Following Matteo Darmian’s transfer from Torino to Manchester United, we take a look at his performance statistics from last season, and see how he compares to some of the Premier League’s best right-backs. The Italian international was a key player for il Toro last season, as he helped them achieve 9th place in Serie A. Like many people, Darmian became known to most English football fans when he played against England in the 2014 World Cup. He continued to give the Three Lions problems as he made some powerful runs and dribbles down our left-hand side.
We’ve decided to compare him to Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic, Liverpool’s Nathaniel Clyne, Man City’s Pablo Zabaleta and Arsenal’s Hector Bellerin. We’ll also see a small comparison with teammate Antonio Valencia, later on in this feature.
Age
#1 – Bellerin (20) #2 – Clyne (24) #3 – Darmian (25) #4 – Zabaleta (30) #5 – Ivanovic (31)
Darmian may not be considered as a young talent anymore, but at the age of 25, he still has a lot of years left in his career. This also goes for Clyne, who is just 8 months younger than the Italian. It will be interesting to see how long Ivanovic and Zabaleta can maintain their performance levels from previous years, as they’re now both in their early 30’s. Bellerin, who’s only 20, will be looking to cement his place in the starting eleven, after impressing in his debut season for Arsenal, who got his chance following Mathieu Debuchy’s injury.
Versatility
Darmian arguably has greater versatility out of all the right-backs. He’s able to play anywhere along the defensive line, as he started his career at centre-back, and played as a wing-back for the vast majority of last season, either on the right or the left. Being able to play on both flanks could suggest that he’s comfortable using both feet, something that other United right-back, Antonio Valencia, is not.
As Darmian played as a wing-back for Torino, in a 3-5-2 formation, he would have been an ideal player for Louis van Gaal when he experimented with the formation last year. However, it looks like the Dutchman has decided upon a 4-3-3 formation, and it’s more than likely that he’ll use Darmian as a right-back this season.
We may see Clyne being operated in a more advanced role at times this season, that’s if Brendan Rodgers continues to use his 3-4-3 formation. If this is the case, we would see the Englishman being played in a right-wing position. Ivanovic is also just as strong playing at centre-back, as he is at right-back.
Defensive Contribution (Average per game)
Darmian and Clyne are the two players who didn’t specialise in any of the above attributes. Surprisingly, Bellerin led the interception and block stats, someone who is probably more known for attacking threat than his defensive qualities. Zabaleta, who has been one of the Premier League’s best defenders in recent years, won the most aerial duals and tackles. Ivanovic made the most clearances.
One of Darmian’s best attributes is his aerial ability, as he won 57.14% of his aerial duels. His 6ft stature is sure to aid him, and will also help United with defending set-pieces with the added height. He was ranked 5th for the lowest amount of clearances, 2.39, but this could be affected, if he tries to play out from the back, rather than hitting a long ball up the pitch. We’ll have to wait and see if this potential theory is true, later on this season.
Attacking Contribution (Average per game)
This is where Darmian comes out on top, leading three attacking attributes; key passes (1.15), chances created (1.18) and length of passing (19.21m). He was also a close second, just behind Bellerin, when it came to successful take ons. Argentine Zabaleta was the most comfortable on the ball, with an 85% pass completion rate.
These stats can potentially provide United with an extra attacking threat, coming from right-back, something that I think we missed out on at times, last season. I believe Darmian will get forward as much as possible, at the right moments when United are in possession.
Valencia might have been a solid right-back, using his physique and athleticism when it came to physical challenges, but as the Ecuadorian is originally a winger, you would expect more from him going forward.
Darmian beats Valenica over the same three attributes that bettered the other Premier League right-backs. Valencia’s blistering pace would give him the advantage when it came to take ons, but I think this statistic should be higher. I’m particularly harsh on Valencia, mainly because I hold him up against his performances from the 2011-12 season, where he won the Players’ player of the year and the Sir Matt Busby award.
Overall Comparison
Despite van Gaal saying that Darmian will be back-up to Antonio Valencia, I personally think that he’s just keeping the Italian on his toes, suggesting that he isn’t going to walk into straight into the team. But I believe Darmian will get the opportunity to become the first-choice right-back, and if he reaches the levels of performance as he has done recently in Italy, he could become a vital player for United’s challenge for the title.
Some of his defensive stats might not reach the same standard of the experienced Zabaleta and Ivanovic, but his attacking contributions could suggest that the £12.7 million signing could be considered as quite a coup at that price, when taking the current transfer market into account. There’s been a lot of debates between United and Liverpool fans, over their new right-back signings, who both commanded similar transfer fees. Going off of the stats from last season, it would suggest that Clyne is better defensively and Darmian is better offensively, but it’ll be interesting to see how both handle their debut seasons, and who will have the better season. Clyne will be looking to help Liverpool achieve their high hopes, whereas Darmian will be adapting to life in England.
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