This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…
Looks like it’s full speed ahead to January.
With Leicester City looking like they might pose a serious threat to make a run at European competition this season, currently sitting in the top four, Brendan Rodgers appears to be after some more continental flair to add to his side.
According to reports from ASRomaLive, Leicester are among a number of clubs that are interested in bringing in Ajax’s 21-year-old right-back Noussair Mazraoui.
The report states that they will face some stiff competition for his signature, as the likes of Tottenham Hostpur, Valencia and AS Roma are also circling him.
Mazraoui played eleven times in the Champions League for Ajax last season, scoring an equaliser away to Bayern Munich and the winner at home to Benfica in the group stages.
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On the chalkboard
As a right-back, his main rival for a starting spot will be the incumbent Ricardo Pereira, and while Mazraoui may have youth on his side, thus giving Rodgers someone that he can work with for the long-term, the statistical analysis shows that it isn’t really much of a contest when it comes to who is the better player.
Their statistics from WhoScored pretty much tell you all you need to know with Pereira dominating in terms of his tackle count at 4.7 per game compared to Mazraoui’s 1.6.
The Portuguese also has 1.8 interceptions per game compared to the Ajax defender’s 0.8 and 1.3 aerials won each outing compared to 0.6.
In fact, the only area that Mazraoui has the advantage over his Portuguese counterpart is his passing ability, completing 82.1% compared to 79.6%.
That’s not to say that Leicester shouldn’t be going after him, but he’s clearly only going to be useful to them as a backup or rotation player, who can help them out when they choose to rest players in cup games.
As a result, they shouldn’t be trying to break the bank to try and land the £13.5m-rated man. If they end up being gazumped by another team in the process it’s not the end of the world because there are clearly better options out there, someone who might give Pereira a little bit more competition.