It is no secret that data analytics have found their way into sports, a world that used to seem so based on intuition and experience. In football, whether a player was good was always, to an extent, subjective. Such things could not be put into numbers it was thought, and yet, now a lot of it has been. But whereas data analytics in recruitment and match analysis are nothing new to the big clubs anymore, an interesting shift might have started based on data analytics, as some players have starting to use data analytics to choose what club would fit them. A so called ‘laptop transfer’ can change the dynamic in choosing a club, which is generally based on club image, talks with people from the club and insights from your inner circle.
A well-known example is the Dutch national team striker Memphis Depay. After excelling in the Dutch league for two years, Memphis Depay made a high-profile transfer to the English club Manchester United, one of the biggest clubs in the world. Sadly, it became clear that things did not work out for Depay, and he fell out of favor with his new manager. His agent decided to turn to the data intelligence company SciSports for Depay’s next move which would have to revitalize his career (The Athletic, 2020). Depay told SciSports he wanted to play “more freely” and be “important for the team” with a clear playing style in a top 5 league (Yahoo Sports, 2020). Based on this and more preferences SciSports generated a report with 5 suggestions that fit him and his wishes the best, according to the data. His choice for French club Olympique Lyon may not have seemed like an obvious one at the time, but 3 years later it can be said without a doubt that he made a great decision. Even though Depay had to ‘take a step back’ this lower profile club has allowed him to become a very important player, get back to his old form and grow and develop even further in the playstyle that he wanted. Moreover, he is once again generating interest from the biggest clubs in the world, especially FC Barcelona (NOS, 2020). His career has without doubt been revitalized and hopefully he has even set an example for other players who are hoping to get their career back on track.
https:/www.scisports.com/how-data-and-analytics-support-decision-making-in-the-football-industry
https://theathletic.com/1742037/2020/04/15/the-data-explosion-depay-arsenal-torreira-kante-agents/
https://sports.yahoo.com/depay-made-first-laptop-transfer-114300720.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAABGBnNNOsWGDltxgc7VEMUTU5VoodSf-Dgh-86PAEmZYCJkht-qYmdj7ZuoVmGwqEU99LHqHJZL7iPkCK_hBTik_yF1QJ2ucPKXkP_4cXspWxw-32S44QMF6PcjPM1bYmTA_Rs0SwS7qvlA5cKn3592MoGVKSrJl-q6WGn0DBgfS
https://nos.nl/artikel/2351081-koeman-wil-depay-en-depay-wil-naar-barca-maar-een-deal-is-er-nog-niet.html
