Finding The Next Iliman — Analysing Who Could Replace Our Starboy.

When Iliman Ndiaye gleefully paraded his patented number 29 shirt in front of the Kop after adding a 3rd goal for the Blades in our final home game of the season vs Preston North End, to an outsider, you would’ve been forgiven for thinking Sheffield United was the only team in the Senegalese international’s heart. However even the most optimistic of Unitedites knew that this couldn’t have been further from the truth.

An OM fan from birth. It felt like destiny that someway or another Iliman would one day don the Marseille blue however when Fabrizio Romano uttered those 3 words on the afternoon of 30th July 2023 it felt like a dagger, a blow simply impossible to recover from, the world was falling apart and we were already relegated, 2 weeks prior to the season kicking off. That does beg the question, just how do you go about replacing one of the best players to play for the club in the last god-knows how many years? Well, in this piece I will try and answer this question, I have compiled some stats and sat and watched hours of content relating to the names you’re about to read.

To start off, what we really need to do is to analyse Ndiaye himself so here is a pizza chart I made (using mplsoccer so a big thank you to its creators).

Admittedly this chart is quite basic, I don’t claim to be a coding genius, but it does well at briefly displaying some of Ndiaye’s strengths and weaknesses, his playstyle and his role in the Sheffield United team. Immediately what jumps out is his number of defensive duels (93rd percentile). This fits what you see when watching Ndiaye as he is relentless and has a work ethic like very few strikers. We can also see that Ndiaye is great with the ball at his feet, which anyone who has ever laid eyes on him already knew. He’s in the 83rd and 87th percentile for dribbles and progressive runs respectively and this shows his ability to drop deep and spring an attack with his silky skills on the ball. An interesting observation is Ndiaye’s low shot volume, however he makes up for this with high numbers in xG, touches in the penalty area and % of shots on target. The observation I’d make from this is that he often prefers to give the ball to somebody else rather than take low-percentage shots, maybe sometimes he does this too often and fails to take on a shot where it could be a better option but I wouldn’t exactly call it a major weakness.

Ultimately the conclusion we can make is that Ndiaye is a very active ball carrier, he likes to drop deep and bring the ball forward to create attacks, he’s also a good finisher (has scored slightly above xG in both full seasons at Sheffield United) and he’s like a bulldog when it comes to winning back possession, he’s great in the press and will even track back to make a challenge if he needs to. These are all very good qualities for a deeper striker in a 3–5-2 with a more traditional number 9 or as he played at the back end of last season as an inside forward in a 3–4–3/3–4–2–1 and this is the mould we will look for to replace him.

Juan Camilo “Cucho Hernández” Suarez

Juan Camilo Hernández Suarez, more affectionately known as Cucho Hernandez or just Cucho is a Colombian international who currently ply's his trade in MLS with Columbus Crew. The qualities “Cucho” brings to a team are undeniable. His frightening ability to strike a ball combined with his blistering speed and endless aggression combine to create a fierce profile and one who has been tested in the Premier League in the past. During the 2021–22 campaign Cucho made 25 appearances for relegated Watford, scoring 5 times, and while this doesn’t sound like anything too impressive it is worth noting that he played mostly as a winger that season and with a lot of short cameos off the bench.

One thing we can spot straight away looking at Cucho’s chart here is his extremely high number of touches in the box, a decent amount higher than Ndiaye’s which shows how active he is in advanced areas. Another eye-catcher is his shot volume, he is in the 98th percentile, compared to Ndiaye in the 33rd percentile. Cucho is really not afraid to shoot from distance, a good example of this is what he shows here in his goal vs Inter Miami.

Here Cucho, despite playing as a central striker, shifts into an opening in the left half-space to pickup the ball just inside the area, as you can see on the clock it takes him less than 4 seconds to receive the ball, turn and then fire a venomous strike into the top corner. These shots cutting in off the left are almost a trademark move for the Colombian who has scored countless goals like it in his career including his debut goal for Watford vs Aston Villa in 2021.

Another ability of Cucho’s, which is briefly shown in that goal, is his willingness to take a man on. This is a useful trait which often allows him to create space for himself due to his rapid changes of pace. His acceleration makes him perfect for a side like us who will likely be expecting a lot of our attacks this season against stronger opposition to come on the counter. However he isn’t perfect. The Colombian can often be guilty of taking too heavy a first touch which can lead to him running into crowded areas where he loses possession and in general has to rely on his pace to beat a man quite a bit.

