Federico Valverde vs Frenkie De Jong Comparison. A thread.

Barca-Madrid fans tend to enjoy comparisons but this is on that has interested me. Both 23 and both expected to be the future of their respective clubs I would enjoy to have a comparison of the two.

This comparison will be done statistically. Twitter people will tell you 'those who don't understand football explain it with stats'. That isn't true. Stats do sometimes mask a players inadequacies but among midfielders that is hard to do.

Stats used to compare midfielders are usually very consistent with a midfielder's role and expertise. If he's a creator you'll see a certain stat, if he's a pre assister or progressor you'll check a certain stat. All those tactical analyst's make heavy use of stats.

Essentially so long as a what a play does on the pitch is quantifiable we can compare it. I don't disagree that there's some un quantifiable actions but those are not many so it's not really an argument against using stats for comparison.

My firm, though biased I will admit,opinion is that Frenkie De Jong is better than Federico Valverde. They're equally athletic but Frenkie is more technically sound. I'm 90% sure that if Frenkie was at Madrid he'd look much better than Fede. Mind you, Fede is no slouch.

But it's just that contrary to what Madrid banterers say, Frenkie De Jong at 21 was shining in the UCL against tough opponents. Fede meanwhile hasn't been poor but just cause Madrid have been winning it makes it seem like he's been much better.

For example last season Frenkie De Jong had a higher(all per 90):-
1. Touches
2. Chances Created
3. Pass accuracy
4. Long Pass Accuracy
5. Forward Passes
6. Successful Lay offs
7. XG Buildup
8. XG Chain
9. Key Passes
10. Shot Creating Actions

11. Passes completed under pressure
12. Through balls
13. Progressive carries
14. Dribbles
15. Touches in the attacking third

It is apparent that despite having a lower expected assists(which can be attributed to the fact that he plays a deeper role) Frenkie De Jong is a much bigger creative threat. This season the story remains the same.

So the question is does Frenkie bring it defensively? Well as per fbref in terms of defensive action ranking in 19/20 Frenkie came second to Federico Valverde.

In summary it shows that while Madrid fans are adamant De Jong has done nothing in La Liga he's still better than Valverde. He's better offensive(creation) and he's just as good defensively. Now people might apply filters like in big games but that's facts.

People don't like comparisons that say they're wrong. This is not a way to say Valverde is a bad player. It's just a way of saying Frenkie is better. Frenkie also has a higher ceiling. It's disrespectful to Frenkie. If he was at Bayern he'd be best midfielder in the world.

If you don't trust my stats you can go to http://squawka.com  , http://fbref.com  http://whoscored.com  http://understat.com  and check them out. If you don't trust stats that's just denial at this point cause numbers don't lie they just don't tell the whole truth.

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