Liverpool supporters have been learning all about Victor Munoz after his surprise arrival from Osasuna earlier in June.
Most Reds fans did not have Munoz on their radar at all heading into the summer, but after Liverpool swooped to hijack Newcastle’s bid for the 22-year-old, they have had a crash course in his qualities.
Opta analyst Dave Segar has now added a little more colour to what Liverpool fans can expect from Munoz, revealing that his dribbling statistics are equal to La Liga superstars Lamine Yamal and Vinicius Jnr.
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Munoz is a prolific dribbler
Desperate for some pace and unpredictability from wide forward areas, Liverpool supporters have welcomed Munoz’s arrival.
And according to Segar, they have good reason to be excited, with the Spain international proving himself to be one of the most prolific dribblers in Europe during his first full season as a senior professional last term.
“In terms of his dribbles, he recorded 190 attempted dribbles in La Liga last season, only Lamine Yamal and Vinicius Jnr recorded more, which obviously is pretty good company,” the analyst told Opta’s YouTube channel.
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“In terms of his Osasuna teammates, no one attempted more than 62 dribbles, so it was very much give Munoz the ball and watch him go most of the time.”
Segar also took a look into Munoz’s ‘progressive carries’ statistics, surmising that the new Liverpool signing has traits similar to the likes of Jeremy Doku and Vinicius in the way he gets on the ball and looks to get it up the pitch.
“He recorded 318 progressive carries in La Liga last season,” he said. “If you watch Man City and Real Madrid and you see how often Doku and Vinicius get on the ball and how often they carry it forward, Munoz is in that area, maybe not obviously at their level yet, but he’s in that style, which at the age of 22 is only exciting for Liverpool.”
Liverpool are targeting pacy dribblers
Exactly what Munoz’s role at Liverpool will be next season may largely depend on whether the Reds end up doing any more business in wide positions.
Either way, he looks likely to rotate with Rio Ngumoha at the very least, another good dribbler, and according to Segar, it is clear that Liverpool see recruiting Munoz as part of a wider push to sign players who can run with the ball more comfortably.
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As well as the young Spaniard, this is also borne out in Liverpool’s pursuit of another of Europe’s most prolific dribblers: Yan Diomande.
“Across Europe’s top five leagues in terms of dribbles attempted, the only other player who comes into it is, funnily enough, Yan Diomande of RB Leipzig, who Liverpool fans will also be familiar with, I’m sure,” Segar said.
“He’s been heavily linked with Liverpool, so something they seem to be looking for is wingers who attempt a lot of dribbles.”
Liverpool’s signing of Munoz may have come out of nowhere, but it certainly was not random. The Reds know exactly what they are getting with his pace and dribbling ability. It’s now up to him to prove he can make the necessary step up.
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