Leeds United are back in the big time, and with it has come a slew of transfer rumours.
Marcelo Bielsa is meticulous about every aspect of the football clubs he manages and it is no different at Leeds. Supporters have been keen to glean any insight into his transfer plans, and the latest name to crop up is Jean-Paul Boetius.
A familiar name to some perhaps, he may also have caught a large section of the support off guard, so just who is he?
Background
Boetius started his career with Dutch side Feyenoord. He made his debut for the club in 2012 as an 18-year-old under the guidance of Ronald Koeman.
After three years there he moved to Swiss side FC Basel in 2015 where he won the Swiss Super League in his first season at the club. By the mid-point of his second campaign, he was making his way to Belgium to join Genk on loan.
A short stint there was followed by a return to Rotterdam with Feyenoord in 2017 where he won the KNVB Cup and the Johan Cruyff shield twice.
He would spend just one season at De Kuip, however. Sent off for sarcastically applauding the referee after being booked, manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst informed the winger he had no future at the club and that saw him join German outfit Mainz in 2018.
He has represented Holland at both youth and senior level, and was called up as part of Louis van Gaal’s World Cup squad in 2014.
Strengths
Interestingly, despite coming through as a winger, Boetius’s move to Mainz has seen him shift position.
Now operating as an attacking midfielder, it has produced seven goals and 12 assists in 45 appearances. Overall, his career has seen him play a variety of different roles on the pitch, including both left and right-wing, as well as attacking midfield, second striker, and centre forward.
At Mainz, he has played on both wings and centrally, and it’s in his current position, as an attacking midfielder, Bielsa will most likely utilise him.
What instantly stands out about Boetius in this role is his defensive contribution. He averaged 8.25 defensive duels per 90 minutes last season in the Bundesliga, which is second among attacking midfielders that have played a minimum of 1,000 minutes.
Leonardo Bittencourt of Hoffenheim is the only man to record more with 8.69, but when it comes to a success rate, Boetius takes the crown, with a 60.73 per cent success rate compared to Bittencourt’s 50.79 per cent.
When it comes to interceptions per 90 minutes using the same criteria, Boetius came out top (4.18) in the Bundesliga last season, and second in Europe’s top five leagues, behind Norwich City’s Kenny McLean (4.66). Boetius also averaged 6.59 recoveries per 90 minutes last season.
When it comes to his attacking output he is fourth in the Bundesliga for final third passes per 90 minutes, and a study of his assists from last season may give the greatest insight as to why Leeds are interested.
He notched two of his four Bundesliga assists during a 5-0 drubbing of Werder Bremen, and in both instances Boetius produced a well-timed pass after Mainz won the ball back in the opposition’s half.
His first assist was a precise pass through the lines to find Robin Quaison, and the second was a similar situation that saw Boetius play Jean-Philippe Mateta in to score.
He is also fifth in the Bundesliga for smart passes per 90 minutes, behind Emil Forsberg, Philippe Coutinho, Jadon Sancho, and Thomas Muller. Wyscout defines a smart pass as ‘a creative and penetrative pass that attempts to break the opposition's defensive lines to gain a significant advantage in attack’.
Weaknesses
If there is an obvious weakness to Boetius's game it’s he appears to be not much of a goal-scoring threat in open play, while his goal conversion percentage is 11.4 per cent
For an attacking midfielder he doesn’t average many touches in the box per 90 minutes, and he should also be striving for greater consistency as he moves into the next phase of his career, with his smart pass per 90 minutes accuracy the fourth-best of the aforementioned top five.
Conclusion
Overall, the skill set Boetius has would see him fit in well with what Bielsa asks of a central midfielder in his system.
He’s a versatile midfielder able to play several different roles. He is also very productive defensively, especially when it comes to interceptions and ball recoveries. This alone makes him ideal for a central midfield role in Bielsa’s team.
The fact he has shown an ability to play smart passes and create after his team has won the ball back high up also ticks another box. Currently valued at £4.3m, Boetius could be exactly the type of bargain Bielsa is looking for, and the perfect fit at attacking midfield.
