Ryan Kent left Rangers after his four-year contract ended with the Scottish giants. His departure was a huge loss for the Gers, as they lost a big gem from their team. Michael Beale had to find a replacement for the Englishman, and he chose a Welshman to fill in the gap left. 22-year-old winger Rabbi Matondo stepped up to the challenge, and it looks like Rangers fans will have to get used to their last season’s signing.
A former Manchester City graduate joined Rangers from Schalke in 2022 and had to wait for his chance. This season, the manager has entrusted him, and Matondo is getting regular game time. Here is a look at some of the stats that show why he could turn out to be the ideal replacement for Kent.
High work rate
Rabbi Matondo is young and has to play a role at both ends of the field. This season, the player has made five combined appearances in the Scottish Premiership and the UEFA Champions League Playoff matches. Matondo scored his first and only goal of the season at home against PSV.
The above viz shows the reading of players’ intensity on the field. Matondo has an attacking mindset and has penetrated the opposition’s penalty box on occasions. The forward has also taken 12 touches inside the opposition’s penalty box. His dribbling has been decent enough and has enjoyed a 51% success rate. One area where the player needs to be productive is in delivering crosses. This season he has only attempted four and last season he averaged 3.22 crosses per 90 minutes.
The pace and skills of Matondo have allowed him to make 12 progressive runs this season. From the above viz., it can be observed that the Welshman likes to stretch the opposition’s defence and has often penetrated the box from wider zones.
Creative Touch
Players like Rabbi Matondo are dangerous once they get into one-on-one situations with defenders and can produce a shot assist that often leads to a goal. In the last two seasons combined, the player has provided six assists. Five came last season, and one came in the current one. Matondo tries to cut back and can also deliver some straight passes into the penalty box.
Last season, the player averaged 2.75 passes into the opposition penalty box per 90 minutes and had a 63% accuracy rate.
Improvement in the end product
Rabbi Matondo struggled with finding the back of the net last season. He attempted 16 shots with a decent accuracy rate of 37.5%. Most shots came from outside or the edge of the box, and he failed to keep the majority of them on target.
This season, Matondo’s accuracy has gone down to 15.4%, but the player finally scored his first goal for the club. The above shot map shows that the player has found space inside the opposition’s box and attempted the majority of shots from scoring areas. This is also a reason for a decent xG rate this season.
Can Matondo match Kent’s presence?
Ryan Kent was decent with his creativity, but his presence was a big, worrying sign for any defence. Last season, he was a regular, and Matondo was used as a substitute. The above viz compares the percentile ranks of these two players.
Kent clearly edged on the creative side, but Matondo offered more in defence. Both were equal with their dribbling and taking touches inside the opposition penalty box. This means that the Rangers might have the ideal replacement for Kent.
Visuals via TFA data viz engine