Not only does Cucho have a lot of touches in the box as mentioned prior but also a high amount of passes into the box. This really shows just how involved Cucho is in-and-around the area as he can not only be on the end of chances often but also is very capable of being the one to provide for teammates. Interestingly, for a striker, a lot of his passes into the box come from wide areas, this shows something that is evident when watching the 24-year-old, he greatly benefits from having the freedom to roam around and drift into wide areas a lot which is again something that would suit a role behind a striker in a 3–4–2–1 and would add real substance to our attack as he could join in out wide to help create overloads in these areas, as we tend to do frequently in the final third to create chances.

The one negative that stands out in his radar is the low % for shots on target. This is the main downside I see for him as he sometimes is a bit rash in his decision making and can opt for a shot despite there being better options on which suggest his afore mentioned high number of shots can sometimes actually be a negative and could harm a team like us who will likely need to be clinical if we want to take our chances and survive in the Premier League. To be honest though, these instincts are forgivable in a striker who is still fairly young and it highlights an area where Hecky and the coaching staff would likely have to do some work but could work wonders in improving his all-round game.

Cucho is reported to have a market value somewhere in the region of £10m which would represent a significant outlay for us but I do believe he’d be worth signing. He is clearly a very talented player and at 24 it is likely that his best has not yet been shown.

Pros:

• Ball-striking
• Versatility
• Rapid
• Work Rate
• Prem Experience
• Re-Sale Value
• Crossing

Cons:

• Decision-making
• Hit and miss Finishing
• First Touch needs work
• Reportedly homesick last time he played in England

Kelechi Iheanacho

This one, for me, would be somewhat of a statement signing. Iheanacho was never really given a fair crack of the whip at Leicester in the Premier League despite clearly showing his class on a number of occasions. The Nigerian international has already received interest from fellow Premier League sides Forest and Everton in this window and it is clear to see why.

Now it is worth noting that Iheanacho only played 1263 minutes in the league this season and that means the sample size is smaller than some options however his quality is undeniable. Iheanacho is a brilliantly intelligent player and this is reflected in his xA and this isn’t something that can be attributed to the smaller sample size either. In 2020–21 Iheanacho was in the 86th percentile amongst Premier League forwards for xA and he also scored 12 goals that season. His ability to link-up play and to play 1–2s is genuinely sublime and he has turned this into assists on more than one occasion this season. He is a player who can build great on-pitch relationships with his teammates and this is a really vital trait as it allows him and his partners in attack to constantly be on the same wavelength.

As you can see in the pizza chart Iheanacho is at least in line with the PL average for most statistics which is a fair representation as he is a fairly complete player. One of only discernible weaknesses in this profile for Iheanacho is the fact that he wins a very low % of his aerial duels. This has been a common trend for Iheanacho through out his PL career and this is simply an area he lacks in however it isn’t the way he intends to play so it isn’t a massive issue. Another, is the low shot on target %. This is due to the fact that Iheanacho is generally quite streaky, he can have great purple patches and poor barren spells, where he really struggles to hit the target. In 2020–21, his best season to date in the Premier League, Iheanacho was in the 60% percentile for % of shots on target which shows that ultimately he could be described as somewhat of a confidence player, I believe that regular football and a key man role could do him a world of good in this aspect however and enable him to reach his full potential.

In terms of a stylistic fit I think Iheanacho would suit the Blades. Just like Cucho he is able to launch counter-attacks very effectively however in a much different way. Iheanacho likes to pick the ball up around the half-way line, a lot of the time with his back to goal and immediately turn and try play a through ball to a more advanced attacker moving on past him. This makes him not only good for a side playing with 2 strikers but also a team who will look to get the ball forwards quickly. Iheanacho is rumoured to be available for anywhere between £10m-£20m depending on who you believe and although he could be edging a bit out of our budget range he is a player who guarantees to add quality to any side and at 26 he will be able to hold his value for a few years yet.

