Yaser Asprilla of Watford and Colombia has been linked to Everton; however, what could the winger offer them?
Yaser Asprilla has been linked to Everton, but what could the player possibly offer the Blues?
The Sunday People, cited by Goodison News, reports that Everton has expressed interest in the £15 million-rated 3Watford winger this summer and may make a bid. The story also mentions that the Blues have long been interested in the 20-year-old, having tried to sign him toward the end of the January transfer window. However, with only a year remaining on his Vicarage Road contract, it is believed that signing the player will be easier now that Sean Dyche’s team may be able to get him for “cheap.”
Yaser Asprilla has been linked to Everton, but what could the player possibly offer the Blues?
The Sunday People, cited by Goodison News, reports that Everton has expressed interest in the £15 million-rated 3Watford winger this summer and may make a bid. The story also mentions that the Blues have long been interested in the 20-year-old, having tried to sign him toward the end of the January transfer window. However, with only a year remaining on his Vicarage Road contract, it is believed that signing the player will be easier now that Sean Dyche’s team may be able to get him for “cheap.”
Asprilla is a member of the Colombian team currently playing in the Copa America in the United States. On Saturday, the team defeated Panama 5-0 in the quarterfinals at Phoenix’s State Farm Stadium thanks to a penalty kick and two assists from Everton old boy James Rodriguez. The Watford player’s only other run-out to date was an 18-minute cameo off the bench in the team’s 3-0 group win over Costa Rica at the same stadium, where he replaced captain James.
Comparator’s Similarity Comparison tool determines that Scouser Anthony Gordon—who was once of Everton and is currently with Newcastle—is the closest match in terms of style when compared to Asprilla, scoring 84%. Raheem Sterling of Chelsea (77%) is next, followed by Alejandro Garnacho of Manchester United (65%). According to sources, the South American prospect is “explosive,” “skilful,” and has the ability to create opportunities out of nothing.
Additionally, we can compare Asprilla’s statistics from the previous season to players who are now playing in his position in the Premier League by using Comparisonator’s Virtual Transfer tool. Even out on the wings, James Garner leads the A.I. Defensive Index with a score of 103, a category in which the Watford player would finish sixth with a score of 24.99. This shows that Sean Dyche expects all of his players to put in a lot of work.
Asprilla’s style of play is more forward-oriented, and he ranks third in terms of successful final-third passes made per ninety minutes, behind only Chelsea’s Cole Palmer (4.17) and Aston Villa’s John McGinn (4.4), but ahead of Garner (2.91). Along with Miguel Almiron of Newcastle, he would also rank third in terms of successful progressive passes (84%), trailing only Palmer and Mohamed Salah of Liverpool (both 86%).
Asprilla would be fourth for successful crosses on 45% behind Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White (61%); McGinn (53%) and Fulham’s Everton old boy Alex Iwobi (49%) while, despite playing in the more helter-skelter environment of the Championship, his 33.83 passes per 90 minutes would be enough for him to make the top 10 in a category topped by Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva on 56.77. The Watford man comes in at sixth for shots assists (1.78) behind leader Bukayo Saka of Arsenal (2.27), and 10th for successful offensive actions (67%, the same score as Garner), a section topped by Iwobi (70%).
Asprilla is ninth in the Premier League with 4.86 ball recoveries per 90 minutes, after only Bournemouth’s Marcus Tavernier (6.94) and Everton’s Garner (fourth on 5.27) and Jack Harrison (sixth on 5.11). He also has a respectable effort rate in pressing duels, ranking seventh with 6.16 while Harrison comes in third with 8.2 and Andros Townsend, a former Blues player for Luton Town, wins with 10.71.
Since Asprilla is nearing the end of his Watford contract, he still looks like a work in progress. However, with Everton’s finances tight, there may be room to acquire him for a relatively small sum of money, as director of football Kevin Thelwell has made it clear that shrewd trades both inside and outside the team are essential to a sustainable football model. Former Watford player and manager Dyche has strong ties to the Hertfordshire club, and players who made their names in the second division of English football, like Tim Cahill and Joleon Lescott, have proven to be wise acquisitions in the past.
