Xande Silva joins Forest for a mere £200k + a 25% sell on fee in what you could describe as a low risk - high reward ‘punt’.
During the summer of 2018 West Ham paid £1.35m for his services from Portuguese side Vitoria Guimaraes. While impressing with the u23s, scoring 10 in 11, he only managed 200 minutes of senior football during his time with The Hammers and I can’t help but feel his loan move into senior football came a season late and perhaps hampered his development somewhat.
Last season during his loan with Aris FC was the first season since 14/15 where he has notched up more than 1000 minutes of football.
Below shows his metrics from the 20/21 season with Aris FC in the Greek Super League.
Data: Wyscout- Comparison between all Wingers in the Super League with 800+ mins. 20/21 season. All metrics per 90.
While Xande’s metrics look fairly impressive for his 1295 minutes last season, there’s a huge caveat we have to think about when looking at them.
Of his 29 appearances just 11 of those came with him in the starting XI. 19 from off the bench in spurts of predominantly 20,30 minutes towards the end of matches. Now you could use the argument that it’s sometimes difficult to come into a game and make an impact for the type of player Silva is, however I think it would suit him coming on late being able to run at tiring defenders with his pace and power and I think for that reason we have to take the some of his metrics with a slight pinch of salt. All 7 of Silva’s goal contributions came when he entered from the bench. I’m sure the recruitment team will have been aware of this and would have needed to back up some of the data with the “eye test” even more so than usual.
This isn’t taking anything away from Xande Silva, he made bright impacts from the bench at times last season and will no doubt have been frustrated not to get more of a regular start.
Strengths
1v1 Dribbling Ability:
You can see in this video what good ability he has in 1v1 situations. His pace and power over a few yards makes it really difficult for defenders to deal with him. He’s especially effective from the half spaces just outside the box with his runs breaking into the box.
Shot Locations and Good xG:
His ability 1v1 allows him to get shots off from more dangerous locations. As you can see below most of his shots coming from inside the box. A lot of them from when he has just driven past his man to get inside it.
You can see from his metrics dashboard Xande ranks well on xG per shot and shots on target.
Weaknesses
Dribbling In Poor Areas:
At times he has a tendency to over complicate things and try too much in poor areas of the pitch. I think improving his awareness and what’s around him before receiving the ball will help him improve this side of his game.
Defensive Contribution:
While we have to take some of his attacking metrics with a pinch of salt I think the same can be said for some of the slightly poor defensive ones.
Being an attack minded player with over 65% of his appearances being from the bench it’s understandable why his successful defensive actions would be down, more than likely being subbed on when the team need a goal and therefore not needing much defensive work.
That being said however, his % wins in a duel are pretty low for a player who looks to have a strong upper body and perhaps isn’t using his strength and body well enough in duels. Something I think he can and probably will improve with more experience at a senior level of football.
Best Position + Summary
The most ideal position for Silva would be in the left forward role in a 343 in my opinion. From here he has defensive cover behind him from the wing-back and he can be left to unleash his impressive 1v1 ability from wide.
In truth I believe he can play anywhere across the forward line and would perhaps work best in a fluid front 3. By no means is he a target man.
-Good Cheap Squad Addition.
-Potential Improver Who Can Add Consistency To His Game.
-Can Make An Impact From The Bench.
-Impressive 1v1 Situations.
-Strong Build But Can Learn To Use His Body Better.
-Can Create Opportunities For Himself.
-Chance Of Big Improvement After 1st Senior Loan and First 1000+ Minute Season Since 14/15.
-Quick, Over Short and Long Distances.
-Defensive Contribution Needs Work.
-Data Risk With Makeup of Game time.
Thanks for reading
Chris Kearney.
