Next Up Vol.1: Eduardo Camavinga

Physical Profile:

1.82m

68kg

+ives and -ives:

+Dribbling out from the back-

+Composure and balance

+Passing Range

+Tackling technique

+Work rate

-Strength

-Room for improvement on his weaker right foot

With the imminent international games, the Stade Rennais teenager Eduardo Camavinga has earned a call up to the French national team’s squad following Paul Pogba’s withdrawal due to testing positive for Covid-19. Although this certainly isn’t the way he would of liked to make his first national side selection, it does speak volumes to the talent and ability of the 17 year old. He made his Ligue 1 debut at 16, starting 4 games in that same season (2018/19). However in the following campaign Eduardo was given the necessary game time to prove his quality featuring in 25 games in the league. He first captured headlines during Stade Rennais’ improbable comeback win over French titans PSG way back in august of 2019 at the Roahzon Park stadium where he claimed the man of the match honours. Here he showed out against world class talent, controlling the game and assisting the match winner with a perfectly executed ball into the box.

Camavinga has been used primarily as a deep defensive midfielder by manager Julian Stephan, due to his ability to read the game well and his impressive engine which shows in his average of 10 recoveries per 90, virtually identical to that of fellow Ligue 1 CM Marco Verrati (10.24) who is regarded by many as one of the best in the game right now in that position. Watching film of Eduardo, it is evident that he is keen to tackle and can do so effectively using his long legs, despite this his successful tackle% was just 32.5% against dribbles which is far lower than the likes of Marquinhos (44.4%), who played as the holding midfielder for much of PSG’s successful 19/20 season. To elevate his advanced metrics in this department, he would benefit from filling out his frame by adding muscle to become more of an enforcer like many great players to have played this position. This is to be expected when the player in question is just 17 and we can look forward to this change in the near future which should in course increase his tkl% by a few percentiles. His most eye-catching quality is his dribbling out from the back, usually after Rennais have forced a turnover of the ball close to their own penalty area. He typically surges forward with remarkable balance and composure for a holding player, while also having an arsenal of tricky skills to get out of high press traps set by the opposition. This is an extremely useful attribute to posses as it instantly relieves pressure, allowing the team to advance forward. I see a lot of similarities in his style to Matteo Kovacic in this part of the game as they both regularly drive out with the ball from the centre of the park with great confidence, with both players being very press-resistant however Kovacic is more consistent due to his greater experience. This is shown in his impressive dribble success rate of 77.8% in Ligue 1 in the past year whilst also averaging 3.69 progressive yards gained per carry with the ball, Verratti an elite dribbler averaged 2.3 yards gained, demonstrating this seldom seen ability to drive out with the ball from the holding role. The Frenchman already has a very polished passing game with a pass completion rate of 89.2% last season and he was fairly tidy in maintaining possession as he miscontrolled the ball just over once per 90 which is good for a player of such inexperience. Camavinga does favour his left foot with 89% of his passes coming from his stronger boot, and this should highlighted as a clear area to improve especially as it opens up the entire pitch being two-footed in the central role as many of the greats have had this trait e.g. Toni Kroos, Xabi Alonso, Pirlo etc.

The phenom has been with Rennais since he joined as an 11 year old however he has now understandably attracted many of Europe’s elite including Real Madrid who have been heavily linked with the midfielder as they look to inject some youth into the ageing midfield trio of Modric Kroos and Casemeiro who have served them so well. Fees of over £70 million have been rumoured for his signature at Real, although it does seem unlikely that PSG would not make an attempt to add him to their squad given their track record with emerging French superstars in Ligue 1. Do not be surprised to see this become a transfer saga and roll over into the 2021 summer partly due to the current financial restrictions of clubs due to the lack of any gate revenue. However with Rennais debuting in the UCL this year we should see this prospect tested against Europe’s elite potentially causing his price to increase further alongside any impressive performances for the national side from as early as next week.

Written by Ben Mettrick

(All stats sourced from fibref.com)