Achraf Hakimi V Reece James: Who’s The Better Wingback? We Take A Look At The Stats

David Tully

3 years ago

Categories: Chelsea News, Galleries, Transfer News

Tags: Achraf Hakimi, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Reece James

With reports in the Italian media suggesting that Chelsea are working hard to sign Achraf Hakimi from Inter Milan, some fans may be wondering why Thomas Tuchel sees the right wingback position as being a priority to strengthen, especially considering he already has Reece James.

It is a rather perplexing decision, particularly as we know Inter are holding out for €80m (£69m). That money could be better spent on someone like Erling Haaland so why are the Blues making the effort to sign Hakimi instead?

Some have speculated that James could be moved into a centre-half position next season; something Tuchel did try in the closing stages of last campaign, but even so, it is not as though Cesar Azpilicueta is going anywhere.

So we have decided to look at the numbers to see whether there are any key differences between James and Hakimi which could explain things. Press the next page as we go through the stats (based on numbers from FBRef).

Passing and Assists

This is an interesting area. On the face of it, Hakimi is more effective in the final third, averaging 0.26 assists per 90 minutes compared to James’ 0.08.

However, if we delve into the numbers a bit more closely, we see James averages a similar number of progressive passes (4.22 per 90 compared to Hakimi’s 4.25), while he actually delivers more shot-creating actions (2.59 per game to Hakimi’s 2.45).

Who Wins? – Hakimi (just)

Carrying The Ball

As a wingback, you are generally one of the team’s main ball carriers, being asked to run up and down the length of the pitch, and it is fair to say both James and Hakimi are strong in this regard.

The Chelsea fullback is slightly weaker in terms of progressive carries. If a player has control of the ball and takes it five yards forward into the attacking third, it is classed as a progressive carry, and James managed 6.5 per 90 last season, compared to Hakimi’s 7.47. In terms of dribbles completed, though, it is a slightly different story, with the Moroccan (1.2 per 90) just being edged out by James (1.35).

Who Wins? – DRAW

Pressing And Interceptions

In these areas, we start to see some sharp differences between the two. Hakimi does pressure his opponent more often (16.87 times per 90) compared to James (14.05), but both players are still in the top 20% of all fullbacks in the top five European leagues for this metric.

However, in regards to interceptions, James is superior. The England international intercepts the ball, on average, 1.48 times per game, while Hakimi is quite some way down the list at 0.86, which is in the bottom 20% of fullbacks in Europe.

Who Wins? – James

Blocks And Clearances

It does appear that, while Hakimi thrives in attacking areas, he is rather circumspect defensively, particularly in comparison to James. Some of the data may skew in the Englishman’s favour here due to the fact he was playing in a back four for the first half of last season so he would have been required to do more defensive actions. Even so, there are marked differences.

With regards to blocks, Hakimi averaged 1.43 per 90 last campaign, while James managed 2.51. The Chelsea defender’s clearance numbers are less impressive (2.35 per match), but they are still better than Hakimi who only managed 0.88, which is in the bottom 1% of fullbacks in the top five leagues.

Who Wins? – James