Raphael Onyedika Scout Report
Raphael Onyedika, the rising 23-year-old star of Club Brugge, is an exemplification of a promising central midfielder breed. Crafted in the furnace of domestic Nigerian football, Onyedika has shown tremendous skill on the Belgian Pro League A, particularly when it comes to ball retention. Essentially, he's among the top 5% in the league, which means the Nigerian loss, when in possession, is extremely rare.
This dovetails with his impressive touches statistic, landing him in the top 15% of his peers, demonstrating the trust his team places in him to dictate the rhythm of play from the heart of midfield. Onyedika also excels in distributing the ball forwards, ranking in the top 20% for progressive passing, albeit, he lacks the same cutting edge when it comes to dribbling, evidenced by being in the bottom 15% for successful per 90-minute dribbles.
However, it's not all roses for Onyedika. His chance creation and goal threat percentiles, both below 15%, reveal an area for development. Despite a solid goal efficiency, he's not crafting enough opportunities for himself and teammates. Additionally, his high-rate of fouls committed and yellow cards suggest a habit of over-enthusiasm in challenges, possibly risky in high-stakes matches.
Defensively, Onyedika is adept, especially in the air, where he towers over his opposition 93% of the time. Furthermore, his recoveries fall within the top 12%, underlining his defensive capabilities. Nevertheless, these attributes are balanced out by his interceptions percentile of approximately 53%, which signifies he's not yet reached the top half of the player pool in terms of intercepting passes.
Finally, analysis of the player's activity and possession area shows a midfielder who is primarily involved in the middle third of the pitch (65.62%). He delves into the attacking zone sparingly (14.08%) and is not averse to contributing in the defensive third. In essence, Raphael Onyedika is a ball-retaining, possession-loving, hard-tackling midfield maestro who needs to refine his ability to create goal-scoring opportunities. With age on his side, the football world should watch out for the Club Brugge youngster's continued development.