In this scout report, let's delve into the rising star Kike Salas as we evaluate his performance during the 2023-2024 La Liga season with Sevilla. At just 22, the seasoned yet young Center Back showcases a style of play deeply rooted in his remarkable efficiency and potency in both defensive and offensive aspects of the game.
His strengths lie in his impressive ability to recover the ball and create chances—ranking quite high against his league peers in these areas. His interception instincts are notably remarkable, a testament to his astuteness and superb anticipatory skills. Yet it's the unique dexterity of Salas to blend defense with goal efficiency that stands out—in fact, he is peerless in his position when it comes to taking his rare shots effectively.
His involvement also shines through drastically with a high frequency of touches suggesting his pivotal role in Sevilla's maneuvers. However, there are aspects of his game where improvement is needed. His ball retention figures are alarmingly low, pointing to perhaps a need for better decision-making and close control under pressure. His progressive carrying and passing could benefit from some polishing as well.
Salas shows himself as quick to draw a yellow card, having the tendency to commit fouls—a clear area to work upon. His low duel win percentage also points towards a need for him to work more on his one-on-one confrontations. That being said, his aerial duels winning percentage paints a much better picture revealing his knack for aerial supremacy.
The player activity and possession area stats tells us that Salas is a truly versatile player, spending nearly equal time in both the midfield and defensive thirds, a fairly rare trait among center-backs. His involvement in the attacking third, though not dominant, is significant for a defender—seemingly fitting well into the narrative of modern-day, forward-thinking football.
In summary, Kike Salas, the youthful, Spanish center back, strikes as an exciting prospect with his top-tier ball recovery, chance creation, and goal efficiency. With further maturity and refinement in his discipline and ball retention aspects, he could potentially rise to join the elite ranks of La Liga's versatile defenders.
Kike Salas Key stats
Kike Salas Career Trend
Kike Salas Shot Maps
Kike Salas Shot Summary
In the 2023-2024 season, Kike Salas took 16 shots, scoring 3 goals. This output came from an Expected Goals (xG) of 0.85, averaging 0.05 xG per shot.
Right Foot: 0 goals from 1 shots. A 0.0% conversion rate. 0.06 xG per shot.
Left Foot: 1 goals from 2 shots. A 50.0% conversion rate. 0.1 xG per shot.
Headers: 2 goals from 12 headed attempts. A 16.67% conversion rate. 0.05 xG per shot.
