Everything Brighton fans need to know about Diego Coppola

Diego Coppola is set to complete a move in excess of €10m to Brighton this summer, as per Fabrizio Romano.

The Italian centre-back, 21, is highly regarded in Europe and has recently made his debut for the national team.

So, why are Brighton spending the money and what does he offer?

What do the stats say?

Standing at six foot three, Coppola is a bit different to the modern-day centre-back in that he sacrifices some blatant on-the-ball capabilities in favour of possessing a high standard of conventional defensive traits.

Without even watching him play, statistically, he stands out among defenders not just in Serie A but across Europe.

Among U21 players in Europe’s top five leagues, Coppola has made the most interceptions and is the only player to have won over 100 aerial duels. He ranks in the top three for % of duels won too (67%),

In Serie A, he ranks in the top five for clearances and top 10 for tackles won.

This is a decent base, but it’s not really useful without looking at Hellas Verona, and by extension, him individually.

These figures are slightly inflated by Verona having the lowest average possession in the league, meaning that they have to defend a lot. Generally speaking, they’re one of the worst teams in the division statistically, despite not finishing in the bottom six.

 How does Coppola actually play?

On the tapes what stands out is his aggression, for better or for worse. Like Jan Paul van Hecke, Coppola thrives in man-to-man situations and eats duels for breakfast as the stats suggest.

He punches high up the pitch to win the ball, and whilst he can get caught out, this risk is mitigated in the back three that Verona deploy.

In this the timing of his ascents up the pitch and the timing of his tackles are crucial, and he’s significantly improved in that regard. He reads the game well now and despite his age and not being the quickest, he gains a yard or two from having excellent positioning.

Mentally he has a really strong profile, I think among young talents coming to a new league he should adapt relatively quickly. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was a regular starter a few months into the season, especially when we’re struggling for the attributes he brings.

Namely, that is the box defending. Aerially he’s exceptional, he times his leaps well, and as said previously ranks in the top percentiles for aerial duels won. Whilst Verona does have to defend their box often, this has just made him improve in this regard all the more.

So, box defending is a tick, man-to-man defending is a tick, reading of the game is a tick, aerial duels is a tick, aggression is a half tick and mental profile is a tick.

Let’s move on to some negatives.

The Negatives…

I think this section should be relatively short as a lot of the negatives are just, not positives. They can definitely grow with time and should grow with time.

Aggression is a two-sided coin as he has amassed 10 yellow cards across 33 starts this campaign, with nine in 18 the season prior. This isn’t the best disciplinary record, and he does have a hot streak in him, although he has yet to be sent off.

The actual proper negative side of this is that if you can get in his head a bit he’s not quite able to brush it off so easily, which primarily affects his consistency. With time this can improve though.

As said previously, he’s not the fastest, although if the transition to a back three is on then it won’t matter so much. He does also have that yard or two from his anticipation as mentioned, so this is more of just a slight issue. I’m not sure how he’d translate to a back four, but the initial prognosis has me skeptical.

His on-the-ball capabilities are a bit of a grey area as he’s not really needed to showcase a wide range of passing in his game as a result of the way Verona play. At present he’s comfortable with simple things, however, it might take some time for him to express himself in a possession-dominant system, however, the bulk of the responsibility can fall on van Hecke and Boscagli’s shoulders.

His best position is as CCB so defending out wide isn’t much of a problem, but it becomes an adjacent problem when either he or van Hecke has to play RCB, especially if the RWB is more attack-minded- such as Yankuba Minteh. Neither he nor van Hecke are particularly great at defending wide spaces and can be isolated by a particularly tricky winger (which most Premier League sides will have), so everyone needs to pull their weight with that Achilles heel, or we sign a proper RCB. Or play Joel Veltman. Whatever floats the boat.

More of a negative impact on the team than a negative on himself, but this signing alongside Boscagli does point to us transitioning to a back three, which has its strengths and weaknesses. It can work, but is it optimal?

Conclusion: Yay or Nay?

I think this is a great signing. Picking up a top Serie A prospect is great, and it’s a league where defenders tend to transfer well as more is demanded of them by Serie A coaches.

Coppola comes in and improves our defensive options, both in the short term and when he develops further, in the long term. When he improves on the ball from playing in such a possession-oriented side, the sky is the limit.

For reportedly less than £10m, I have very little objections. At first, I was a tad bit skeptical due to his passing range and pace but ultimately these can be accounted for, and we desperately need a defender who can defend to a high standard.

All being well, welcome to Brighton, our Italian stallion. We will make an Alfa Romeo out of you.