00:00In terms of the experience that he has at elite level in Europe, it's obvious what he'll bring in terms of his organisation, his communication skills,
00:09the way he's going to be able to help set the standards every day and drive the team forward.
00:13But I think what's really important to know about this deal is the reason probably why someone's willing to spend this level of money on a 32-year-old player is
00:21this isn't a player on the downward spiral who's kind of coming in to almost be a cheerleader and get a few minutes if you like.
00:27This is still an elite level European midfielder whose stats from the last two seasons with Bayern Leverkusen are exceptional, there's no other way to describe it.
00:35Still a very durable player, played 33 times in the Bundesliga last season, of course it's a 34-game season in the Bundesliga,
00:42so not had any injury issues, not really had any physical fitness issues, also made 10 appearances in the Champions League last season as well.
00:50So we're talking about someone who is still playing week in, week out at the highest level.
00:54And if we have a little look into his statistics, we can see that he is still an elite level player,
01:00and especially when it comes to passing and creativity, his numbers rank up there with anybody in Europe when it comes to chance creation and pass completion.
01:09I'm going to dig into that a little bit in a second after I've had a sip of coffee.
01:13So, as we have done all summer, taking a look at stats website FB Ref to get a comparison, just to see what Xhaka does well compared to other players in his position.
01:25So if we look at other centre midfielders last season, across the top five divisions in Europe, and also all the European competitions, Champions League, Europa League, Conference League,
01:35his passing statistics are remarkable, there's no other way to describe it.
01:39Top 3% for passes completed, top 1% for passes into the final third, top 3% for progressive passes,
01:47top 20% for key passes and expected assists, top 5% for passes that ultimately lead to a goal, top 4% for passes that lead to a shot,
01:58top 7% for carries, so dribbling forward with the ball in the dangerous areas.
02:05Yeah, quite simply, one of the best passing midfielders in Europe, absolutely no other way to describe it.
02:11Not a flash in the pan either, his numbers the season before were very similar, if not even slightly better in some areas,
02:18when of course Leverkusen had that iconic season where they won the league and the cup and almost went the full season unbeaten
02:23before losing to Atlanta in the Europa League final.
02:28Yeah, and if we drill a little bit closer, looking at Wisecout as well for statistics last season,
02:32fifth for assists across the entire Bundesliga, third for passes completed,
02:37and I would add, in addition to that, that the numbers 1 and 2 were both Bayern Munich players.
02:42So outside of Bayern Munich, obviously the best team in the league last season,
02:45nobody completed more passes than Xhaka, and he was also third for progressive passes,
02:50so not just passes for the sake of it, passes actually in dangerous areas,
02:53passes that actually lead into things happening.
02:58So I think that gives you a flavour of what Xhaka brings at this point in his career,
03:03just quality really in possession, really good at setting the tempo of a game,
03:08knowing and understanding when to slow the game down, when to quicken things up,
03:12when to take a risk, when not to take a risk.
03:14I think a really kind of elite level player is going to add something completely different to Sunderland's midfield.
03:19Now trying to throw it forward and look at where we'll fit into Sunderland's shape and system and style,
03:24it's probably the hardest of all the transfers we've discussed this summer,
03:27because obviously the differences between the Bayern Leverkusen team he's played in for the last two years
03:31and Sunderland moving forward this season is absolutely vast.
03:34For one, Bayern Leverkusen favoured a back three under Xabi Alonso,
03:37and two, they absolutely dominated possession in most games,
03:41especially in the season, of course, where they won the title.
03:44We know it's not really going to look like that for Sunderland next year.
03:47A, they're going to play with a back four, and B, a lot of the game they'll be playing on the break.
03:52So it's going to be really a different style, a different system,
03:55there's going to be no sort of easy comparison there.
03:58And Saka, for the most part, Leverkusen played a kind of 3-4-2-1 system.
04:02Saka played as one of the two holding midfielders in that system.
04:06So if you imagine it, you've got your wing-backs, you've got two holding midfielders,
04:09two attacking midfielders, and a striker.
04:11Saka very much is one of those two most deep-lying midfielders, if you like.
04:15But I have to say that watching his clips and watching a lot of the things that he's been involved in,
04:19clearly in that Leverkusen side, a huge amount of freedom and licence to break forward.
04:25Constantly sort of picking up the ball on the edge of the area, trying to unpick a low block,
04:29trying to create chances, trying to make something happen.
04:32Definitely not a traditional holding midfielder, if you like.
04:34That wasn't his role for Leverkusen.
04:36As I say, very much about setting the tempo and the rhythm of the game
04:39and also trying to open up the opposition defence.
04:41I think it's most likely he'll play as a six for Sunderland.
04:45I think there'll be a demand for him to organise, to communicate with the players in front of him.
04:52I think to take the ball off the back for him, pressurise situations,
04:55because he's got the quality to do that.
04:57And I think there'll be a big onus on him to play those forward passes,
05:00to strut them, to trigger someone's kind of attack.
05:02So I think we'll see him playing a lot of early passes out into the wings.
05:04I think we'll see him playing a lot of early passes over the top for whoever's playing up front.
05:08So I think it will be a different role.
05:11But I think the obvious thing that Sunderland wants to get from Zachary
05:15and that he's going to bring is a quality and a composure on the ball
05:18that you don't often see from teams, I think, who have just won promotion.
05:21So I think it's a really exciting prospect.
05:25Defensively, his numbers are nowhere near as strong as his passing numbers for Leverkusen.
05:29I wouldn't get too caught up on that because there's an obvious reason for that.
05:33Potentially is that, obviously, Leverkusen is dominating the possessions.
05:35You don't expect their midfielders to get through as much defensive work
05:38as a team, for example, at the bottom of the table would do.
05:41So I'm not getting too caught up on that.
05:43I don't think it suggests any defensive issues.
05:45I just think it's not the strongest part of his game
05:47and certainly not on the Leverkusen side that dominates the ball.
05:50Actually, one thing that I noticed on my scout looking at the Bundesliga last season
05:53was he compared pretty favourably to a lot of midfielders
05:57sort of near enough the top 20 for recoveries and counter-pressing recoveries.
06:02So I think that can show you that he understands when to press.
06:05He's good at winning the ball back.
06:06He can sort of come out on top in duels.
06:09I think that's obviously going to be an important part of someone's game this season
06:11because while at times they'll sit off in a low block,
06:14they'll try and pick the right moments to jump and press really aggressively
