Each day we pick out a player and cut through the noise to give analytical, objective insight. Friday's focus is on Joško Gvardiol.
- Age: 21
- Position: Defender
- Club: RB Leipzig
- Country: Croatia
Joško Gvardiol will be the latest in a long line of success stories to emerge from RB Leipzig. The club have an incredible ability to return profit on talented players - the centre-back is going to be next.
Top clubs from across the continent are keeping tabs on the centre-back, who has continued to excel for both club and country despite his young age.
While statistics are usually used to paint a positive picture, highlighting where a player stands out, it's the numbers in which he doesn't rank highly that tell the complete story.
Gvardiol ranks all the way down in 15th in this Leipzig squad for average tackles per game (0.6), yet moves up to third for interceptions (1.2). His style is based on being proactive rather than reactive.
It strikes a remarkable resemblance to the figures posted by Virgil van Dijk in the Premier League this season, a player often referenced when discussing the top centre-backs in the game.
The Liverpool man also sees 0.6 tackles per game, with 1.1 interceptions. Those core defensive metrics being identical help us to truly understand his approach out of possession - especially as England's top-flight has been touted as his future destination.
Gvardiol has all the characteristics needed to be a top modern centre-back. Equal importance is now placed on distribution and work in possession as it is to core defensive requirements - with the Croatian standing out across the board.
An average of 4.5 successful long balls per game puts him second in this Leipzig squad, alongside a position in the top-ten for regular centre-backs in the Bundesliga.
Limitations in terms of height are one negative to point to, but that's not an issue when he significantly contributes elsewhere in a centre-back pairing.
