This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…
Tyler Roberts had a great game against QPR on Saturday, netting the opening goal of the game and playing two key passes.
Of course, a good performance from the Welshman led to some more Samu Saiz comparisons.
However, there is one aspect of the Spaniard’s game that Roberts doesn’t have, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Dribbling vs moving the ball
Samu Saiz was a player noted for his creative abilities during his time at Leeds, and that was at least partly down to his dribbling abilities.
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The Spaniard completed 2.4 dribbles per game during his first season at Elland Road, and although that number dropped to 1.5 during his second term that could be attributed to the fact he was playing fewer minutes per game.
Roberts is also a solid creative force as an attacking midfielder, but his game is more centred around moving the ball along and making things happen with fewer touches.
The youngster averaged just 0.8 dribbles per game last season, and that number has dropped to 0.2 this term.
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His first start of the season against QPR highlighted that Roberts isn’t a dribbler like Saiz as he had just 43 touches of the ball, with 26 of those being passes and three being shots.
Roberts’ playstyle being different to Saiz’s might be a bad thing for the narrative that he’s replaced the Spaniard, but it’s certainly not a negative in the grand scheme of things.
While the current Girona man’s playstyle was incredibly entertaining to watch, it wasn’t all that effective as he was dispossessed 2.1 times per game during both of his seasons at the club.
The 20-year-old may not be ‘the new Saiz’, but that doesn’t mean that he isn’t exactly what Leeds need in their number ten role right now.
