MADRID, 14 Jun. (EUROPA PRESS) –
On June 4, Karim Benzema and Real Madrid announced that the French striker would not continue as a white player once the season ended, something that has caused the club’s technical secretariat to be forced to reinforce the point of attack of for the next season.
Many have been the names that have been associated with Real Madrid since that day: Kai Havertz, Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappé, Roberto Firmino… All of them are forwards established in top-level European football. However, it is the style of play and the football characteristics that can tip the balance in favor of one striker or the other and now the advanced statistics can be used to see who is the best fit to replace the Frenchman.
Kylian Mbappé is the striker most desired by Real Madrid, and the one most similar in playing characteristics to Benzema. According to ‘Driblab’, the matches between the two strikers amount to 89 percent. Beyond the goals that the four-time top scorer in Ligue 1 would contribute, Mbappé is a striker with great associative numbers just like Benzema.
The PSG player completes 31.6 passes every 90 minutes, a record very similar to the 37.3 of the former Real Madrid player, both participating in more than 55 actions with the ball per game. As for the passes in the last third, Benzema makes three more every 90′ than the Parisian, both of which are well above the average for strikers in the 5 major leagues (8.7).
The Brazilian Roberto Firmino, currently free, is perhaps the most similar striker prototype to Benzema. They have always shared similarities in playing style, being more midfielders than forwards in their respective teams. Statistics show this with 87 percent coincidences between the two at a statistical level.
Only in progressive driving, a section in which the Frenchman almost doubles Firmino (2.5 every 90′ by 1.4) does the balance clearly tip in favor of one. Both are well above the average for European forwards in passes in the last third (19.6 vs 11.6), passes completed (37.3 vs 28.9) and actions with the ball (55.6 vs 51 .7), in all these sections slightly higher than Benzema. The percentage of shots on goal from the former Liverpool player is the only section in which he surpasses the already Saudi Al Ittihad player.
The Englishman Harry Kane always comes out in these bets and has possibly been the name that has sounded the most loudly as a substitute for Benzema. The Englishman from Tottenham is a more than established striker, and this season, for the second time in his career, he has reached 30 goals in the Premier. But Kane is, like Benzema, much more than a scorer.
The forward style of both is very similar, although with better data in almost everything in the case of the French. The number of actions in the rival area (7.8 vs. 4.5 every 90′) and the effectiveness of the pass (87% vs. 72%) are the most unfavorable statistics for Tottenham, although in efficiency in the area, Kane significantly improves French.
Sadio Mané has not had his best year at FC Bayern, which he joined after being a pivotal player at Liverpool. The Senegalese has been the last name to appear on the scene and, at 31, his quality and his football level are beyond doubt. A pure winger for almost his entire career, he has played his last seasons in the ‘9’ position, becoming an associative striker, with overflow and goals.
On a quantitative level, he has even surpassed the records for actions in the rival area every 90′ (8.1 vs 7.7) as well as the number of dribbles completed (1.4 vs 0.9). In addition, they share records in expected goals per shot (0.15) and expected assists per game (0.2), with Benzema being superior in associative sections such as success in passing and key passes per game.
Finally, there is another name to take into account such as the French striker for German Eintracht, Kolo Muani. He is the most unknown to the public, but his records this season with his team have been outstanding. In his first season in Germany, he has managed to score 15 goals and distribute 11 assists, showing his ability to generate goals either from the shot or the pass. Of course, he is one of the candidates who is furthest from the French star in terms of numbers, getting closer to them in distribution than in completion.