Barca will need to renew their contracts with three key players in the squad this summer, and Xavi is keen to keep Araujo, Dembele and Garvey. Garvey, in particular, 17, has received the focus of Liverpool and Manchester United.
2 goals and 6 assists in all competitions is an incredible stat for a 17-year-old young midfielder, but behind the data, Garvey has more qualities that attract Liverpool manager Klopp, and it is also worth Barca to cherish and keep him.
01. One feature that makes Klopp fall in love with him: the ability to control the second drop point, MAX
Garvey, as a starting midfielder, does have all sorts of problems. Because he is too young, his current positioning is not clear. As a middleman, he is very dexterous and fast on his feet, but his ability to protect the ball is average (subject to the body).
Be creative when attacking the organization, but the turnover rate is too high. But don't overlook one of Garvey's key strengths: harvesting the second point is strong. Whether it's foot agility or reaction speed, this feature of Garvey will make him very tactical.
It can be clearly seen from the GIF that this time Garvey suddenly stepped forward to take the ball is one of his outstanding advantages. Garvey moves quickly, predicts the landing point very well, and the opponent can't keep up with him at all.
In fact, this Balecano player is suspected of foul play, but unfortunately the referee continued to play on the grounds of offensive advantage, Dembele's cross found Aubameyang, but unfortunately the latter's header was deflected.
Looking at the offensive and defensive conversion this time, Garvey suddenly accelerated back to protect the ball to complete the key break, preventing an opponent's counterattack and giving Adama the opportunity to take the ball on the flank of the box.
Unfortunately, Adama's shot after completely tearing open the defensive line was deflected by the goalkeeper.
This time the corner attack, Garvey's prediction of the landing point is very classic, 55 balls under the foot is too fast, beautiful to take the ball and shoot, unfortunately unlucky hit the crossbar.
Ferran Torres's second attack, although the ball entered the net, was judged to be offside.
When the 17-year-old Garvey faced Vallecano, he won 9 of the 17 one-on-one confrontations, especially 4 high-ball confrontations at a height of 1.73 meters, which shows that he really lives up to the nickname of "Spanish Gattuso".
However, Garvey's mistakes are really a bit much, conceding 28 goals in this game, allowing him to surpass Dembele a bit and become a little "glare" for Barca fans.
02. Garvey's defensive characteristics: high motivation + fast footing
Let's look at a set of defensive statistics, Barca's current 4 young midfielders, in terms of defensive pressure Garvey is the most prominent (the 90s in the data vertical column refers to the number of 90 minutes played this season, and the yellow vertical column is the number of defensive pressing actions).
Considering that Pedri and Nico play only 40% and 50% of De Jong's playing time, Garvey, Pedri and Nico can double the number of defensive pressures per 90 minutes.
Of course, De Jong's defensive efficiency is higher than Pedri and Garvey, so the steals per 90 minutes are counted: Nico has the highest 2.6 times, Pedri has followed with 2.02 times (with higher precision of the foot), and Garvey's 1.66 times is slightly higher than De Jong's 1.29 times (considering that De Jong's pressure is only half, the success rate of confrontation is significantly better than that of Pedri and Garvey, close to Nico).
It is clear from the picture below that this time Dembele retreated to protect De Jong's back, and the key is that Garvey intercepted the pass with his foot and gave Barca a counter-attack opportunity.
De Jong's pass is beautiful, and he's of high quality on this close-range short pass.
Dembele carried the ball all the way to the middle, and then the choice was poor, and the ball was already on the flank of Garvey, and finally won a free kick in front of the penalty area, and also flew with his own foot.
Looking at the defense this time, it is still Garvey's point-to-point quick follow-up defense and even the opponent, and then complete the break. Unfortunately, Busquets went straight to De Jong, or was unstable with the ball, losing the ball under the pressure of the opponent.
Judging from the overall data of the season, Garvey's confrontation success rate is still good, with more than 50% of the head and feet. At the same time, the average number of losses per game is 9.8, which is also within the acceptable range (De Jong is the relative least in midfield, only 7.8 times).
It should be said that after Pedri was injured, Garvey gained more offensive dominance, and he needed to control his rhythm, otherwise too much possession of the ball would lead to an increase in the number of goals conceded.
03. The potential to pass threatening the ball is huge: Garvey's pass is very penetrating
Looking at the offensive data, from the SCA (shooting opportunities brought by the offensive end), it can be seen that Garvey has fewer than De Jong, and Pedri is obviously one head higher.
However, in GCA (scoring opportunities brought by the offensive end), Garvey is significantly higher than De Jong, and even very close to Pedri, which shows that Garvey's pass is more threatening to the goal.
Many fans should remember that against Osasuna, Garvey's foot penetrated the defense and helped Nico score. This foot really has in Iniesta's style. The current Barça, De Jong and Pedri can't do it.
Barca's only goal in the last round of La Liga was Garvey snatching the ball back in a second attack and then sending a brilliant over-the-top ball that allowed Ferran Torres to assist Aubameyang to score.
Garvey has a characteristic in the attack, and may also be regarded as a defect in the short term, because of his good skills, fast movement frequency, and physical strength, so the offensive end will like to take the ribs of the penalty area to cut in.
Jarvey's crosses and crosses are of good quality, while he can also pass with his left foot on the flanks. Being able to travel all over the midfield is a valuable advantage. In the future, when Garvey really grows up, it will be a fortune.
The Barca reporter of the ass newspaper gave Garvey a high evaluation after the match against Vallecano: he would make a lot of veterans ashamed, this is a fighter. He was brave on the pitch and did everything he could to fight until the last minute. When a 17-year-old is the best man in the team, it proves that Barca need a big revolution next season.
However, the first thing Barca have to do is to renew their contract with Garvey as soon as possible. Both Liverpool, led by Klopp, and Manchester United, are extremely interested in him.
Conclusion:
Because, like Pedri, they are all smaller types, and Busquets is getting older, Garvey must increase the turnover rate and reduce the turnover rate while maintaining a more frequent confrontation if he wants to succeed at Barca. The coexistence of Xavi and Iniesta is the pinnacle of technical football, which can not be sought.
How can Barca replicate the legend of Habai in the future? It may be very, very difficult, but the pursuit of such a combination is also the charm and dedication that belongs to Barca.