Everton have been linked with a move for Southampton winger Leo Scienza
You might have thought it was a case of once bitten, twice shy with Everton when it came to signing Southampton wingers. But the Blues have been linked with a move for Leo Scienza with the disgraced Hampshire outfit’s ‘Spygate’ punishment denying them an instant return to the Premier League.
Southampton namechecked Everton in a statement hitting out at their punishment – which despite their appeal has been upheld – remarking how the losses that the Blues were punished for because of breaching PSR rules are a smaller figure than the funds they are now set to miss out on.
The South Coast side were thrown out of the Championship play-off final after the Saints turned to sinners and admitted they had spied on three clubs throughout the season en route to reaching Wembley and a crack at an instant return to the Premier League.
Middlesbrough, beaten by Southampton in the semi-final, have been reinstated and will now play Hull City for a place in the top flight.
The EFL charged Tonda Eckert’s side with watching training sessions involving Oxford United and Ipswich Town, in addition to filming Boro as they prepared for the first leg of their play-off semi-final on May 7. The independent disciplinary commission also handed Southampton a four-point deduction in the Championship for next season.
With the Saints now being denied their chance to get back into the Premier League next season at the first attempt, their star players are attracting potential suitors.
Everton have been named among that group in an article from Sky Sports Germany who report: “Leo Scienza’s strong performances are attracting interest from several top clubs.
“The attacking midfielder is Southampton’s best player and was voted player of the season by fans and team-mates alike. A move could come this summer: a transfer fee of over €30 million is being discussed, and he does not have a release clause.
“Everton, Tottenham Hotspur, and Aston Villa are monitoring him, as are Roma and Atalanta. Flamengo and Palmeiras are also interested, but a return to Brazil is deemed too soon in terms of his career.”
Given that the Blues made Tyler Dibling their most expensive signing of last summer, snapping him up for £35million, only for the Exeter-born player to have made just four Premier League starts all season and complete 90 minutes just once, the thought of going back to St Mary’s for another Saints wide man might be off-putting but just what might the Brazilian potentially offer?
When it comes to current Premier League players, Crysencio Summerville of West Ham United is calculated as been the closest with Comparisonator’s Similarity tool due to a 91% match followed by Jamie Gittens of Chelsea (70%) and Romaine Mundle of Sunderland (66%).
Born in Venacio Aires, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, on September 13, 1998, Comparisonator’s player profile deems Scienza to score 8.3 out of 10 as an inside forward, a goal-oriented wide player who frequently cuts inside to shoot, combining dribbling with finishing and typically operating on the winger opposite their stronger foot, such as Mohamed Salah or Vinicius Junior. The 27-year-old scores 8.1 as a line winger and 7.5 as a wide playmaker.
We can also use Comparisonator’s Virtual Transfer tool to correlate Scienza’s statistics in the Championship this season against Premier League players in his position. Although he only covers an average of 8.198km per 90 minutes, which would place him 17th in a section topped by Morgan Rogers of Aston Villa on 10.63km with Everton’s Iliman Ndiaye third on 9.909km, his average distance covered per minute (114m) edges out Premier League leader Alex Iwobi of Fulham on 113m.
Scienza, who only joined Southampton last summer after spells in Germany with Schalke’s reserve team, Magdeburg, Ulm and Heidenheim, has netted seven goals this term and his 0.3 assists per 90 minutes is better than Everton’s Jack Grealish who tops the Premier League on 0.25. He also averages 1.04 for playing in scoring attacks ahead of Premier League leader Antoine Semenyo of Manchester City on 0.95.
Leo Scienza's assists for Southampton in the Championship this season compared to Premier League players in his position
Leo Scienza's assists for Southampton in the Championship this season compared to Premier League players in his position
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His 0.81 shots on target would place him fifth in the Premier League ahead of Ndiaye on 0.67 in a category led by Semenyo (1.42) while he’d be sixth for successful dribbles in the final third of the pitch (2.59 behind leader Jeremy Doku of Manchester City on 4.29); progressive runs (3.93 with Doku again top on 6.32) and opportunities (1.33 with Semenyo ahead on 2.11).
Operating in the hurly-burly of the second tier, even a Brazilian like Scienza isn’t making loads of passes with his figure of 25.93 way below Premier League leader Iwobi on 46.56 and Everton pair Ndiaye in fifth on 31.93 and Grealish in sixth on 30.3 and this is reflected in an average of 19.85 successful passes compared to Iwobi, who tops the charts on 38.94 with Ndiaye fourth on 26.47 and Grealish sixth on 24.4.
While his 3.15 crosses would rank him sixth behind Yankuba Minteh of Brighton & Hove Albion in top spot on 7.58, the Seagulls player remains at the summit for successful crosses on 2.5 while Scienza plummets to 15th on 0.74.
Although he’s had a decent season and David Moyes has an impressive record of plucking players out of the Championship and polishing up such rough diamonds into Premier League performers, at almost 28, Scienza will have to hope he’s a late bloomer when it comes to improving his all-round game to perform at a higher level.
Given the kind of fee that’s been mooted, Everton don’t want another expensive flop on their hands from Southampton as unlike Dibling, time might not be on his side when it comes to future development.
*Comparisonator is a football data comparison tool from 271 professional leagues around the world which compares players and clubs by utilising an industry leading 378 different parameters. Click here for more details.