The new king of Naples

Category: Player Analysis

Published:18/06/2020

Since his first months in Naples in 2013, Dries Mertens has always been a gifted player attacking free spaces, moving with and off the ball and providing depth but also reliability in the final metres. Gonzalo Higuain’s departure for northern Italy left a important gap in the Neapolitan attack and it was then that the figure of the Belgian winger took on another dimension. In 2016/17 he started to be undisputed as the centre forward and main choice of the attack, in the previous years Mertens had had minutes in that ‘9’ role, but it was in this course that he really changed his position. At Driblab we wanted to take a look at the figure of Dries Mertens and how he has adapted to be the leader of the attack just a few days after becoming Napoli’s all-time top scorer.

The first year as a striker (2016/17) marked a turning point in the Belgian’s career. Since then his evolution has been directed to a greater security with the ball, less losses, better figures with retention of the possession, more success in passing and more chances created. Although Mertens is not the prototype of ‘9’ he has always led the team in terms of expected goals and number of shots but what is most surprising is his consistency in finishing: except in 17/18, he has always scored above expected (Goals per xG greater than 1) and has shown great consistency in number of shots and finishing being above the average of his position.

We are Driblab, a consultancy specialized in the statistical analysis of players and teams; our work is focused on advising and minimizing risk in professional football decision-making in areas related to talent detection and footballer evaluations. Our database has more than 130,000 players from more than 120 competitions, covering information from all over the world. Here you can learn more about how we work and what we offer.

Autor: Driblab
For Player Analysis we also recommend you:

‘Expected Passing %’: between accuracy and difficulty

How complicated is the pass I just saw on television? It is a question as simple as it is complex. With your powers of analysis and perception you may conclude that it is easy or difficult, or you may put an adverb in front of it to add some degree of difficulty or...

‘driblabPRO Scout’: under-23 left-footed centre-backs with a market value of less than 7M

We use all our filters to find left-footed U-23 centre-backs with good ball handling and aerial skills, with a market value of less than 7 million.

Belgium and Netherlands U21 fullbacks ready for a bigger challenge

We are looking for full-backs in Belgium and the Netherlands who meet the defensive requirements that would allow them to make the jump to a big league.

‘Through balls’: Messi’s latest impossible statistical peak

Leo Messi has no rival in this aspect of the game where he has always been the best. We compare him with other great players.

A goalkeeper today: visualizing his passing ability

We visualize which goalkeepers make more passes in different situations through different goalkeeper-specific metrics.

How the coveted Iván Fresneda plays

We analyse one of Europe’s most promising full-backs. We look at where he stands out and what makes him so sought after.

Counterpressing LaLiga 22/23: Agressive Actions & Quick Recoveries

Counterpressing measured through two specific metrics developed by Driblab at the request of our customers: aggressive actions and quick recoveries.

Darwin Nuñez, beyond a matter of time

The problems in Darwin Nuñez’s definition contain some nuances that the data show in this article.

The seven players who are dominating the World Cup

Ahead of the World Cup quarter-finals, we highlight seven players who are dominating this edition by one metric.

Qatar 2022: Potential signings for Serie A

We list ten players present at Qatar 2022 who could be very interesting options for Serie A teams.

Driblab

Información corporativa

Somos una empresa con sede en Madrid fundada en 2017 por Salvador Carmona y Cristian Coré Ramiro. Desde nuestros inicios nuestro trabajo se ha centrado en el análisis estadístico de datos para ayudar a los clubes en la planificación deportiva. Somos una consultora big data que ofrece servicios personalizados para cada cliente y defiende un modelo de gestión mixto y una comunicación constante para acompañar el día a día de las instituciones. Nuestro punto fuerte es la más amplia cobertura disponible en número de torneos profesionales y juveniles. Para más detalles, póngase en contacto con nosotros.

Colaboramos con:

           

Hemos aparecido en: