Ayoze Pérez: Villarreal’s New Attacking Weapon
Villarreal had a disastrous start to the season, passing through Quique Setíen and Pacheta as managers who weren’t able to get a hold of the team. That was until Marcelino arrived, with whom they achieved an outstanding run of results which saw them end 8th, just a few points behind 7th-placed Real Betis. Along with the many signings that Villarreal have made this summer, one that comes overlooked is Ayoze Pérez, who was called up by the Spanish National Team for the Euros.
Name: Ayoze Pérez
Position: Left Winger/Attacking Midfielder/Center Forward
Country: Spain
Age: 31
Height: 178cm
Preferred Foot: Right
Last Club: Betis
Ayoze Pérez began his career in Tenerife and spent 2 seasons in the first team until he was signed for €2 million by Newcastle. There he spent 5 years and was then signed by Leicester City for more than €30 million, after 3 years and a half he went on loan to Betis. After that, he joined Betis on a free transfer which is where he has stayed for the past year.
Goals + Assists
How many goals and assists a player has shows how decisive he is and this for wingers is key as they are offensive players counted upon to have high figures in these aspects.
Here we can observe that Ayoze Pérez has the most xG and goals scored which highlights his ability to get into goal-scoring positions. In addition, he averages close to 1 expected goal per 90 minutes which is outstanding considering he is a winger and shows that he can act as a major goal-threat which can be very useful as Villarreal have sold Alexander Sørloth who scored more than 20 goals last season.
In this image, we can see that Ayoze Pérez has the most expected assists among Villarreal’s players with more than 0.2 xA per 90. Nonetheless, looking at his xG and xA values we can identify that he has a better instinct for scoring goals rather than for creating opportunities. This tells us that he is a player that can play in a more central area perhaps as a center forward at a high level.
Crossing
Crosses are a fundamental part of how a winger plays and can also tell us the profile of the winger. If he attempts many crosses that means he likes to stay on the wing, and vice versa, if he doesn’t attempt many crosses that means he likes to play more central and in between the lines.
This image tells us that Ayoze Pérez is far from a traditional winger with just above 1 cross per 90 and a very low precision. This tells us that this is not one of his strengths and he tends to avoid them, instead he likes to cut inside and find play more centrally seeing his xG tally as well. This can be an asset to Marcelino as he can be used in a similar way to Álex Baena who is used on the left but then in possession joins the midfield to form superiorities.
Dribbling
Dribbling is usually one of the standout traits of wingers as the ability to dribble past opponents in 1v1 situations can be very helpful for the team, and they are usually in situations to make this happen.
From this image, we can deduce that Ayoze Pérez is confident in his dribbling ability and has a great capacity to do so with almost 6 dribbles per 90 and more than a 60% success rate. This is a very valuable aspect for a forward and can be a major asset as they previously didn’t have a player as effective as him at dribbling. Furthermore, this can be used to a great extent as Marcelino likes to attack on the counter so he will be exposed to these types of situations.
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.
With this image, we can see that Ayoze has an eye for the pass though he is not as effective as Gonçalo Guedes in this aspect. Nonetheless, it is not something he lacks and it talks well about his ability to make dangerous passes which can be very useful for Marcelino.
Overall
This chart compares Ayoze Pérez with the rest of the La Liga players in his position using percentiles in different aspects of the game. The percentiles work in the way that whatever the number, he is better than that percentage of players. If it is 70, he is better than 70%.
In this chart, we can observe that he is in a high percentile for expected goals and goals scored which tells us that he is a goal threat and is able to convert the xG into goals. Nonetheless, his ability to create chances is quite poor, being below average in all aspects related to it. This tells us that he is not a playmaker but rather a player that finds the space to score goals.
In addition, he is not a player that is heavily involved in possession, being in low percentiles in the possession-based aspects. This is not necessarily a deficit in his game but it is not one of his strengths and suggests that he prefers for the ball to come to him rather than the other way around.
Finally, the defensive aspects tell us that he is a committed player in defending which is something crucial for Villareal’s manager as he will happily defend for large periods of matches.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Ayoze Pérez is an excellent signing for Villarreal as he offers depth in a position that was vacant and can add a goal threat to the team after the departure of Alexander Sørloth to Atlético Madrid. Overall, he is a player capable of finding the spaces to score goals, and is determined in defending which is something essential for the manager.
Furthermore, seeing his characteristics it would not surprise to see Ayoze in a more central position as a center forward as he is not a playmaker nor is he a traditional winger and can excel with his xG tally in a position that is closer to the box. Moreover, he has experience in La Liga with Betis showing his best version in this competition last year which led to him being called up for the Euros. All this, for just a €4 million fee.
By: Juan Fernandez Valencia / @ScoutLaLiga
Featured Image: @GabFoligno / Quality Sport Images / Getty Images