Nobel Mendy: Analyzing Rayo Vallecano’s New Signing
Nobel Mendy has made his debut season for Real Betis this season, featuring in the semi-finals of the UEFA Conference League. This summer, Rayo Vallecano have decided to sign the young center back on loan. In this article, we will be analysing Mendy’s performances so far this season and how he could perform at Rayo Vallecano.
Name: Nobel Mendy
Position: Center Back/Left Back
Country: Senegal
Age: 20
Height: 187cm
Preferred Foot: Left
Context: Mendy passed through the academies of Mantois 78 and Paris FC before Real Betis spent €900k after a successful loan spell in their B team.
In this chart, we can observe that Mendy is an excellent progressor of the ball, ranking high in progressive passes per 90 with a very good precision considering his volume. In addition, he ranks highly for long passes per 90, though his precision is quite low.
However, we can see his defects when it comes to defending, as he is a very aggressive defender, participating in many defensive duels, and his success rate is very low. Furthermore, he participates in few aerial duels and his success rate is average, when it should be better than average considering his low volume and that he is a central defender.
This image shows us that Mendy has the heatmap expected from a center back with few movements out wide and tends to be central. Nonetheless, perhaps he plays further up the pitch than other center backs, but that is probably due to his team’s style of play, which pins the opposition further back, allowing him freedom to move forward.
Video
The video footage is of him playing in the first division, as he played in the last few games, but the data is from his matches in the 3rd division. When I saw him play, it is easy to see that he likes to attempt many long balls to the wingers, either down the same line or a diagonal, however, his timing of these is usually quite poor. Nonetheless, his ability to play these balls is very good, like in this image, however, he needs to know when and when not to attempt these passes.
Furthermore, with his short passing, he tends to play passes to the closest midfielder or to the full-back. However, if pressed, he also has the ability to break lines and find players in the middle in favourable positions to progress the ball.
When it comes to defending, it is clear that he is quite good at defending forward. In other words, if his team is pressing, he is good at maintaining the high line and recovering the ball if the ball is played long to the striker, as he is aggressive in these moments.
However, he can get outmuscled at times against stronger center forwards, like here.
Overall, Mendy is an excellent player for a team that likes to have the ball and press the opposition, which is where his strengths can be maximised and his weaknesses minimized. This is because his ball-playing ability will be put to good use, and his great capacity at defending forward will be essential in this style of play.
Rayo Vallecano
When looking at Rayo Vallecano’s center backs with over 800 minutes played this season:
In this chart, we can observe that Lejeune was a great progressor of the ball, ranking highly for progressive passes and passes into the final third in comparison to Aridane and Mumin. Furthermore, all three rank highly for ball recoveries, while we can see that Aridane and Mumin engage in more tackles than Lejeune, indicating they are aggressive defenders.
This can also be seen with Aridane in his aerial wins and clearances, which shows he is a player who is strong in duels; meanwhile, Lejeune is a more conservative center back.
Next year, Aridane is leaving the club, and Mumin will be returning from a long injury with doubts about whether he will be able to return to his previous form. Meanwhile, Lejeune is remaining at the club; however, Rayo Vallecano has also signed 28-year-old Luiz Felipe, who will be his competition this season. Furthermore, Pelayo seems like he will be moving out on loan.
Rayo Vallecano is an aggressive team that likes to maintain possession of the ball, both characteristics that suit Nobel Mendy, indicating he will suit the demands of his role perfectly. Furthermore, Lejeune will probably remain in the starting 11, and he has functioned at his best when side by side with a more aggressive center back, such as Aridane or Mumin, so Mendy could also be a great complement for Lejeune, given the amount of duels he engages in.
By: Juan Fernandez Valencia / @ScoutLaLiga
Featured Image: @GabFoligno / Denis Doyle / Getty Images