- The Balearic was one of Real Madrid’s best players in the last league, according to the IA. It seemed that he was going to look for a way out, but now Asensio wants to fight to be a starter.
Real Madrid’s preseason is already underway, but there are still doubts to be resolved in the squad. With the new additions section practically closed, there are still players who can leave. And one of them is Marco Asensio (26 years old). The Majorcan, who initially was willing to leave due to the lack of minutes, which would make it difficult for him to participate in the World Cup in Qatar, wants to stay given the departures of Jovic, Bale, and Isco and the non-arrival of Mbappe. This, added to the confidence that Ancelotti gives him, has been key to his change of position. Asensio wants to fight for a starting position.
The numbers of the Spanish international last season in the League were irregular: he scored 10 goals but did not distribute any assists. Although he managed to be influential in the attack throughout the 1,816 minutes he played. According to Olocip, a pioneer company in adding Artificial Intelligence to professional football, the 2021-2022 season has been the best of his career, since with his total actions he generated a value of 0.44 goals per game, only behind Vinicius and Benzema. In addition, with his total actions (offensive, defensive, and game construction), he contributed to Madrid generating a goal every 204 minutes when he was on the pitch.
That Asensio is a great finisher is evident, since that has been and is one of his main virtues. His scoring average last season was really high: 0.5 goals per game when he was playing (which is the same as he scored a goal every two games). As if that were not enough, he was the second most effective Madrid player in finishing in front of the rival goal, only behind Vinicius: Asensio generated almost 4 more goals than expected, while Vinicius generated 5.4 more goals than expected. expected. To finish with the statistics, it is striking to note that he was the fourth player on the team with the most impact in the League (8.95), only behind Militao (9.67), Benzema (13.33), and Vinicius (21,38).
Although it seems to some that Asensio could give more last season, the truth is that the numbers provided by Olocip are really good for him. He currently has a market value of just over 36 million euros, an amount typical of a world star. Regarding the 2022-2023 season, all that can be done are predictions. One of them, perhaps the most important, is the one that concerns the goals and assists that he could contribute. According to the AI, if Asensio played 80% of the minutes played by Madrid in the league, he would score between 8 and 9 goals and get between 5 and 6 assists.
Beyond the data, the truth is that Asensio will have to perform at a high level to have minutes within the team if he finally stays. With Vinicius fully settled in the left wing position, his fight will be with Rodrygo on the other side of the field (precisely where he has performed best, taking advantage of his shot from a changed leg). In fact, there is a very interesting fact that indicates that in the 80 games he has played as a left winger he has produced 11 goals and 17 assists, while when he plays with a leg switched to the right he stands out more for his scoring efficiency (14 goals and 6 assists in 70 games). The contract ends next year (2023) and Madrid has not transferred a renewal offer to him at the moment; if he ends up staying, he will want to show that he has the level to succeed in a team like white, the current European champion.