According to reports in the press Liverpool have lined up Granada’s Guilherme Siqueira in a £5m deal. It is reported that he will be brought in to replace the erratic Jose Enrique. Liverpool fans are split on Enrique, whilst he gives his all he is prone to losing and wasting possession in good areas. Jose Enrique was dropped during the 2012/13 season which proved to be a catalyst for an impressive comeback and he impressed at left wing for a few games. Enrique also struck up a good understanding with Luis Suarez creating a few goals for him along the way.
So, will Guilherme Siqueira improve Liverpool’s left back position? An initial look at the stats show he scored four more goals than Enrique last season however Siqueira was Granda’s penalty taker so these stats aren’t a good representation because, if he were to join, Siqueira would not be taking the penalties at Liverpool. In creative terms Enrique also has the upper hand creating chances more frequently than Siqueira.
Defensively both players are dribbled past at a similar rate with Siqueira slightly superior being dribbled past every 272 minutes compared to Enrique’s 251 however both are made to look like defensive stalwarts when comparing to Liverpool’s right back Glen Johnson who is dribbled past every 111 minutes – a shocking 29 times in 2012/13. Looking at the other numbers Enrique attempted more tackles and his passing accuracy (77%) was surprisingly better than Siqueira’s (N.B. Enrique’s passing accuracy is the worst for a non-goalkeeper/attacking player at Liverpool). However those were the only statistics in which Enrique seems to be better than Siqueira.
The Granada player was dispossessed much less, once every 214 minutes whilst Enrique was caught every 40 minutes. Siqueira also won a higher percentage of aerial duels, cleared the ball more often, intercepted the ball almost twice as often and his crossing accuracy (24%) was far superior to Enrique’s. One of Enrique’s most frustrating traits is his poor crossing – only 10% of his crosses find a team mate.
All of that being said and judging by stats alone (which is flawed in itself) it isn’t a significant improvement on Enrique’s numbers. It also has to be said that Siqueira played for a team that finished 15th in La Liga and only six points above the relegation zone so he would have a lot more defending to do than Enrique would have to.
Watching Siqueira play he definitely seems a lot more comfortable on the ball than Enrique, reads the game better, is better aerially and can definitely cross a ball with more accuracy than him. Is that enough to replace a left back? We’ll let you decide!
All of the Siqueira stats below are taken from the excellent WhoScored.com.
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