Thread by @SpursyStats

THE CLEMENT LENGLET THREAD

Analysing an underrated transfer that provides both pivotal depth and is perfect defender for a Conte system.

Let's explore his Sevilla and Barca stats, why Conte wanted him at Inter and more!

-LIKES, RTs, SHARES ARE APPRECIATED BUT NEVER EXPECTED-

Lenglet was born in France and made his first notable career step when joining the Chantilly academy. An academy that has become renowned for it's prowess in developing young stars to make big moves later in their career.

Kevin Gamero and Lenglet are their most recent successes.

At Chantilly, Lenglet won his first trophy. Making him a winner at the start of his teenage years.

With any rise to the top there is great sacrifice.

"My father would sometimes make 3 trips back and forth in a week between Chantilly and home to take me to training and matches"

At 15, Lenglet was scouted and acquired by Nancy whom he made his professional debut for when they were in Ligue 2.

Lenglet captained the side to the Ligue 2 title and earned a record of being the youngest player ever to be in the Ligue 2 best XI.

Following his impressive rise, Lenglet then made the move to Sevilla where his career really began to take-off.

Let's explore the stats that made him a 35m player before his move to Barcelona at Sevilla in the 17/18 season.

The hallmark of Lenglet's ability is his phenomenal passing range and is more shrewd defensively than most of us think.

Achieving 3G and 1A in 35 games for Sevilla in the 17/18 season may not seem like much but his underlying numbers are ridiculous.

Defensively (/90):

1.71 tackles & 1.26 tackles won, put him in the top 14% in his position.
He ranked in the top 6% of tackles made in the midfield 3rd.

This could indicate his ability to break away from his defensive line to make tackles higher up the pitch similar to Romero.

Lenglet boasted a strong 37.4% successful pressure rate, in the top 28th percentile.

Moreover, 1.95 blocks where 0.93 shots blocked put him in top 13%.

3.63 clearances put him in the bottom 42% but just shows he would rather play his way out of trouble and is something I love.

Going forward, as a defender these numbers are fascinating:

0.09G
0.07xG
0.2 G/shot
0.6 G/shot on target

An average shot distance of 6.7 meters shows he is privy to be a set piece threat with intelligent movement.

He ranks at least in the top 20% for all these figures.

Now, the best part of his game, passing:

381 progressive passing yards with a 92% medium passing yard completion makes him the ideal player to kickstart attacking transitions.

To see why he would be effective at this, see how @FootballMadeSim breaks down Conte's passing system:

To further show his prowess in the domain of passing, @spurs_watch_ has made an excellent compilation showing how effective and diverse his passing range is:

One thing I will note about Lenglet, is that he seems to be a walking booking with 14 yellow cards in 73 appearances at Sevilla.

At Barcelona he has 41 bookings, 4 being red cards, in over 140 games.

This is undoubtedly a part of his game he must master.

If he plays as CCB, Lenglet may be prone to making rash decisions that cause penalties or leave us down to 10 men.

His passing range and ability going forward make me believe he is better suited at LCB where someone can protect and compensate for his defensive misgivings.

Let's look at his second season for Barcelona where his numbers are among the best in the world for his position and an fbref stathead's dream.

80 passes attempted
93% pass comple.
490 progress. passing yds
96% short pass comple.
96% medium pass comple.
83% long pass comple.

6.13 passes into the final 3rd
3.9 progress. passes
65 ground passes out of 80 pass types shows how brilliant he would be in playing the ball to the feet of Son/Kane & midfielders for our deadly counters

Lenglet ranked within the top 5% at least for all the preceeding stats.

0.11 through balls (top 8%)
8.17 passes under pressure 9 (top 8%) and 4.2 clearances (bottom 9%) further shows my point that we have a defender who is immense at coping with pressure and actively avoids wasting possession by clearing unnecessarily.

Defensively, again, proving a lot of people VERY wrong.

1.4 tackles won (top 3%)
4.53 successful pressures at 43% success rate and again 4.75 pressures occurring in the midfield third.

Lenglet will be great in winning the ball high up the field to make counters more deadly.

In possession, Lenglet further shows what a modern day CB is:

88 touches with 52 of which in the midfield 3rd and 41 in the defensive 3rd.
66 carries, with 221 progressive carrying yds.
6 progressive carries, with 0.74 into the final 3rd.

Top 5% at the very least throughout.

For Lenglet's shortcomings in discipline and quite poor aerial ability, with only 67% aerials won, he more than makes up for this with nearly every other facet of his game.

Lenglet has won the La Liga, Spanish Cup and Super Cup at Barcelona.

A winner at the highest level.

France coach, Didier Deschamps, said about Lenglet:

"He's a top player. He's got good technique, and despite his size, he's not bothered by individual duels. He's a player who's improving every day."

Xavi has said:

"I believe in him. I see him as a guarantee in our defence."

Lastly, Koeman has said:

"It is true that Umtiti and Lenglet make some individual mistakes, but they know how to defend against a team like PSG."

This really drives home my point that Lenglet can be an elite defender with the right people around him.

If we use Lenglet as a squad player, we've got a quality one.
If we use Lenglet as a ball playing LCB, we've got a quality one with, to me, better ability than Dier.
If we pair Lenglet with a player like Torres on the left or Bremer down the middle, we will be immense.

For all the fans saying he's not better than Dier or Davies, you are wrong. Very, very, very wrong.

That concludes the thread!

Personally, I feel #THFC have done some excellent business here and it's blatantly obvious that Lenglet improves us, brings in a winning mentality and leadership.

A no brainer 7.5/10 for me.

Thoughts fellow Spurs fans?