Iridescent Maupay can be about more than goals for Brighton in 2022-23
When was the last time you saw a bubble or the wings of a dragonfly playing games with the colour of sunlight? Whenever it was, am I right in saying you did not relate it to Neal Maupay?
A player’s importance to their team is not always obvious. Like sunlight, it is sometimes iridescent. It changes colour and perception depending on the angle you look at it.
So, maybe if someone twisted Maupay and looked at him from another perspective, they would see which of his colours shines brightest and is most important for this Brighton team?
Maupay has been used by Graham Potter largely as a goal scorer and it is through this light that most Brighton fans view him.
He is one goal away from overtaking Glenn Murray as the Albion’s leading scorer in the Premier League. Both strikers have 26 to their name.
In his three seasons at the Amex, Maupay has scored or assisted 27.2 percent of Brighton’s goals. No Seagulls player has a better percentage than this.
Still, for many if not most Albion fans, Maupay is not that prolific striker they would ideally have leading the attacking line.
Is this fair? A comparison with four more lethal and proven centre forwards from clubs who finished around Brighton in the table can provide a look into Maupay’s game.
Michail Antonio, Jamie Vardy, Raul Jimenez and Callum Wilson led West Ham, Leicester City, Wolves and Newcastle United in 2021-22. Maupay is certainly less threatening than all four.
Take away penalties scored by Maupay and he has a worse xG per 90 minutes ratio than Antonio, Vardy and Wilson. Maupay just shades Jimenez, but by only 0.03.
Maupay sits fourth of the five in non-penalty xG and xA (expected goals and expected assists) per 90 with 0.33 per game.
He is also fourth for both shots and shots on target whilst his 0.10 xG per shot is the lowest of all five strikers.
Not sure what all this xG and xA means? Maupay’s ability to find good chances to score around and in the opposition box and thus turning them into goals is not the highest compared to other team’s strikers who finished between 7th and 11th.
This is okay though. Football has been in a post-centre forward era for years now. Strikers are no longer about only scoring goals. Their overall games are as important as putting the ball in the net 15 times a season.
There are other things coaches ask from their forwards in the modern games and other things forwards can offer their team. And this is where iridescent Maupay and his changing colours enter the chat.
Potter’s style is based on possession. The Seagulls these days are all about passing. A forward who knows how to pass and receive the ball is required in this kind of football.
Of the five strikers we have been comparing, Maupay has the best pass completion rate. His 77.6 percent would be impressive in most positions on the pitch.
It is even more so when the vast majority of his passes take place high up, in tight spaces between opposition defensive lines where there is more possibility of mistakes.
Another brilliant attribute of Maupay’s is that he receives 8.5 progressive passes per game, the most of the compared forwards.
This means that he is there to support his teammates when they come forward, find space to receive the ball and connect the midfield with the attack.
Maupay is the top dribbler of the five with a success rate of 59.2 percent. He is very close behind Antonio for both shot created actions with 2.5 per 90 minutes and attacking third touches with 20.4 per game.
All of this highlights that Maupay is a serious presence in his team’s attacking line and important to building attacks, whereas the other four strikers are mainly finishers.
Maupay’s main game strength though might be his pressing. The man does simply not know when to stop running.
With 20.1 pressures per 90 minutes, he is not only miles ahead of the other four but has some of the best numbers of any player in the whole Premier League.
Pressing has become one of the most defining factors of modern day football and strikers who are so effective at it are worth their weight in gold for possession-based coaches like Potter.
Nevertheless, not everything in football can be calculated with numbers. Maupay is a player who is characterised by his work rate and passion.
His Argentinian routes show through with fighting spirt on the pitch. He is not afraid of any opponents, always gives his all and one can tell just how much he cares.
Maupay has many times found himself in a position where everyone expected him to score. He was signed to bring goals to Brighton.
He can do that up to a point, but this is not the area where he has the best possible impact for the Seagulls.
At the same time, the lack of goal share from other areas of the team – especially midfield – puts even more pressure on his shoulders.
Goals like the ones he scored at Southampton and West Ham last season showcase what Maupay can bring to Brighton in 2022-23. But he can thrive even more playing behind another striker.
A pressing, constantly mobile Maupay linking the Albion’s attacks, creating space and fighting for his teammates will be more useful to Potter than a Maupay expected to be the clinical source of goals.
The presence of Deniz Undav or Danny Welbeck being fit more regularly can help Maupay in many ways, if Potter chooses to use him a little differently.
If everything depends on the way we like at it like the bubble changing sunlight, then maybe the time has come to change how we look at Maupay.
Only then will we get to see his true colours and understand what he really brings to Brighton. His iridescence can show that his importance for the Albion is great.
Jason Therios @JasonTherios
