Queens Park Rangers finished the 2021-22 EFL Championship season in 11th place on the points table. But the campaign could have been much better as they were challenging for a spot in the promotion playoffs at the start of February. A terrible run of form saw them lose 11 out of the last 18 league matches. To improve their hopes of finishing in the promotion playoff spots this season, the West London club have signed Leeds United attacker, Tyler Roberts, on a loan deal.
Only seven of Roberts’ 23 Premier League appearances for Leeds United last season were starts. He was on the pitch only for 987 minutes. He scored a goal and provided an assist, but according to xG, he should have had at least two or three goals. He attempted over 2.5 shots per 90, but only got 29% of them on goal. His number of touches inside the penalty area also placed him in the bottom half. With a 75.61% dribble success rate, he was placed in the upper quintile among attackers. Additionally, he had a high quintile ranking for winning rate in offensive duels.
When compared to xA, Roberts marginally underperformed in assists. With a pass accuracy of only 72.18%, he was placed in the lowest quartile of attackers. In terms of ball progression, he performed marginally better than his colleagues, with approximately 69% of his passes into the final third reaching a teammate, placing him just above average. The Welshman made 1.3 long balls per 90, putting him in the top 16% of attackers. Similarly, with 1.06 smart passes per 90 and 0.98 thorough passes per 90, he was placed in the top quintile in both categories.
As a second striker, Roberts had a constant presence in the final third. He was typically spotted slightly behind the striker and drifted to the right side. He received 7.18 progressive passes per 90. Additionally, the Welshman averaged 1.09 penalty box passes per 90, 3.91 progressive carries per 90, 15.4 pressures per 90, and 5.73 recoveries per 90.
Roberts only scored once in 987 minutes of action last season. He also squandered a good opportunity from within the six-yard box. Though he attempted more than half of his shots from inside the box, occasionally, he also attempted to fire from outside the box. According to FBREF, he took 30 shots with an average shooting distance of 18.5 yards from the goal.
Despite playing less than 1000 minutes, Tyler Roberts was a rather good performer for Leeds United in most areas except underperforming relative to xG and xA. At QPR, he would be the main man in attack and one can expect him to be the team’s top goalscorer by the end of this season if he avoids major injuries.
