Players for Top leagues #4 — Kastriot Imeri
The forth player on the list of interesting options for strengthening in the top European championships is Kastriot Imeri.
Player Profile:
Age: 21
Height: 173 cm
Role: attacking center/left midfielder
Club: “Servette” FC
Nationality: Swiss / Kosovar
In November he made his debut for Switzerland national team in the most important game against Italy.
A young attacking midfielder, leader of “Servette”, a graduate of the club (got into the academy at the age of 14 from the local “Meyrin” FC). Extremely gifted physically, with a sharp shot, takes all the standards. Can play along the entire front of the attack. The leading leg is the right one, but in the last year has brought the left one up to a decent level. Imeri is versatile, he can play everywhere, starting with a defending midfielder. During the transition to adult football, he was tried on both flanks, in the center of midfield, in the attack. But he is a typical modernized “10 role”: a player who makes a difference on the field without reference to position, works out in defense and does not hesitate to engage in single challenges. This season is the fourth in Castriot’s career. In the past, he became a full-fledged team leader, and in this one — the star of the entire league, a national team player.
Strong features:
1. Playmaking. Partners are always looking for him on the pitch. He well disperses attacks, makes extraordinary decisions.
2. Shots. Imeri is in the top 10 for shots in the league, and even 2 for shots from outside the box. This season has already scored 5 goals in the league — an excellent indicator.
3. Physically tough player. He gains more than two fouls per game because he simply cannot be moved away from the ball . He plays at Jack Grealish’s level. Despite his short stature, Kastriot does not hesitate to air challenges and wins more than 40%.
4. Leader skills. Strives to be in charge of the field. He sees that his partners listen to him, he is ready to lead them.
5. Dribbles. Doesn’t use it as often as he could. A great technique that gets more elegant every season.
6. Standards. Performs free kicks, corners. Scored some beautiful free-kicks.
Weak features:
1. May drop out of the game. A courageous player, needs to work on stability.
2. Adaptation to a new league, country, language. It is difficult to understand how ready Imeri is for the move. All his life he lives in Geneva, his family is nearby, he only moved from one local team to another.
3. Injuries. 15 minor injuries in four years. It is alarming.
Statistics:
● — shots on target
✖ — wide shots/blocked shots
Ⓖ — goals
Successful actions, % — 69%
Accurate passes, % — 75%
Key passes/Accurate key passes — 1,97/1,2
Successful dribbles, % — 63%
Attacking challenges, per 90min — 11
Attacking challenges won, % — 58%
Air challenges, per 90min — 1,91
Air challenges won, % — 53%
Fouls suffered, per 90min — 2,4
Crosses, per 90min/Accurate crosses, % — 2,1/40%
Goals/xG — 0,54/0,31
Assists/xA — 0,12/0,52
Total conversation rate — 38%
Imeri is in the TOP-5 of the Swiss Super League in through passes, assists and fouls on him. This shows how important a player is to his team in build-up. 0.83 xG + xA for the player at the bottom of the table is an excellent result.
Kastriot shots a lot for his position (3.4 shots per 90 minutes), while scoring more than 0.5 goals per game. Of course, this is an overperformance, but his shots from free kicks and from outside the box are always a threat. Such a player will be useful for a team that often plays against a saturated low line of defense. On the other hand, Imeri should have given almost 9 assists, but there are only 2. Unfortunately, the partners’ conversation fails.
What is the next step ?
Very high hopes are pinned on the Okafor-Imeri-Ndoye trio. The head coach of the youth team, Mauro Lustrinelli, sees in them the future of the national team. Ndoye already belongs to “Nice”, Okafor is one of the leaders of “RB Salzburg”. Imeri looks like a completely unknown footballer among them.
I see an already established player who can play in the middle teams in Italy or Germany. Moving to one of these leagues should be the next step for Imeri. The proximity of Italy can help in the adaptation of a player with no experience of playing outside of his hometown. If we take specific teams, then I would single out the interesting “Empoli” this season or the progressive “Torino” with Ivan Juric. If we dream a little, wecan think about “Fiorentina” and “Lazio”, which would be a significant step forward.
What’s the result?
Attacking midfielder, footballer of the Swiss national team. Good at creation, shooting, takes standards. Has a personal contract with Adidas. The team calls him “Bulldog” because of his huge-looking legs. Cost of 4 million euros on the Transfermarkt. Contract until 2023. Expect to see him in the top league very soon.
