Portugal has been known for unearthing exciting talents, whether it be Antonio Silva, Alex Witsel, Angel Di Maria, Jan Oblak, and so on. The three clubs that remain giants for unearthing exciting talents are usually FC Porto, Benfica, and Sporting CP. We will look at a hidden gem who came through the academy of FC Porto, and his name is Diogo Leite.
Who is Diogo Leite?
Leite joined Porto’s youth academy at the age of nine. He made his professional debut with the reserve team. On August 31, 2021, he was loaned to Braga for one year. Leite joined Union Berlin with an option to buy in 2022, while still on Porto’s books.
What are his attributes?
He is a central defender who plays in the back four or back three on the left side. He is comfortable keeping possession of the ball. As someone who is active defensively, he reads the game very well. He usually sits in the deep but is proactive enough to win the ball before it reaches the striker’s feet.
While possessing the ball, he is confident enough to make line-breaking passes and diagonal passes if needed.
Enter Union Berlin
From the heatmap, we can see where he made most of his actions, though in the heatmap we can see he almost covered the left side of the pitch and he made some actions on the right side of the pitch in the defensive third. But he had the lion’s share of action on the left side in the defensive third. The green spot indicates where he made most of his actions in the form of passes, defensive contributions (tackles, interceptions, clearances), and touches.
Let’s break his statistics into simpler terms, we will into his:
- Defensive Contributions
- Passing
- Assist
- Touches made
Defensive Contributions
- Tackles
Being a proactive defender, he also reads the game very well. He made a total of 1.98 tackles, out of which he won 1.22. He is better positioned to make timely tackles. He made a total of 21 tackles, out of which he won 13 of them. He had a good chance of winning the tackle.
- Interceptions
Leite’s proactive defence has seen him make timely interceptions. He is usually in the right place to stop the ball from reaching the defender’s feet. He made a total of 14 interceptions, out of which he made 1.34 per 90.
- Clearances
Leite made a total of 40 goal-line clearances. He had a clearance rate of 3.49 out of ninety. He plays in the deep, which requires him to rush back to clear the goal line.
2. Passing
- Total Passes made
Leite made a total of 1225 passes, out of which he completed 544 of them and attempted 681 of them. He made 41.63 passes per 90. He is not afraid of making line-breaking passes and switching up the play by making line-breaking passes.
- Final third passes and Key Passes
Leite excels at making passes to the final third and making key passes. He made 56 passes to the final third, making 4.53 passes per 90, taking his passes to the 85 percentile. He made four key passes, making 0.41 passes per 90, which puts him in the 89 percentile.
- Progressive Passes
Leite excels at making progressive passes. He made a total of 45 progressive passes, of which he was successful in making ten of them. He made 3.55 progressive passes per 90, which takes him to the 88 percentile.
3. Assist
Leite made one assist for his team. He made 0.06 assists per 90, taking him to the 85 percentile.
4. Touches
Diogo Leite had 798 total touches, 362 of which were in the defensive third and 387 in the middle third. He had 28.26 touches in the defensive third and 31.22 touches in the middle third, per 90.
Final Verdict
Leite is on loan to Union Berlin; his performance would determine whether he would sign a full contract or look for good suitors, and there are a few of them with English clubs that have already scouted the 23-year-old before. He is one to look out for.
