Albion Analytics: Pervis Estupinan

Brighton confirmed their fourth senior signing of the summer when Ecuador international Pervis Estupinan was announced on Tuesday evening.

He joins international teammates Moises Caicedo and Jeremy Sarmiento, with all three set to feature at the Qatar World Cup this winter – Estupiñán played the most minutes (1,513) of any Ecuadorian in qualifying and is Gustavo Alfaro’s most capped player (25) since taking charge in August 2020.

Still only 24, Estupinan has made 91 La Liga appearances – eight assists – and appeared ten times in the Champions League, having started in both semi-final games against Liverpool last season.

Many are labelling the full-back as replacement for Marc Cucurella. As per The Athletic, Estupinan was the most statistically similar U26 left-back to the Spaniard last season (minimum 900 minutes played).

But their tactical profiles are different. At Villareal, Estupinan operated almost exclusively as a full-back in a back four and was a primary creative outlet. Stylistically, Villareal were the fourth most expansive team in La Liga last season in terms of passes per possession (3.65) and average sequence length (10.4 seconds).

These totals are closely comparable to the Albion (3.61 passes per possession and 9.74 seconds average sequence length).

He ranked just tenth among his teammates last season for league minutes played (1,575) but recorded the most successful open-play crosses (15) and second-most successful open-play passes (32) completed into the box. In deeper areas, Estupinan has the technical ability and physical profile to beat opponents one-versus-one, even from a static start.

Compared to La Liga full-backs last season, he ranked inside the top 25% for (per 90 minutes): shots and shots on target (0.8 and 0.23), passes attempted and completed (60.4 and 47.77), successful open-play passes plus crosses into the box (2.69), progressive passes and carries (4.46 and 5.26) and passes played whilst under pressure (9.14).

This demonstrates his ability to progress the ball from deeper areas of the pitch whilst also being capable of providing the final pass himself.

Defensively, Estupinan ranked inside the top quarter of his positional compatriots for (per 90 minutes) proportion of dribblers tackled (62.1%), proportion of pressures leading to a turnover inside five seconds (35.9%) and tackles plus interceptions (4.91), indicating an ability to excel in one-versus-one duels and defend with a front-foot approach.

But internationally is where Estupinan is most outstanding. At the 2021 Copa America, where he played every minute as Ecuador reached the quarter finals, he made the team of the tournament. He attempted (30) and successfully completed (6) the most open-play crosses into the box of any player at the tournament, and also ranked inside the top five players for shot-creating actions (18) and interceptions (12).

For those that are enticed by these numbers, Estupinan is available for just 4.5m on the Premier League Fantasy Premier League.