Iago Aspas: Shots and Creativity
After a few weeks of speculation, Liverpool have officially announced that a deal to sign Celta Vigo's Iago Aspas has been agreed in principle.
I've taken a brief look at his shooting stats and creativity figures, and appears that (if the transfer fee of around £7.7m is correct) the Reds may have bagged themselves a bit of a bargain.
Using information from Squawka and EPLIndex, I have been able to compare his stats with those of the top players in the Premier League this season, and he measures up pretty well. First, a look at shooting accuracy for players who attempted at least 75 shots in 2012/13:
The 25 year old Spaniard would've ranked second in the Premier League for shooting accuracy this season, which is very encouraging ahead of the next campaign.
His conversion rate of 14% is below average (16.5%) for the above group, but as he was playing for a relegation threatened side, I suspect he perhaps did not get as many top quality opportunities to work with as some of the above players, who mostly ply their trade for the top English sides.
Of course, as I wrote this week with regards to Jonjo Shelvey, where within the goal frame the shots are placed is very important too, and whilst not as bad as Liverpool's aforementioned former Charlton man, Aspas did find the centre of the goal perhaps a little too often:
He does at least have quite a few near misses and shots in the corner to partially balance his low-centre efforts, but this is perhaps an area for improvement.
With regards to creativity, he also fared well; whilst not at the very top of the list, he did average over two chances per ninety minutes played, and for a struggling team too. The following table shows players who created a minimum of sixty goalscoring opportunities this season:
To be only just behind the Premier League's player of the season, and ahead of the likes of Hazard, Lennon, and van Persie is certainly not bad going.
Obviously the big question is whether or not Aspas can transfer his impressive form from his homeland to the fields of Anfield Road. But playing with better footballers than those he is accustomed to can only give him a decent chance of performing at a high level.
Welcome to Liverpool, Iago.
Related posts you might like:
Coutinho: The Lowdown – A look at the new boy’s stats.
Daniel Sturridge: In Numbers – The lowdown on Liverpool’s new signing in January 2013.
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