Ebe.Eze ......
Coined as ‘Concrete Catalonia’, South-London has become the breeding ground for the most talented youngsters breaking through in English Football. A unique talent, straight from Greenwich is ready to set the Premier League streets alight. Eberechi’ Ebere’ Eze (21) had spells at Arsenal, Fulham & Millwall at youth level before getting released at 16. Labelled as a luxury player, he often saw the short end of the stick.
After trialing at several Football League clubs, he signed for QPR in 2016, impressing the Technical Director, Chris Ramsey. He briefly went on loan in the 17/18 season to Wycombe Wanderers before returning to QPR and becoming a regular under Steve McClaren in the 2018/19 season.
It was in the 2019/20 season, managed by Mark Warburton, that focused on moulding the majority of play around him, unleashing almost playground vibes in the opposition half. It’s no surprise that he almost became a Premier League player in Winter 2019 if it wasn’t for the deal between Crystal Palace and QPR not accelerating fast enough.
Eze has caps for England at U20 & U21 level but is also eligible to represent Nigeria due to his ancestry. 4-2-3-1
SCENARIO 01
Moving inside from wide positions to receive the ball and progress play forward
SCENARIO 02
Overlapping with full back to receive the ball in space
ADVANCED PLAYMAKER
Mark Warburton’s side prefers to play a 4–2–3–1 formation with Eze operating from either the left or central position. He has the license to roam free, finding smart pockets where he can cause the opposition problems.
Eze prides his game around his high technical ability, using his dribbling to leave defenders lifeless and the arsenal that allows him to provide end-product, pass and shooting.
He has a joyous approach to his game; a sense of comfortability in all areas of the pitch. He makes the game look 2Eze.
His awareness of space is also something he’s shown to have an edge in. Whether it’s joining the midfield to create overloads/link-ups or join the forward-line, we see more intelligence the more games Eze features in. Alongside that, he makes the right decisions to benefit both himself individually & the team, making him a good team player overall.
BUILD UP PLAY
The EFL Championship is a league with high transitions; play is much more direct to gain territory in high positions (long balls & aerial battles). Eze stands at 5”7 and struggles aerially.
To his benefit, QPR prefers to have possession of the ball, averaging 53% possession. He favours focusing on using his spatial awareness, dribbling and passing ability to progress play, averaging 93% accuracy with a low volume of passes (12). He doesn’t participate much in his area, though when in possession, his decision-making usually is right.
PROGRESSION INTO THE FINAL THIRD
In this phase, we see more of Eze’s brilliance with an overall good understanding of where to be positioned effectively on the pitch, relative to the position of the ball. The attacking midfielder has a good variety in his play, drawing in the opposition and progressing past them using his dribbling ability or finding his team-mates in space. In this area Eze averaged 21 passes p/90 with a success rate of 77%. He showed an increase in participation in this phase and a very positive successful pass output.
FINISHING & ASSISTS
The 2019/20 season was one that Ebe will look back on with positive thoughts, hitting double figures on the goals tally (14). Dissected, he scores diverse types of goals, being able to convert from a distance; during the game at Luton Town he unleashed a fierce right-footed strike from 25 yards following some great work from Ilias Chair.
Glowing in confidence, he can also produce moments of brilliance like the goal at Preston North End; he received the ball from Osayi-Samuels after peeling away from the opponent, saw a gap in the far corner and used the defender to bend it around to hit the bottom corner. He is also clinical from 12 yards, scoring four from four penalties.
In addition to contributing to goals, Eze has taken up a creator role, putting the ball on the plate for his team-mates 8 times last season. He enjoys the half-space area where he has the choice to find gaps between defenders and full-backs or progress play with his take on ability. His assist to Nakhi Wells versus Cardiff epitomised his creativity from the left; collecting it in a deep-wide left position, he checked inside to play a delightful 50-yard pass that took the whole back-line out of play. Nakhi Wells, with a spectacular run, met the ball with his head to score. Closer to the goal, he is even more of a threat. In the game versus Derby County at home, you could see his ability to ride through pressure, drive into midfield and pick out Ilias Chair in a finishing position.
CONCLUSION
Eze’s development has been progressive, improving year on year and increasing his output by at least 50% in a season where he’s featured a similar amount of minutes in fewer games. Brave, mature & consistent are what we would describe his season being the chief creator (8) & joint-top club goalscorer (14) with Jordan Hugill.
Although Eze averages a goal every three games, he is quite a patchy scorer. Often going 3-6 games without scoring but returns with a brace, he did this twice last season despite having two shots per 90 minutes with only one being on target and missing five big chances. For progression, more attempts & more efficiency is needed. Similar to goals, assists are quite patchy too, sometimes going seven games without assisting.
Outside the goal contributions, Mark Warburton will be proud of what he brought to the QPR side showing composure & penetration in midfield, averaging overall 86% possession per game with a dynamic attitude. A third of his successful passes were vertical, as well as a high number of take-on’s (176) with a 60% success rate. All of this serves as an indication of the different ways Eze penetrates defensive lines or progresses play.
Defensively it is an improvement from the previous year, but there is still loads of room for improvement. Ebe averaged under one interception per 90 and just over one tackle p er 90, which meant that there is a lack of pressure on both the man & the ball/area whilst not in possession.
In the new season, he is embarking on a new challenge in the Premier League playing at Selhurst Park. Though a defensive-focused team, Roy Hodgson will be grateful to have an arsenal of Zaha, Ayew, Batshuyai, Townsend & Eze to choose from every time they go to war. From the SouthLondon cages to the Premier League, Eze will be itching to rise to the challenge.
