It has been a stellar year for Athletic Club. They have won their first Copa del Rey in four decades, they have seen three of their players — Unai Simón, Dani Vivian and Nico Williams — win the Euros with Spain, whilst they have also renewed Álex Berenguer’s contract until 2027 and added Andoni Gorosabel on a free transfer from Alavés. However, their marquee signing is none other than Álvaro Djaló, who joins from Braga for €15 million.

After a breakout campaign in Portugal’s top-flight, Djaló has returned to his native Spain following a seven-year stint at Braga and will be looking to make a name for himself in La Liga, Copa del Rey as well as the UEFA Europa League next season with the Basque giants. Today, we’re taking a look at the data behind Djaló’s meteoric rise:

Name: Álvaro Djaló

Position: Left/Right Winger

Age: 24

Foot: Right

Country: Spain

Height: 175cm

Last Club: Sporting Braga

Djaló was formed in the academy of Sporting Braga and was moved up to the first team after scoring 8 and 9 goals respectively in his two seasons in the B team. Last season, he scored 5 and assisted 5 while playing 40 matches, including 5 in the Europa League. However, in 2023/24, he has scored 11 more than last season and gave the same number of assists in 47 matches including the Champions League.

Goals + Assists

Here we can observe that Djaló has gotten a big sum of goals and assists (21) showing that he has been decisive at his club. It is also true that Djaló has more assists than xA which gives merit to his teammates and has slightly more xG than goals, showing that he has a scoring instinct and could reach the tally of 20 in future seasons.

In addition, Djaló has a similar number to Nico Williams who has racked up 24 with 16 assists showing that they have distinct profiles as Djaló scores more goals rather than making assists.

Crosses

This image shows us that Djaló is a winger that likes to be in central positions seeing as his number of crosses is low and with low precision compared to those of Athletic Club’s wingers. This shows once again that his profile is different to the one already available in his new club’s squad.

Dribbles

This image shows once again that Djaló prefers to be in central positions seen as his low number of dribbles attempted and completed. This also shows that Djaló’s ability to dribble is poor as he has a low success rate, especially compared to Athletic Club’s wingers.

Key Plays

Here we can see that the amount of key plays/90 is similar between Djaló and Nico Williams, showing that both players have been decisive at their respective clubs.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Djaló is an interesting signing for Athletic Club as it would be another profile of winger they don’t currently have, as he is a more central winger with goalscoring ability. In addition, he does show an improvement over Álex Berenguer as seen in the data. However, he doesn’t quite reach Nico Williams’ standards quite simply because Williams is at an extraordinary level proven by his transfer value upwards of €80 million. Nonetheless, for Athletic Club’s budget and transfer policy, he could be a decent replacement in the case that Williams leaves the club as he also has experience in UEFA competitions in which Athletic Club will be playing next season.

By: Juan Fernandez Valencia / @ScoutLaLiga

Featured Image: @GabFoligno / Quality Sport Images / Getty Images