Millwall are sitting eighth in the EFL Championship thanks to their home form. The Lions are in the race for promotion and are tied on points with three teams ahead of them in the standings. Now that the chances of promotion are getting closer, they are focusing on adding new recruits that could help them in their charge. One of the players that has been on their wishlist is 27-year-old Scottish striker Lyndon Dykes. The 1.88-metre-tall striker has earned the interest of teams like Stoke City as well. His tall figure provides extra strength in the attack. We will now look at some of the player’s stats to see why Millwall are interested in the 27-year-old.
Lyndon Dykes plays as the number nine for his side. He played 33 matches in the EFL Championship 2021/22 season and went on to score eight goals with three assists. This season, he has already made 28 appearances, in which he has scored six goals with one assist. The above two visuals show the percentile rank of the striker in comparison to other strikers in the league. The first viz shows the stats from the 2021/22 season, while the second one is from the recent season. By looking at the visuals, we can observe that Dykes contests a lot of aerial duels and has a high win rate. This season, the striker has improved massively in his positioning and his defensive work on the pitch. Another area where the striker has shown improvement is his rank in shots as well as in xG contributions. Dykes is not known for his passing abilities and therefore has a low percentile rank.
The aerial threat
Lyndon Dykes usually plays as a lone striker. He mostly remains inside the opposition penalty box whenever the team is attacking. The above viz shows the player’s heatmap from the last two seasons. It can be observed that the high-intensity zones are slightly more towards the left side as well as inside the opposition penalty box. Last season, he averaged 2.28 touches inside the opposition penalty box per 90 minutes, and this season, the average number of touches has gone up to 2.75 touches per 90 minutes.
Lyndon Dykes takes attacking positions inside the opposition penalty box and tries to get on the end of crosses attempted by his teammates. Last season, he contested 11.42 aerial duels per 90 minutes and had a 40.2% success rate. This season, the number of duels contested has gone up to 12.57, and the success rate has slightly improved to 41.5%. The first visual above shows his 19 aerial duels against Luton Town, and the second one shows his 22 duels contested against Sheffield United. Dykes won nine aerial duels against Luton and seven against Sheffield United. The opposition has to mark him tightly, and they mostly do not allow him space in such dangerous areas. His aerial threat is one of the traits that make him an in-demand striker.
Dykes in front of the goal
Lyndon Dykes added eight goals to QPR’s account last season. He averaged 1.62 shots per 90 minutes and had a high accuracy rate of 61.7%. The above viz shows the xG map of the player from the 2021/22 season. Dykes scored seven goals from inside the penalty box, while one came from outside the box. The 27-year-old was on the receiving end of a few passes inside the opposition’s six-yard box. He took three shots from inside the box and converted all of them. The player also averaged 0.26 xG per 90 minutes.
This season, Dykes averages 1.9 shots per 90 minutes and has an accuracy rate of 48.9%. He has scored six goals, with two coming off the penalty spot. Dykes has scored all the other goals from inside or just from the edge of the opposition’s six-yard box. However, he has missed a few crucial chances from inside the six-yard box, and this is the reason why the player has failed to register more goals this season.
Looking at the two visuals above, we can observe that Dykes usually takes most of the shots from right in front of the goal. He plays as a target man and attracts the attention of the opposition’s defender.
Could Dykes replace Bradshaw in the playing 11?
Tom Bradshaw is the second-highest goal scorer for Millwall this season. He has scored seven goals and has an edge over Dykes in most departments. Dykes has won more aerial duels and has better positioning stats this season. Both players could combine at the top of the attack and provide different dimensions to the attack.
Betting Analysis
Lyndon Dykes’ addition to the team is unlikely to have much of an impact on Millwall’s 1×2 odds. However, the over/under lines are likely to be affected by his signing. The over lines odds rate are likely to go down as Dykes possesses the ability to score goals.
QPR have rejected Millwall’s bid for the Scottish striker. However, the Lions are trying hard to sign him in the current transfer window and strengthen their offensive force. A few Scottish Premiership teams are also chasing the striker. QPR will look to make more money in case they wish to sell the striker.
Visuals via Wyscout and the TFA data viz engine
