Profile: How will Jorge Pereyra Diaz fit in at Kerala Blasters

The Argentine has previously played for Asian club Johor Darul Ta'zim.

Kerala Blasters recently announced the signing of Argentine attacker Jorge Pereyra Diaz for the upcoming season. He is one of the five foreigners in the Kerala Blasters squad for the next Indian Super League season. The club are yet to sign their sixth overseas player.

Diaz joins the Blasters on a season-long loan deal from Atletico Platense. The 31-year-old will bring a breath of fresh air, as he is completely different going from most foreign attacking signings made by ISL clubs. Most tend to sign conventional target men, but Jorge Diaz completely breaks the notion here. He is a creative forward, pleasing on the eye with silky touches and smooth movements.

Here, we discuss how he plays, how he can be used by the new Kerala Blasters manager Ivan Vukomanovic. We also find out how he fares from a data perspective.

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How will Jorge Diaz fit in at Kerala Blasters under Ivan Vukomanovic

Vukomanovic usually plays a flat 4-4-2 with an adaptable system, with changes made depending on the strengths and style of the opposition. His teams build from the back with two strikers upfront. There is an emphasis on possession, with a patient build-up and passing in the final third.

Keeping this in mind, one of the two strikers plays a supporting role, dropping back to link-up play. The supporting striker has the license to drift around, ask for the ball and dictate the game. Jorge Diaz's signing is, therefore, no surprise here, as he perfectly fits the mold of what Vukomanovic expects from his support striker.

Jorge Diaz does most of his actions in the final third with dribbling, passing and linking up play being some of his best attributes. The Argentine is a creative forward, who is pleasing to watch on the ball and has impeccable technique.

The attacker is patient on the ball and passes it around with a sense of timing and calmness, instead of spamming crosses or passes. His game looks smooth and silky on the ball. Diaz operates effectively in both the half-spaces, with his angled balls into the box being a trademark.

He has immense close control and loves to glide past players with ease. The former Johor Darul Ta'zim striker is primarily right-footed, but does have a good left foot, making him even more unpredictable. Jorge Diaz’s game features a lot of dribbles and one-twos.

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When played out wide, Diaz has a tendency to put low crosses into the box aimed towards the near post. Off the ball, his late runs into the box can break defensive structures.

Jorge Diaz's understanding of the game helps him find runners and he does have a killer final ball. He has a decent work-rate, tracking runners and pressing players. His versatility will also be something that Vukomanovic would love, as he is capable of playing in any position across the frontline. However, there are questions surrounding his consistency and physicality.

At Kerala Blasters, who are most probably going to play a 4-4-2, Diaz will play as the supporting striker. Spaniard Alvaro Vazquez is expected to lead the line for the two-time ISL finalists. The two players complement each other and make Kerala’s attack potent.

DATA PROFILE

Jorge Diaz's most prolific season came with Bolivar FC in 2019 when he scored 20 league goals. Now with data from his 2019 season, let us dig a little deeper.

Firstly, this is a radar showing his attacking KPI. The Argentine fairs reasonably well in a number of metrics as seen above from the 2019 season of the Bolivian top flight.

Diaz comes out really well in xG per 90 and touches in the box per 90, being in the top 78 and 96 percentile respectively. But, he scored 20 league goals from an xG of 13.36, which suggests a severe over-performance. The fact that he has struggled ever since this season supports the notion that xG always regresses to the mean.

Compared to the quality of the Bolivian league, he is an average attacker who takes a lot of shots from good positions. This is what his data profile suggests.

The fact that he is 31, has crossed double digits in goals only twice in his career and hasn’t made a considerable number of appearances or played a reasonable amount of games, brings in doubts about his availability and consistency.

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CONCLUSION

Upon watching Jorge Diaz, one can conclude that the attacker is pleasing to the eye and has the tools to be the X-Factor for an ISL club. But, from a data point of view, he does not seem to fare really well. Maybe playing under a manager who can bring the best out of him can bring forth different results. Nevertheless, he is an interesting player to keep an eye on.

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