Middlesbrough had a solid campaign in the EFL Championship season just gone by, finishing seventh on the points table. Boro would have even pushed themselves into the promotion playoffs had they not lost 1-4 to Preston North End on the final matchday. Matt Crooks was the star man for Middlesbrough. However, the midfielder received little support from his other midfield teammates. So, the team from North Yorkshire needs to strengthen in the middle of the park. One name who has been linked to joining Boro this summer is Leicester City midfielder, Hamza Choudhury. In this article, we will explore what Choudhury might bring to the Middlesbrough midfield.
Choudhury made only six appearances for Leicester City in the 2021-22 Premier League season and played only 285 minutes of league football. Still, in his limited playtime, the Englishman, who is of Bangladeshi origin, was solid if not good on the defensive end. Choudhury attempted 14.32 defensive actions per 90 at a high success rate of 77.55%. The former England U-21 international attempted 7.89 defensive duels per 90. He also attempted 3.8 loose ball duels per 90. But the Englishman’s strongest area is his aerial ability. Despite standing at 178 cm in height, Choudhury won a whopping 94.12% of his aerial duels out of just under five attempts per 90.
Shown above is the heat map of Choudhury in the 2021-22 Premier League season. During his limited game-time on the pitch, the 24-year-old was most involved on the right-hand side of the area between midfield and defence, providing cover for the advancing right-back. Choudhury committed 1.17 fouls per 90 whilst he was on the pitch. He completed only 1.56 progressive passes per 90 and less than one ball into the attacking third per 90.
The above viz shows the locations of the duels won by Hamza Choudhury in the recently concluded Premier League campaign. Most of his victorious duels came in the form of aerial duels and ground duels as he won far fewer 50/50s than both of the aforementioned types. In his limited playtime, Choudhury attempted 13.1 pressures per 90, 7.5 tackles and interceptions per 90, 3.75 clearances per 90 and 1.56 blocks per 90 on the defensive end.
Hamza Choudhury performed well for Leicester City whenever he played this campaign. However, the problem was he played too little. This may have caused his career to stagnate as he never clocked more than 900 minutes in a season for the Foxes in the Premier League. Hence, it may be a wise decision for Choudhury to join a team where he would fetch regular game-time. That could arrive in the Championship at Middlesbrough.
