with balls being the second player with the most crosses in the league and with quite a high precision given the volume.
Furthermore, defensively he is capable of being effective, however, this is the aspect where he can improve the most as his precision could be higher. Also, his progressive passing shows a high volume and although his precision could be somewhat higher, his values are still quite good.
Overall, Andrés García is a player who was waiting for the move to happen having been succeeding in Levante for the past year and Aston Villa is obtaining a player who, waiting to see how he adapts to the Premier League, will surely be a valuable addition not just to the present but also to the future.
By: Juan Fernandez Valencia / @ScoutLaLiga1
Featured Image: @GabFoligno / NurPhoto