View: Diego Carlos’ pre-season stats are big positive sign for Aston Villa
Diego Carlos’ £28million move from Sevilla to Aston Villa was one of Steven Gerrard’s marquee signings of the summer and could prove to be a huge coup for the Villa boss.
Considering his large price tag, Villa fans will be hoping the Brazilian defender will be able to make a significant impact and turn Villa into a more cohesive defensive unit in the 2022/23 season.
Gerrard’s side took their pre-season preparations to Australia and played three friendly matches whilst they were down under.
Carlos featured in all three matches and racked up some impressive defensive statistics for Gerrard’s side whilst they were down under.
It’s important to remember that preseason matches do need to be taken with a pinch of salt, but Carlos is certainly doing the right things from a defensive perspective.
Firstly, Carlos’ defensive duel statistics are extremely impressive, particularly the success rate that he has amassed during Villa’s preseason preparations.
As per Wyscout, the 29-year-old has a 75% defensive duel success rate which demonstrates his ability to dominate his opponent when challenging for a ball in a defensive area.
Furthermore, Carlos is averaging 4 interceptions per 90, which displays his ability to read the game, as opposed to just being a strong physical defender.
His aerial ability has also shone through during the start of his Villa career with a 75% success rate in heading situations.
There shouldn’t be any worries about Carlos being able to adapt to the physicality of the Premier League after his early performances in a Villa shirt.
Carlos could well be a perfect fit for the Premier League and could well turn out to be a major coup for Gerrard and the club hierarchy.
In other Aston Villa news, manager Steven Gerrard is very keen to bring Liverpool defender Joe Gomez to the club.