Atlético is looking for a right back. It is an open secret, a position that was completely lame with the departure of Trippier in the winter market and for which, for the moment, no replacement has been found. The Englishman headed to Newcastle in January and the incorporation of Wass as a substitute was a patch that has been valid for 45 minutes for Simeonein his debut at the Camp Nou before being injured in the knee.
Once recovered, Cholo did not have the Dane again, following the last eleven games of the championship from the bench. Nor was Vrsaljko a substitute for guarantees, and the Croatian had to stop again due to physical problems. This month the contract ends and although its renewal is being negotiated, it has not yet been signed. Thus, Llorente was on multiple occasions the emergency wild card for that right back, losing a lot of radius of action and arrival, something that has contributed to the enormous drop in his statistics, from a direct participation in 25 goals during the 2020-21 season to no goals and three assists in this one.
Now, Andrea Berta is struggling to find an ideal replacement on that side. Different profiles and markets are studied, attentive to all leagues. In Spain players like Maffeo, in Portugal others like Pedro Porro, Nahuel Molina in Italy… and Jonathan Clauss in France. The latter is focused on the national team alongside Griezmann after his breakout year at Lens. And the data from Olocip, a pioneering international company in the development and implementation of Artificial Intelligence (AI), reinforces his candidacy. According to statistics, Clauss has finished the course as the best right back in Ligue 1 by far, adding a value of 10.98 that far exceeds the 8.19 of Hamari Traoré and the 6.87 of Achraf, a great star of the league in the position.
At 29 years old, Clauss has taken a leap in his performance and has carried out the best course of his career. He ends the season with 35 games played in the league, getting five goals and eleven assists. He has been the most valuable player at Lens, where has contributed to generating or avoiding more than eleven goals than expected. This year he has added a value per game of 0.32. In other words, with his offensive, defensive and game building actions he has contributed to Lens generates a difference (score or avoid) of one goal every 281 minutes.
Clauss has also established himself as an insurance from set pieces, where he has been the second best player in the competition with his shipments. At Lens, he has also finished most valuable in through balls, assists, set pieces, free kicks, total passes, play construction and successful passes. And he has been the second most outstanding in passes to the hole and second plays. That without neglecting the facet of him behind him, ending as the third most valuable player in the global defensive section, standing out in recoveries, clearances, interceptions…
Olocip locates Clauss with a market value of 10.6 million. His contract ends in 2023, something that works in favor of his suitors and his great course has not gone unnoticed, so Lens is aware that it will be difficult to retain him. Atlético is one of the clubs that follow the player. It is not your only option, but it is on the agenda. Artificial intelligence endorses a soccer player at the peak of his career and that he wants to make the leap this summer, all this with the aim of being able to be in the World Cup on the horizon, after having entered Deschamps’ last two summonses with the national team.