The Radar column also breaks down Liam Delap's outstanding finishing for Ipswich and Curtis Jones' surprising running stats at Liverpool; watch Ipswich vs Manchester United live on Sky Sports Premier League from 4pm on Sunday; kick-off 4.30pm
Sunday 24 November 2024 05:57, UK
Welcome to The Radar, a Sky Sports column in which Nick Wright uses a blend of data and opinion to shed light on need-to-know stories from up and down the Premier League. This week:
🔴 Amad: Lower profile but higher value?
🚜 Delap's difference-making finishing
💨 Jones' eye-catching top speed
Ruben Amorim's tactical approach has been pored over ahead of his opening game in charge of Manchester United, but when asked to define his philosophy in his first interview as their head coach, he preferred to highlight the overarching importance of other factors.
"The team is the most important thing for me," he said. "If you work as a team, then the talent individually is going to shine." Amorim also used the word "character" repeatedly. He went on to reference "the way we fight" and even specified the need for "running back".
His comments were a clue as to which players may or may not be most valuable to him, particularly in attack, where the 39-year-old inherits a clutch of wide forwards vying for what might be a solitary spot in the team, assuming Bruno Fernandes occupies the other.
Alejandro Garnacho and Marcus Rashford were of course Erik ten Hag's preferred wide options. They are game-changing talents at their best. But then so is Amad Diallo. Crucially, he is also a team player predisposed to the game's grittier requirements.
The comparison in their off-the-ball work is stark. Amad presses with greater intensity than Garnacho or Rashford. Premier League tracking data shows he covers considerably more ground. He is also a far more prolific tackler, his average of three per 90 minutes putting him second among Premier League forwards this season.
"The second goal had everything in it that for me is Amad Diallo," said interim boss Ruud van Nistelrooy after he starred in the win over PAOK. "He fought to take the ball off the defender, pushed through to get the shot and had the quality to curl it round the goalkeeper."
Amad's double in that game took him to five in all competitions for Manchester United. Although his playing opportunities have been relatively limited across the last two seasons, the rate at which he has produced goals or assists puts him second only to Fernandes.
His quality as a provider as well as a scorer - Amad creates chances at twice the rate of Garnacho or Rashford - should add to his appeal to Amorim, whose inside forwards at Sporting, Trincao and Pedro Goncalves, were his main sources of creativity.
That pair blossomed under Amorim, a coach with a reputation for moulding stars, and Amad is a similarly malleable young talent. His attitude and work ethic - "He is constantly focused on learning and getting better," added van Nistelrooy after the PAOK game - might even make him an option at wing-back.
Wherever he plays, Amad is unlikely to have any trouble fulfilling the expectations already set out by his new manager. If it is to be team before individuals, he looks well-placed to thrive.
Manchester United will need to be wary of a former Manchester City player at Portman Road on Super Sunday. Liam Delap heads into the game having scored his sixth Premier League goal of the season in Ipswich's 2-1 win over Tottenham before the international break.
His latest was about as straightforward as they come, with Delap only required to slam a deflected cross into an empty net from point-blank range at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. For the most part, though, his goalscoring form is down to fine finishing.
Like his former team-mate Erling Haaland, a striker he has studied in detail, Delap is showing an invaluable knack for turning low-quality chances into goals through the quality of his shots.
This can be seen from the extent to which he is overperforming his expected goals. Delap has scored six times from an xG of only 2.4. But a metric called expected goals on target, or xGOT, is even more instructive when it comes to evaluating a player's finishing.
Put simply, xG measures the quality of a chance pre-shot, while xGOT measures it post-shot, factoring where the shot was directed as well as where it came from. Shots sent towards the corners of the net are given a higher probability of beating the goalkeeper.
The quality of Delap's execution shines through in the data around xGOT. According to Opta, he has the second-highest positive differential between xG and xGOT in the Premier League this season, highlighting his ability to maximise low-value chances.
There are striking examples among his goals.
In Ipswich's 4-3 loss to Brentford last month, his deft, near-post flick from a Leif Davis cross for Ipswich's third goal turned a chance worth 0.14 xG into a shot worth 0.60 xGOT.
In the 2-2 draw with Aston Villa in September, he scored his second with a brilliant, angled finish across Emiliano Martinez which turned a 0.29 xG chance into a shot worth 0.73 xGOT.
The numbers reflect his value to Ipswich, as a striker capable of conjuring something out of nothing. For Sunday's opponents Manchester United, they should serve as a warning.
Liverpool's Curtis Jones faces Southampton on Super Sunday on the back of a productive international break during which he carried his club form onto the international stage, scoring on his England bow in the win over Greece then keeping his place against Ireland.
His ingenious flicked finish against Greece was the standout moment but Jones demonstrated his full repertoire across the two games, his technical class shining through as he completed 96 per cent of his passes while also working diligently off the ball.
Those qualities have long been apparent at Liverpool but Arne Slot feels he has taken a "step up" this season and his comment came to mind when seeing Premier League tracking data showing Jones has clocked the second-highest top speed among Liverpool players.
His pace has never been considered a strength, even if he has always stood out for his speed of thought, but the numbers do not lie. Jones' top speed of 34.77km/h puts him behind only Luis Diaz among Liverpool players and just ahead of Mohamed Salah. He is 30th among 459 Premier League players overall.
Manchester City face Tottenham on Saturday Night Football, live on Sky Sports Premier League from 5pm ahead of the 5.30pm kick-of time.
Super Sunday sees Southampton host Liverpool, live on Sky Sports Premier League from 1pm and kicking off at 2pm. That's followed by Ruben Amorim's first game as Manchester United boss as they face Ipswich Town at 4.30pm.
Don't miss Monday Night Football as Newcastle host West Ham, with coverage starting on Sky Sports Premier League at 6pm ahead of the 8pm kick-off.
The outstanding form of Chelsea's Moises Caicedo was the focus of the last column, before the international break, which also looked at Gabriel Martinelli's inconsistency for Arsenal.
