Bournemouth occupy the second position on the EFL Championship points table. While Dominic Solanke has been by far their best performer, Jaidon Anthony, a youngster, has been enjoying a breakout campaign. So far, the 22-year-old has netted eight times and assisted five goals in 35 games. In this piece, we will have a look at Anthony’s performances this season.
The chart above shows the performances of Jaidon Anthony relative to the rest of the league. He has scored eight times this season for Bournemouth. He has been shining for the team in the passing and progression areas. Even though he has underperformed in expected assists (xA), he could be creating good quality chances, which may have been missed by other Bournemouth players. Anthony has been very much involved in Bournemouth’s build-up play, as he completes 38 passes per game on average. He is also finding his man regularly with a pass accuracy of 80.72%. He is placed in the upper quintile in the following categories: crosses per 90, smart passes per 90, through balls per 90, and long balls per 90.
Given above is the shot map of Jaidon Anthony this season. All goals from Jaidon Anthony have come from inside the box. He has also missed a few big chances, which had an xG value of 0.35 or greater. Anthony has taken 46 shots this season, meaning he has a conversion rate of 5.75 shots per goal scored. He has shot 19 out of 46 on target, giving him a shot accuracy of 41.3%.
Given above are the pass sonar, xT timeline, and xT map of Jaidon Anthony this season. Anthony has been one of the go-to men for threat creation for the team from the south coast of England. He frequently creates an xT value of over 1.0 throughout the match. Occasionally, he has produced over 1.5 as well. Primarily, Jaidon Anthony creates threats from the left wing in the final third. He has generated threats from passes, crosses, as well as dribbles into the oppositions’ penalty box. He has also created the same on some occasions from the right flank. His right sideway passes into the penalty box generate a very high xT value.
The 2021/22 EFL Championship season has been Jaidon Anthony’s breakout season in the English second tier. He could help Bournemouth win automatic promotion. The question now is if he can improve enough to survive, if not thrive in the Premier League.
