{"id":1139717,"date":"2020-06-13T18:52:14","date_gmt":"2020-06-13T17:52:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/?p=1139717"},"modified":"2020-06-13T18:52:26","modified_gmt":"2020-06-13T17:52:26","slug":"thomas-partey-squawka-scout-atletico-madrid-analysis","status":"publish","type":"features","link":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/thomas-partey-squawka-scout-atletico-madrid-analysis\/","title":{"rendered":"Squawka Scout: How Thomas Partey has become one of Europe’s most complete midfielders"},"content":{"rendered":"

Thomas Partey has emerged as one of Europe’s most complete midfielders this season. And with a reported release clause of \u00a342m, the likes of Arsenal<\/span> and Man Utd<\/span> have both been linked with his signature. As part of a #WednesdayWisdom<\/a> series, we’ve looked at why the Ghanain will be in high demand when the transfer window re-opens.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Thomas has started 20+ LaLiga games in three consecutive seasons but found it difficult to convince Diego Simeone of his talents. The now-retired Gabi was a mainstay until 2016\/17 and then replaced by Man City<\/span>‘s Rodri in 2018\/19, meaning Thomas had serious competition while trying to establish himself as Atleti’s main midfield general. 2019\/20, then, is perhaps the season even Simeone learned there ain’t no party like a Partey party, because a Partey party really does not stop.<\/p>\n

First and foremost, El Cholo demands an incredible defensive effort from his players; Thomas leads by example. By looking at his defensive action map, we see that Thomas’s defensive output is not only high volume, but his coverage is vast. From flank to flank, from box to box, Thomas has the athleticism to actually<\/em> cover every blade<\/span> of grass. The Ghanaian is also an excellent ball-winner — for a central <\/span>midfielder that makes 2.49 successful tackles per 90 minutes, he is dribbled past just once on average per 90 — and his ball recovery numbers are top tier.<\/p>\n

View Thomas Partey’s full statistical visualisation gallery on Squawka’s official Instagram page<\/a> below.<\/em><\/p>\n

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A post shared by Squawka Football (@squawkafootball)<\/a> on