Fabián Ruiz: How can he improve PSG midfield?
Fabián Ruiz has been linked with PSG for weeks and could be a Parisian player in the incoming hours, but what does he bring to the table?
Marco Verratti had been suffering a lot in the midfield since the retirement of his Italian compatriot Thiago Motta in 2018. Despite the attempts to find a worthy midfield partner for the 29 years-old player with the likes of Grzgorz Krychowiak, Rafinha, or Ander Herrera, Paris Saint-Germain did not find a successor for Motta, leaving Verratti as the do-it-all midfielder for the “Rouge et Bleu”.
However, some helpful midfielders did come along, such as Leandro Paredes and Idrissa Gana Gueye, with who PSG reached their first UCL Final in their History and Danilo Pereira, who brought height and his defensive ability to the PSG midfield. Unfortunately, in the long run, those players have shown limits in their capacity to perform at the highest level.
In recent years, there have been multiple flaws in the PSG midfield. Their incapacity to control the tempo in a game had been their weak spot, notably in the Champions League. Except for Verratti (when he is fit), no other midfielder can play efficiently under pressure. The non-appetency of PSG midfielders to try their luck from long range is also disturbing as they became a predictable team in their offensive and an easy team to counter. Add to this the lack of runs, and you obtain some answers on why Paris might sometimes struggle against well organised teams.
While the signing of Renato Sanches and Vitinha earlier in the summer will probably cover some of the problems above, PSG also seems set to sign the 26-year-old midfielder from Napoli Fabián Ruiz.
What can Fabián Ruiz actually do?
The pizza chart below from his last season at Napoli sheds light on some of his essential abilities. In an area where a significantly few Parisian players can relieve Verratti, Ruiz shows that his high rating for playing under pressure( 98 out of 99) could help the french team to improve how they control a game. The high rating for passe received (98 out of 99) shows that he is a player often available to receive the ball. Looking at his non-penalty goals ( 95 out of 99), it is interesting when we know that PSG is short of a midfielder able to provide goals.
As mentioned above, the Spaniard is likely to play under pressure. To better understand what it means compared to PSG midfielders, the graph below highlights how lonely Verratti is when it comes to inviting and playing under pressure and how Ruiz could help him in that area.
As “mighty” as Marco Verratti is in the midfield, there are things he can not do, and Shooting is one of those them. The graph below shows that PSG is a team where midfielders do not try a long-distance shots.
With Paredes being the only player regularly taking his chance from a distance, Fabián Ruiz will once again improve that aspect of the PSG midfield. Paredes might be the one shooting the furthest from the goal (scored 1 goal last season in Ligue 1), but Ruiz is the one hitting the back of the net the more often (scored 7 goals last season in Serie A).
As his shot map shows, the Spanish player scored 90% of his goals outside of the box last season. Moreover, out of his 39 shots, only 9 had been taken inside the box.
However, there is a sector where the former Real Betis can improve to level up his game. Being 6ft2 ( 1m89) and having such a low presence in aerial action is probably where he can ameliorate the most. The graphics below will make a good summarisation of what precisely he can and can not do.
Although there is a debate to know if Fabián Ruiz is the PSG long-awaited midfielder or not, it is fair to say that a possible arrival of the Napoli midfielder will enhance the capacity of Paris to be more dominant in a game. With the already made signing of Vitinha and Renato Sanches, PSG is slowly starting to reinforce a sector that was weakened in previous years. But will it be enough to compete against the best European team?
Jerry-Morel Takou Nguelo
