Axel Witsel - AM/CM - Zenit (10 Viewers)

[Post Ironic]

thanks for the comparison! i'd just add that vidal plays for the team with probably the highest possession in the whole competition, so while the ball is at his teammates, he doesn't really have the chance to tackle or clear the ball. defensive work is totally different at zenit and at bayern. still, those witsel numbers are impressive for a guy who's considered a soft player at tuz, and whose only weakness is tackling at whoscored.

I was more posting those numbers to poke fun at the people saying he's some soft and mediocre player.

 

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[Juventino[RUS]]

Witsel is shit. Period.

 

[petersmit]

Better him than matuidi for something like double the money

 

[Xperd]

Beppe G.O.A.T.

Legendary G.O.A.T.

 

[NitK]

Now I can't get this out of my head

ACKWELL

 

[Bianconero_Aus]

 

[Buck Fuddy]

Yes, the point is Witsel is being signed to be a rotation player. To basically be the first to fill in for any of the 3 starters (Marchisio, Khedira, Pjanic).

Exactly what we need: another rotation player.

Sturaro, Lemina, Asamoah & Hernanes are obviously not enough.

 

[Afghan_juventus]

Here is a quick summary of his stats compared to some top players who distribute & Hernanes & Lemina.

A few things to consider:
1) Not all of these players have identical roles. I think all do play the distributor role for their teams but some have more attacking freedom than others and some have more defensive duties than others. Some are occasionally used as explicitly CAM or DM too.

2) The sample size for Lemina and Hernanes is very small. So the real comparison is between witsel and other top players. I used 2014/15 for Verratti because of his injury last year.

3) Witsel plays in a much weaker league but I do not know whether that affects passing stats the way it affects goals/assists.

4) I used league figures since every one of those plays for a dominating team in their league, while Axel and Moutinho play for weak teams in CL.

5) I never watched him play. So if he is the distributor of Zenit then I am very underwhelmed by this signing and would rather go for Bastian.

Marchisio .9 interceptions more than anyone else

dat amazing tactical awareness and positioning.

 

[Seven]

Exactly what we need: another rotation player.

Sturaro, Lemina, Asamoah & Hernanes are obviously not enough.

I rate Lemina. But Witsel is much better than the others.

 

[Orgut]

I rate Lemina. But Witsel is much better than the others.

Lemina is good but he isnt great...
Witsel isnt great either but he is still better than Lemina (at least for now)

 

[Badass J Elkann]

I'd be surprised if you can actually even run let alone run with a football.

I do more sporting activities than you I'm certain of that

 

[am0110]

Some VS guru said that Conte sent 48 mil offer for Garay and Witsel and Zenit have accepted it, Conte is hilarious if this is true.

 

[TheTruth]

If the reports are true that he gets a five year deal worth €4.5m per season, that's a pretty fat contract. Wish him good luck though.

 

[Buck Fuddy]

I rate Lemina. But Witsel is much better than the others.

I don't think Witsel is better than Asamoah, let alone much.

My point still stands anyway: we've currently got 4 rotation players for the CM spots.
Do we really need a 5th one?

 

[il brutto]

I do more sporting activities than you I'm certain of that

Quite unlikely but good for you if true.

Neither of us is good enough to play in the Russian Premier League though that I'm certain of

 

[RAMI-N]

I don't think Witsel is better than Asamoah, let alone much.

My point still stands anyway: we've currently got 4 rotation players for the CM spots.
Do we really need a 5th one?

No.
The real question, why do Beppe and Co. got caught in this situation? The way Pogba's saga dragged made me think we were lining up a replacement!

 

[TheTruth]

I don't think Witsel is better than Asamoah, let alone much.

My point still stands anyway: we've currently got 4 rotation players for the CM spots.
Do we really need a 5th one?

I think we do,

Asamoah is injury-prone and going to AFCON, Lemina is going to AFCON, Hernanes is a liability and Sturaro for some reason isn't rated by Allegri.

If we want to make a deep CL run we have to play the "what if game". Khedira and Marchisio are injury-prone. If we draw Real or Bayern and struggle with injuries, we need that bench quality regardless.

 

[Xperd]

I really really hope we are not giving him a €4.5M a year contract.

 

[Pablo]

Be interesting to see how he plays for Juve, Witsel was the 1 I wanted us to get, would have been a huge signing for us.

 

[Juve_fanatic]

I really really hope we are not giving him a €4.5M a year contract.

Why? 4,5M a year is the new 2,5M a year.....or did you expect that only transfer fees have went up? Inflation is inflation, if transfer fees go up so will salaries