John Lundstram of 19/20, Stuart Dallas of 20/21. But who’s gonna be the surprise package of 21/22?

We already searched many times for someone like Dallas in this season. There were plenty of options like Lamptey, RAN, etc. But still, we’re failed to find someone perfect. But on the last day of the summer transfer window, I got someone, who has the potential to be the new Dallas, he can be even better 😉

So let’s see, who’s he.

His name is “Connor Roberts” (£4.5M), new signee of Burnley from Swansea City.

Who is this Connor Roberts?

Well, let’s check his basic profile.

Age : 25
Height : 6’2″
Country : Wales
Position : RM/RWB/RB

If you followed Championship 20/21, I think you already know about him. He did totally a beast performance for Swansea. He was the most scoring defender of the Championship. Just not only his attacking potential, he’s overall a solid player. He was arguably the best player of the Swans.

Dallas became a gem after spent a fantastic season in Championship 19/20. So, to judge Connor Roberts, let’s compare him with his 20/21 performance with Dallas’ 19/20 Championship performance.

Dallas in 19/20 vs Roberts in 20/21

Goals : 5 vs 5
xG : 6.65 vs 2.76
Assist : 3 vs 7!
xA : 6.21 vs 7.36
Minutes per Goal : 786 vs 786
CC : 46 vs 91!
KP : 43 vs 84!
SoT : 26 vs 12

So, here we can see, they both played equal minutes. They have same amounts of goals. But Roberts totally overcame Dallas at assists, chance creates & key passes. He has better xA too. He totally overperformed his xG, and actually, it’s not for luck, he has enough potential to do it.

So if you wanna talk about potential, I think Roberts is already better than Dallas.

He also played at EURO 2020 and scored a goal for Wales.

Now let’s focus on his obstacles.

His main obstacle will be his team, Burnley. Though the Clarets are famous for good defensive stats, it’s totally worsened since the second half of the last season. In the ongoing season, only Arsenal & Newcastle has worse xGC than them. So it’ll be too tough for them to get cs.

Secondly, their attacking stats aren’t really eye-catching. And their full attack is mainly based on Wood. That’s why it’s not that much spread. I think it will affect Roberts to get returns.

The next point is his place & role in the team. He can play as RB or RM at Burnley. But they have already good options at those positions. Lowton and Gudmundsson almost nailed at RB & RM. So it won’t be easy for him to make the first xi so soon without some extraordinary performances.

And right now, he’s not totally fit to start. He’ll come back from a lengthy injury, which can downgrade his future performance too.

So, I’m keeping my eye on him. If he can show his true potentials, I think he has a chance to be the best budget defender of this season.

By Munawar Rafid

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