Zion Suzuki has taken the Premier League by storm following his move to Aston Villa.
After two strong campaigns in the Serie A for Parma and a solid World Cup for Japan, the 24-year-old got his big move to English football.
Suzuki made his international debut at just 19 years of age, while still playing for Urawa Red Diamonds. He is still young but already making waves now at the biggest stages.
What makes Aston Villa’s Zion Suzuki so unique?
Goalkeeping
Let’s start with the basics. Suzuki’s debut for Aston Villa didn’t exactly fill Villans fans with confidence. He dropped the ball during saves a few times and looked shaky when leaving his line to claim the ball from set pieces or crosses.
But he followed it up with five good-to-great showings since then. After a negative performance in terms of goals prevented against Arsenal, he delivered positive returns in each of his last five appearances across all competitions.
The last one, in fact, might have been the best. He was one of the main reasons Aston Villa managed to get a three-goal cushion over Tottenham before conceding twice in stoppage time. It could have been a much different story had he not kept all of the danger out until then, seeing as Spurs had plenty of opportunities to score.
Suzuki has been one of the busiest keepers in the Premier League, facing the fifth most shots on target per game (5.0). He also ranks sixth in expected goals on target faced per match (1.4).
Villa’s defence has often left him exposed to close-range shots, which explains the fact that he has only kept one full clean sheet, against Hull City. There was another one against Coventry City in the Carabao Cup, but he replaced Marco Bizot at half time and only played 45 minutes.
Suzuki has saved exactly three quarters of the shots on target he has faced in the league so far (75%), good enough to put him fifth in this specific ranking. And he is also first in clearances per game (1.8).
Distribution
However, he really separates himself from the average Premier League goalkeeper due to his on-ball qualities. Suzuki looks way more comfortable in possession than most of his peers. His passes also look cleaner, with his long attempts being actually conscious, targeted passes rather than hoofs.
None of that is actually quantifiable, though. But he does pass the eye test and we can also mention some stats that help put a number into his abilities.
Advanced Opta metrics have him as the number one Premier League goalkeeper in terms of high pressures faced per game (11.0). Opposing managers know he can pick defences apart with his passing range and are terrified of the damage he can cause.
Suzuki is also first in possessions initiated that have generated the most expected goals (0.27) so far this season. Last but not least, he breaks all three of opponents’ defensive lines with his passes one time per game, a tally equalled only by Bournemouth’s Djordje Petrovic. Not to mention he ranks second in open-play sequences involvements per game (33.5), behind only Everton’s Jordan Pickford (37.8).
Additionally, only two goalkeepers rank higher than the Japan international in passes into the attacking third per match. Coventry City’s Carl Rushworth averages 13.2 while Hull City’s Konstantinos Tzolakis averages 11.6, compared to Suzuki’s 11.0. Villa’s shot-stopper is also fourth in touches per game (52.8).
He had already ranked first in the Serie A last season for Parma in line-breaking passes into the attacking third (2.9) and overall passes into the attacking third (11.3) per game. He was also third in line-breaking passes (7.0).
We even covered his passing range as one of the decisive factors in Japan’s 4-0 thrashing of Tunisia in the World Cup a few months ago. He was one clearance off the line from recording a secondary assist that would have doubled his country’s lead in the 10th minute.
So none of this is new for Suzuki. He has showcased the talent he has with his feet time and time again for multiple different teams in many stages. We just get to watch it up close now in the Premier League – and hope it will be the case for years to come, given how unique of a goalkeeper profile he presents, acting as one of Aston Villa’s main playmakers despite spending most of his time between the sticks.