Plymouth Argyle ended up earning promotion last season and it now leaves them in League One, just two tiers below the EPL and clubs like Chelsea and Manchester United. Manager Ryan Lowe knows that new faces have to come in if Plymouth are to handle the step up to a higher division, and of the new arrivals, one of the most exciting looks to be Panutche Camará. The 23-year-old Guinea-Bissauan joins after three seasons at Crawley Town, and offers plenty of promise.
This scout report will provide a tactical analysis of Camará’s most recent season at Crawley Town. The analysis will look at how the promising player fitted into Crawley’s tactics, and show how his current abilities can benefit his new side.
Role In The Crawley Team
Panutche Camará is primarily a central midfielder. Possessing a big frame with long limbs, he excels at operating within the middle third of the pitch.
The above image shows Camará’s heatmap where the warmer the colour, the more often he was positioned there during games. An analysis of the heatmap shows the 23-year-old to be comfortable on either side of midfield. At Crawley, he also operated in more advanced positions. A more defensive player would play alongside him on these occasions.
Camará is not just a central player though. Three of his 23 league starts came on the left wing, and a further three of his starts came on the right. His ability to play out wide is because of his excellent dribbling, stamina, and passing.
At Plymouth though, he is more likely to operate in a central role. As the article will later show, his defensive contribution could make him an ideal replacement for Tyreeq Bakinson. The 21-year-old was on loan from Bristol City last season but his deal was not extended. In his absence, 23-year-old Camará could fill his role perfectly.
Ball Progressing Midfielder
Camará’s large frame makes him the ideal player for progressing the ball through midfield. His long limbs enable him to win possession of opponents and shield the ball as he carries it through the central third. If the opportunity to run isn’t available, Camará is also an accomplished progressive passer.
The above image shows Camará’s ball progression over the last 12 months. The 23-year-old had an average of 6.08 progressive passes per 90 and 1.66 progressive runs per 90. Those numbers made him one of the better central midfielders in League Two last season.
The main reason Camará can be so progressive with the ball is because of his body position. The image above shows a good example of it.
The midfielder looks to receive the ball when sideways on. This allows him to receive the pass on his front foot whilst still being able to use his large frame as a shield against nearby opponents. Starting at 90-degree angle to where he wants to go, Camará can quickly turn and carry or pass the ball forwards.
When operating as part of a midfield two at Crawley, Camará was often the more advanced of the pair. He would position himself further upfield and look to impact the game from the edge of the final third. At his new club Plymouth, he faces midfield competition from the likes of Danny Mayor and Joe Edwards. Because of this, Camará could well play in a deeper role within Plymouth’s midfield three. He will still be able to receive the ball on the half-turn from the defenders behind them though.
Defensive Contribution
The previous two sections of this article have shown Panutche Camará to be a player who operated in more advanced positions whilst with Crawley Town. His average position with ‘The Red Devils’ makes his recovery numbers look even more impressive.
The above image shows Camará’s ball recoveries across the last 12 months. The impressive spread of these recoveries around the pitch is immediately noticeable. Averaging 9.03 recoveries and 6.27 counterpressing recoveries every 90 minutes, he ranked as one of the better outfield ball winners in League Two last season. These numbers are made even more impressive when you remember who Crawley often had a more defensive midfield partner for Camará.
The two below images show Camará’s final third recoveries and the successful defensive duels in his own third.
The two graphs perfectly show how Camará can commit to the defensive phase at both ends of the pitch. At Crawley, the 23-year-old had an average of 2.81 final third recoveries per 90 minutes, 0.83 of which on average were dangerous recoveries that led to goals and chances. At the other end, Camará had an average of 9.17 defensive duels every 90 minutes, with a 56.28% success rate. All four statistics ranked Camará among the very best in League Two last season.
The reason Camará is able to be so defensively effective at both ends of the pitch is because of his excellent physical qualities. He possesses exceptional stamina, is able to shuttle between the first and final third for the whole 90 minutes and beyond. His 6’1″ frame and long limbs additionally makes him ideal for competing in both defensive and aerial duels.
Camará’s excellent work rate and defensive output will provide much-needed solidity to the Plymouth Argyle midfield. The 23-year-old could fill a defensive role that allows Danny Mayor, Callum McFadzean and Byron Moore to be even more expressive on the ball.
Goal Contribution
Whilst not the main focal point of the attack at Crawley Town, Panutche Camará did manage to contribute to ‘The Red Devils’ goal tally. Across his 29 league appearances last season, Camará contributed one goal and three assists. All of them came when operating in a central position.
