Hector Bellerin moving from Barcelona to Sporting Lisbon of Liga Portugal was one of the noteworthy deals to go down on the deadline day of the winter transfer window. The Spanish right-back moved to Camp Nou last summer after his contract at Arsenal expired, but he suffered an injury immediately after arriving and ended up making only seven appearances in all competitions for Barcelona. As a result, Bellerin now moves to Portugal after Sporting identified the 27-year-old as a replacement for Pedro Porro, who signed for Tottenham Hotspur. Hector Bellerin also spent the 2021/22 season on loan at Real Betis and played regularly as the team finished fifth in La Liga. Below, we look at some of his stats from the last two seasons in La Liga.
Although primarily a right-back, Hector Bellerin can also feature as a right-wingback in a back-three system. This season, he made three league appearances for Barcelona, starting one match. Whereas, he featured 23 times for Real Betis in the previous La Liga season, averaging 86 minutes per game. The viz above shows the percentile rank of the player’s stats compared to other right-backs from the current La Liga season. Bellerin has a high rank for touches in the opposition’s penalty area, which indicates he gets deep into the final third. Overall, he has a good rank for most metrics, including dribbles, accurate passes, dangerous passes, and aerial duels won. His stats could have been better had he had more playing time.
Movement on the right
Hector Bellerin is an offensive-minded and energetic right-back who rushes up and down the entire right flank. The viz above shows the player’s heat map from the last two La Liga seasons. He provided two assists while playing for Real Betis during La Liga 2021/22. Looking at the passing aspect of his game, Bellerin passes the ball roughly 35.7 times per match with a pass completion rate of 80.1%. He also makes 1.1 key passes each game, which leads to chances being created. Overall, Hector averages 0.5 shots per match, and his xA output currently counts at 0.11 per match.
The two visuals above highlight Bellerin’s offensive and creative characteristics in the form of winger actions. He sprints up and down the flank, using his pace. He is also capable of making penetrating carries into the penalty box, with 60 such instances seen in the current season. The 27-year-old can take on players with his dribbling skills and whip crosses into the penalty box. Currently, he attempts 2.36 dribbles per match with a 51.8% success rate and 2.1 crosses per match with a 32% success rate. Furthermore, he makes 1.22 progressive runs per match while averaging 1.64 touches in the penalty box.
The two visuals above show the defensive territory of the 27-year-old Spaniard. It indicates that Bellerin is involved in a lot of defensive actions in the defensive and middle thirds. Being a fullback, he covers an entire flank of the field in terms of his defensive territory. Overall, he has a win percentage of 60.5% for defensive duels and 46.2% for aerial duels per 90 minutes. He also makes interceptions inside the box as well as in his defensive third. Hector makes 4.12 interceptions and 7.11 recoveries per match. He is also capable of making high regains and counter-pressing recoveries, as shown above. Furthermore, he has contributed to six dangerous recoveries in the last two seasons.
Role at Sporting
The above viz is a comparison between Hector Bellerin and Pedro Porro, who was the first-choice right-back for Sporting but has now joined Tottenham Hotspur. It can be seen that Bellerin has better numbers compared to his counterpart in some of the stats. Given the vast experience of Bellerin and the calibre he possesses, he will serve as a perfect replacement for Pedro Porro and a starting option in Sporting’s backline. Therefore, having Bellerin join the team will be a huge boost to the overall defensive structure on Ruben Amorim’s side.
Hector Bellerin’s move to Sporting is perhaps the ideal step to revive his career. Overall, the Spanish right-back is astute in his position and has the quality to take up the responsibility of a regular starter for a reputed club. His ability to provide stability in attack as well as stop opponents from penetrating makes him a valuable addition to Sporting.
Visuals via TFA data viz engine
