How good is Joselu? | Analysis of the new Real Madrid player
Joselu Mato has been one of the best strikers in Spanish football recently, scoring more than 10 goals in each of the last 4 seasons. His signing for Real Madrid is one of the most underrated in the first days of the transfer window, as we will see later he is a very complete player and can bring a different style coming off the bench in games where Madrid fail to open the scoring. He is a player who has performed consistently over the last few years, with no injury problems and balanced in terms of his technical, physical and tactical conditions.
If we compare him with the strikers of the 5 big leagues we can see that he stands out in aerial duels, in goals or forward passes, as well as in clearances, being a very useful player in defensive set pieces, as well as contributing a lot in defence. If there is a weakness in his statistics, it’s his assists, not giving more than 5 in any season.
Let’s take a look at some images to highlight his strengths. Joselu is an agile and dynamic footballer despite his height, which allows him to play with his back to goal and link up.
From outside the box he has a great long range shot, being able to finish with both legs.
He is key in aerial duels, either to deliver the ball to a teammate or to finish, being his main weapon to increase his goalscoring figures. Precisely in this play that ends with a header, we can see how intelligent he is in his movements off the ball, looking to catch the center back out of position in order to get away and score.
These runs also allow him to attack the spaces very well, being a double threat as he can drop deep to receive or attack for the back of the defensive line.
Inside the box he has good positioning, which allows him to score many times without being covered, as well as having plenty of resources when it comes to finishing plays, although the question is whether he can continue to improve his performance when he makes the leap to the elite.
Joselu is also a good free-kick taker thanks to the good long distance shot we mentioned earlier and although he is usually one of the penalty takers in his teams, he doesn’t have spectacular figures, being average.
In addition to the clearances we mentioned, it’s worth noting that he is an intelligent presser, cutting the passing lanes.
I’m sure that Joselu will bring a good number of goals to Real Madrid to fight for the next league. The doubt lies in the level he can bring in the most important games such as the Champions League.