The image above shows his goal away at Walsall last season. Camará had the freedom to enter the final third and penalty area when on the attack. Making a late run into the box, no defenders were close by to pick him up. There was an element of fortune about how the ball fell to him, but he made it count.
Camará’s exceptional stamina allows him to operate in a box-to-box role. He is able to make late runs into the penalty area and get back so that he can commit to the defensive phase in his own third. Those physical qualities will make him an excellent addition to Plymouth’s midfield.
Most of Camará’s goal contributions last season were assists, however. They came from simple passes. When his shot assist data is observed, it becomes clear as to why they are short-range assists. The graph below shows Camará’s short assist data.
The majority of shot assists in this situation came from lateral passes. It then makes sense that the most common receivers of a shot assist from Camará were Beryly Lubala, Nathan Ferguson, and Reece Grego-Cox. The three are wingers and a central midfielder who operated on a similar lateral line to Camará.
There are however several progressive shot assists in the data graph. These normally originate from Camará being in a deep position and playing a pass forwards towards either a striker or a winger that has pushed upfield. At Plymouth, Camará could well complete even more progressive shot assists than he did at Crawley. Ryan Lowe’s system involves two flying wing-backs and a front two who looks to get in behind when possible. This will no doubt present Camará with numerous opportunities to set teammates up for shots, and several could end up becoming goal assists as well.
General Areas of Improvement
Of course, at the still young age of 23, Panutche Camará’s game is not yet completely perfect. There are still several areas that the Guinea-Bissauan can and will need to improve on ahead of the step up to League One.
As good as he is on the ball, he is still guilty of losing possession during matches. The image below shows Camará’s inaccurate passes and lost defensive duels.
Camará averaged 11.57 losses per 90 last season, the majority of which came in the central third of the pitch. That average ranked him in the upper half of all League Two outfield players. In a higher division against better quality opponents, his possession loss numbers will need to be reduced.
The graph also shows that many of Camará’s inaccurate passes were progressive. If the 23-year-old is going to play in the deeper part of Plymouth’s midfield three, he will need to be more considerate as to when to attempt these passes. A loss of possession in deep midfield could lead to the opposition launching a dangerous counter-attack. They will be a relatively short distance from goal with the now-defending team caught out of shape. Should Camará play a more advanced midfield position at Plymouth, he will be encouraged to be more progressive with his passing. Whilst he will likely have nearby cover should he lose possession, there is still the possibility of dangerous counter-attacks originating from his inaccurate passes.
If Camará does regularly play in an advanced position, Danny Mayor will likely be his partner. Mayor is an incredibly accomplished dribbler, one of the best in the whole division. If Camará can recreate similar dribbling numbers on the other side of midfield, it will benefit Plymouth Argyle tenfold.
The midfielder’s final third numbers are already impressive and are shown in the above graph. At Crawley Town, Camará had an average of 2.3 successful dribbles per 90 -that ranked him towards the upper end of the list amongst other League Two players. He also had a 68.2% accuracy from 44 attempted dribbles over the last 12 months. Those numbers are fairly strong, but can certainly improve, especially if Camará wants to produce similar dribbling numbers to that of Danny Mayor.
As shown earlier in the article, Panutche Camará has impressive defending numbers. Despite this, however, he can certainly still improve, particularly in his own third. The below image is the same recoveries graph that was used earlier.
The majority of Camará’s own third recoveries were a result of positioning – few came as a result of pass interception or counterpressing. If the 23-year-old is going to take up the deeper role in Plymouth’s midfield, his overall numbers in the first third need to improve more. As the deepest lying midfielder, he will be expected to provide solidity in front of the backline. Camará certainly looks capable of winning the ball via good positioning, but he will want to improve his ability to intercept passes as well. There are certainly encouraging signs though about how good Camará can be in the deep midfield role.
Conclusion
Ahead of their return to League One, Plymouth Argyle have strengthened their midfield unit with the signing of Panutche Camará. The 23-year-old caught the eye at Crawley Town, and his underlying numbers show the potential that he has.
Camará possesses exceptional physical qualities that allow him to run between both the own third and final third all game long. He also shows promise with his ball progressing, and his late runs into the penalty box could prove very useful to Plymouth this season.
It is as of yet unclear whether he will take up a deeper or more advanced role in the Argyle midfield. Regardless of which one is chosen though, his impressive defensive output in League Two will greatly benefit Plymouth. He will, of course, want to increase his recovery numbers ahead of making the step up to a higher division.
The signing of Panutche Camará to Plymouth Argyle may not be seen as one of the major League One transfers. In the long term, however, it could prove to be a first-class piece of business for the Devon club.
