Villarreal are getting ready to play European football next season. The Yellow Submarines have been one of the busiest Spanish teams in the summer transfer window of 2024. They have already made seven to eight signings and might add a couple more before the window ends. The Spanish club ended their LaLiga 2023-24 campaign in eighth place. With new signings, Villarreal will be competing for a spot in Europe.
The Yellow Submarines recently added Thierno Barry to their ranks. Barry is a French-born player of Guinean descent. He joined the club from Swiss giants, FC Basel. The forward is just 21 and is 6 feet 5 inches tall. Alexander Sorloth, Ben Brereton Diaz and veteran Jose Luis Morales left the club this summer, opening the door for more forwards. Barry played his first season in top-division football for Basel and impressed. He is young and came in on a five-year contract. Here is a look at how this young talent can add to Villarreal’s attack.
Aerial domination
Thierno Barry is tall and has a good presence inside the box. He played in 25 Super League games for FC Basel. The above viz shows the percentile rank of the player in comparison to other forwards in Tier 3 league football. Barry contested plenty of aerial duels and had a high win percentage. He is also a decent dribbler with the ball.
This plot assesses the striker’s ability to challenge and win aerial duels, which is essential for hold-up play and scoring from headers. Barry contested more than 10 aerial duels per 90 minutes and won nearly half of them. This shows that the player will be handy in set-piece situations.
This aerial dominance has been a crucial factor in scoring goals. Thierno Barry scored most of his goals from the edge of the six-yard box. He missed a lot of opportunities. This will be an area to work out for the youngster. He won’t get many opportunities against quality teams in LaLiga.
The first plot measures the striker’s shot-taking frequency and accuracy, key factors in a prolific goal scorer. Thierno Barry attempted just over 2.5 shots per 90 minutes. His accuracy rate was around 43%.
The second plot demonstrates the striker’s goal-scoring efficiency by comparing their expected goals to actual goals scored per 90 minutes. Barry averaged a goal every three games. He would like to improve his scoring at his new club.
Thierno Barry bagged five goals in the first three league games for FC Basel this season. His goals came from different angles showing a bit of improvement in the player.
Can he replace the veterans?
Gerard Moreno leads the line for the Yellow Submarine. He is 32 and adds plenty of experience to the table. However, the team also needs some new players. Alexander Sorloth will also be a big miss for the team. Jose Luis Morales also added a few goals to the team and his services will be missed too.
Moreno scored 10 goals last season. He takes good positions inside the box to score. There is a huge difference in the scoring areas. Barry has more presence around the six-yard box.
Morales is also similar to Moreno. Barry has a difference presence inside the box.
Thierno Barry can also make some runs into the opposition penalty box. He made some good runs for FC Basel. Some of these runs penetrated the penalty box. This shows that the player has the speed and strength to take on the opposition.
Villarreal will hope to get the best out of their new attacker. Barry will also aim to score more goals and win titles with his new side.
Visuals via TFA data viz engine