Pros:

• High Output
• Proven PL Goalscorer
• Good Age
• Potential Stylistic Fit
• Creativity
• Football IQ

Cons:

• Wages
• Fee
• Inconsistency
• Player has other options
• AFCON

Manprit Sarkaria

Safely the most rogue shout of this post and probably the riskiest, Manprit Sarkaria is a 26 year old forward who plays for Sturm Graz in Austria. Sarkaria is of Indian heritage and would represent a big step for South Asian representation in English football. Focusing on his actual ability, Sarkaria wrote himself into Sturm Graz folklore last season when his brace in the final inspired his side to break RB Salzburg’s streak of 4 consecutive OFB Cups.

Straight away what pops out here is the xA, Sarkaria is a very creative player and this is echoed by the fact he had the 2nd most assists in the Austrian Bundesliga last season and already registered 2 assists in the first league game of this campaign. This is very exciting however it is worth noting that a very large amount of Sarkaria’s chance creation does come from set-pieces as he takes both corners and freekicks for his team which can buff a players numbers up by quite a lot.

6 out of Sarkaria’s last 10 assists have come from dead-ball situations and he is genuinely one of the best free kick takers I’ve seen both when it comes to finding a teammate and shooting. In the example above he swings in a free kick towards the back post, the cross is perfect height and has a lot of power on it so that all that is needed is someone to direct the ball goalward.

Another strength for Sarkaria in the data is that he has a very high % of shots on target. This is somewhat surprising as Sarkaria really likes to shoot from the edge and outside of the box, the fact he keeps so many of these efforts on target suggest he can be a good finisher and would probably benefit from receiving the ball inside the box more.

Sarkaria’s 22/23 heatmap

As you can see in his heatmap Sarkaria spends the majority of the time wide on the right before coming in onto his left foot. This is helpful as it makes him versatile, not only could he operate as one of a 2 up top but also as a cutting-in forward in a 3–4–3 or as a right AM in a 3–4–2–1. All roles which have been played at some point in our system by Ndiaye.

In the above clip you can see another one of Sarkaria’s strengths. His close control and first touch are both very good. We could see from his pizza that he is in the 64th percentile for dribbles, which is decent but nothing amazing however I do believe that when watching footage we see a player who is better on the ball than you would assume at first glance. His first touch is very impressive and allows him to get control of the ball easily and once he has the ball under control he is equally as good at beating 1, 2 or 3 players due to his ability to weave in-and-out well using feints, stepovers and impressive body positioning, (remind you of anyone Blades fans?)

Sarkaria is definitely the most left-field shout out of the 3 players I have named, he would likely be available for anywhere between £2m-£3m which could honestly be a bargain in today’s market but of course one of the main reservations is the step-up. Sarkaria has played his entire career in Austria’s top 2 divisions and this is quite obviously a distance in quality below the Premier League, that being said I still think he is worth a look as he would add a different dynamic to our attack and his ability to take set-pieces is up there with the best I have seen which is good addition to any team but would specifically suit a side like us who have some real presence in the box on corners and free-kicks. Like Iheanacho, he is 26 years old which means he is likely coming towards the peak of his powers and now is the perfect time for him to get a step up.

Pros:

• Set-piece ability
• Fee and Wages
• Dribbling
• Creativity
• Versatility
• Marketing in South Asia

Cons:

• Big step-up
• Minimal open-play goal threat

Conclusion

Iliman Ndiaye will be extremely hard to replace for Sheffield United, he is probably the most gifted player I’ve seen in over a decade at the Lane however I have seen the word irreplaceable thrown around and this is a notion I firmly disagree with in football as a whole, in my opinion everyone is replaceable. Unfortunately there isn’t another Iliman Ndiaye and there isn’t an exact profile who you could turn into the same player, however this doesn’t mean that there aren’t people who could come in and do just as good a job in our side for an affordable price. The 3 players I have named here are all vastly different players, they all have different strengths and weaknesses, all play in different leagues and all represent nations on different continents. We aren’t going to find an Iliman Ndiaye clone, however, we don’t need to. All these 3 players could all replace qualities that Ndiaye brought to Sheffield United in their own unique ways, they all have advantages and disadvantages compared to “Ili” and who knows, maybe one of these 3 will be the next star to be serenaded by 30,000 at Bramall Lane on a Saturday afternoon at 3pm.