Norwich City were relegated from the English Premier League last season. They returned to the EFL Championship and were eyeing a promotion once again. The Canaries made a few signings, including a Brazilian talent by the name of Gabriel Sara. Gabriel Sara is a 23-year-old midfielder who comes from Sao Paulo. Norwich City’s inconsistency on the field has pushed them away from the playoff places. This means that players like Sara can leave after spending just one season in the EFL Championship. The player said in a recent statement that he is fully focused on taking his side to promotion. In case Norwich City fails to make it back to the Premier League, then the other clubs will look to sign the youngster. We now look at some of his stats that show why some of the top European clubs are behind him.
A midfield enforcer
Gabriel Sara is in his first season in Europe. He has appeared in 32 league games in the EFL Championship, including 23 starts. Gabriel Sara has started to score goals and create a few for his teammates. The 23-year-old has six goals and four assists to his name. By looking at the pizza chart, we can observe that Sara has a high percentile rank in attack and possession. This is his percentile rank in comparison to other left-central-midfielders in the league. His heatmap shows that the player likes to stay on his preferred left side. Sara has started to find the back of the net recently, and that is what impresses the other clubs.
Gabriel Sara is not an effective dribbler and is not a big runner with the ball. He averages 1.13 progressive runs and 2.85 dribbles (38.4% success rate) per 90 minutes. It can be observed that these runs and dribbles have been attempted in different areas in the attacking half. Looking at the penetration carries of the player, we can observe that these carries have been made from left, right, and centre. However, most of the penetrations have been made from the left side.
The creative side and the current impressive form
Gabriel Sara added a few goals and assists to his name. This is the end product that most of the big clubs want from their midfield. Sara has scored six goals this season. In his first 24 appearances, the player only scored a couple of goals. His recent run of form has resulted in four goals in the last eight league matches. Overall, the player averages 1.76 shots per 90 minutes and has a 35.6% accuracy rate. Most of the shots have been attempted from outside the penalty box, and two of these shots have been converted. This shows that Sara can get into the box and take long-range shots as well. He averages 1.76 touches inside the penalty box per 90 minutes.
The 23-year-old has shown his creative side and has three assists to his name. He averages 43.97 passes per 90 minutes and has an 80.4% accuracy rate. These include 6.5 passes to the final third and 3.04 passes to the penalty box. The accuracy is 71.9% for passes to the final third and 56.4% for passes to the opposition penalty box. His shot assists map above shows that the player can deliver corners and can also find a teammate inside the penalty box with some simple passes.
Betting analysis
Gabriel Sara’s recent form is likely to have an impact on the betting odds. The odds for Norwich City will lower against the weaker sides in the EFL Championship when Sara is in the team. He will also lower the rate for over lines as the player is creative and can help his side to score a goal.
The 23-year-old has shown his creative side in recent matches. His consistency on the field has caught the eye of a few clubs. He could be on a move away from the Canaries if they do not get promoted.
Visuals via TFA data viz engine
