Lamine Yamal, the 17-year-old prodigy shaking up La Liga this year, has taken football by storm with his jaw-dropping feats on the field. Despite not turning 18 until mid-July of this year, he’s already left an indelible mark in the footballing world. Yamal’s 11 goals and 17 assists on the season make for an impressive total of 28 direct contributions to a goal. His form eclipses the starts to the careers of all-time greats such as Michael Owen and Kylian Mbappe. He’s had a game-altering impact this season. Whether over 80 successful carries or passes into the penalty area, he’s clearly just blessed with skill and vision.
Though Yamal’s numbers certainly show his upside, he has several flaws in his game that need addressing. He shoots an equal number of step-backs as his contemporaries. Nonetheless, he struggles with shot selection and frequently opts for bad shots. His real life season is a childhood genius extreme talent. It points to room for improvement, which should make him a very interesting player to follow as he matures.
Yamal’s Statistical Breakthrough
Lamine Yamal’s numbers tell a pretty incredible story about one of football’s most exciting young players. He’s not only giving it a go, he’s thriving at the absolute top most levels. With a total of 28 goal contributions—11 goals and 17 assists—he stands out as the most productive player in the FBref database for those aged 17 and under. His increasingly impressive contributions to the game have won him national acclaim, and even for his team, made him a bedrock foundation.
During 2023 league play, he’s scored six goals already. It’s yet another testament to his status as one of the best young talents in the football world. His per-90 statistics completely shatter those of legends such as Owen and Mbappe at the same age. This reality points to the amazing talent he had on the field. We could go on and on praising his contributions. He’s not just playing, he’s involved in creating the flow of games and deciding how games will turn out.
Moreover, Yamal’s frequency in carrying the ball into the penalty area—at least 80 times this season—demonstrates his fearless approach to attacking play. This high-pressure, full-throttle style is designed to set the tone and give defenses hell. It opens up important scoring chances for his teammates, too.
Areas for Improvement
Lamine Yamal might be more outrageous than just impressive. He now must focus on taking aim at the most critical areas for improvement if he’s to unlock his full potential. One significant concern is his shooting accuracy. He’s such a gunner; he jacks as many shots as other guys at his position take attempts combined. His xG-per-shot average is just 0.07. This damaging percentage puts him near the bottom of the league in efficiency. This ranking only counts players who have attempted at least 60 field goals thus far this year.
Yamal may be one of the happiest players to shoot, but the xG-per-shot average being so low indicates an issue. A lot of his shot attempts are from bad spots or just rushed. Going forward, doing a better job creating a shot profile with more quality will be critical to his evolution. Truly, the evolution of his game is astonishing. This incremental progress will be key in determining just how high he can go in the sport.
Yamal’s fellow linemates lean on him to stretch defenses and generate rhythm in the offense. This new dependence places a great burden on the youth player. It can cause him to be out of sync with his shot selection and decision-making in pivotal closing game time situations too.
The Road Ahead
Lamine Yamal is a prodigy…and he’s learning each and every day. Whatever the future holds, it’s obvious he’s already doing things that would make most players twice his age jealous. He’s only 17, but he’s already statistically ahead of Lionel Messi by a significant margin in almost all statistical categories during their early adolescent years. Yamal isn’t the greatest player in the world already, but he’s got mind-blowing attributes. These are the kinds of skills that put him at the threshold of that highest rung.
The entire football community should look forward to seeing what type of player he becomes in the future. His ability to learn from experienced teammates and coaches will be crucial as he navigates the complexities of professional football. With time and focused effort on refining his shooting technique and decision-making, Yamal could very well improve his game to an elite level.
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