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Edon Zhegrova: Delivering on promise

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The 25-year-old once dubbed the Kosovan Messi back in his youth days is finally starting to come into his own under Paulo Fonseca at Lille this term.

By Ninad Barbadikar

When you’re a player needing to show your mettle, there are few occasions better than a derby to do just that. Your performance in front of raucous supporters when bragging rights are up for grabs can often become a case of make or break. Fortunately, in the most recent Derby du Nord, it was the former for Kosovan winger Edon Zhegrova. 

Scoring a game-winning brace of goals in a 2-1 win for Les Dogues against rivals RC Lens, Zhegrova was at his clinical best in a player of the match display at the Stade Pierre Mauroy.

Paulo Fonseca’s Lille sit firmly within the top four, with four points between themselves and Eric Roy’s Brest. A strong finish to the season will represent progress and improvement from Fonseca’s men over last season’s fifth-placed finish. They also have a Conference League quarter-final second leg against Aston Villa to worry about. Whatever the outcome by the end of the season, no doubt Zhegrova will have a big say in it.

He’s taken a while to get here but the Kosovan Messi is producing displays worthy of that moniker.

Next in line

Over the past decade, Lille have scouted and developed a number of wingers, who have delivered huge income in the way of transfer fees for the club. Eden Hazard and Gervinho were amongst the first, more recently, Rafael Leão, Nicolas Pépé, as well as Sofiane Boufal have all emerged. Zhegrova feels like the next one in line.

Much like all of those wingers, Zhegrova is the bonafide entertainer on the pitch. Equipped with many a trick in his bag of dribbles, the Kosovan is a menace with the ball.

There are shades of Hazard and Hatem Ben Arfa in his style of dribbling – with his low centre of gravity giving him the ability to move in and out of tight spaces seamlessly.

Notching 20 goal contributions across all competitions this term, including five goals and five assists in Ligue 1, Zhegrova has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of Fonseca’s arrival at Lille. Jonathan David has always been the main man at the club, but Zhegrova has contributed vital moments sprinkled across the season.

No time to waste

The one thing you have to know about Zhegrova is that he loves to take a pop at goal, and he will do his best to carry the ball into spaces that will manufacture opportunities for him. In that regard, he’s much less of a ‘creative’ threat, rather considering himself to be the main taker of chances.

At the time of writing, the Lille man averages some 3.17 shots per 90 in the league, placing him in the 92nd percentile amongst his positional peers in the top European leagues. He’s certainly more shot-happy than most wingers in his class.

Scoring five in the league so far from an Expected Goals (xG) figure of 5.63 suggests that he is finishing chances that he should, but notice how three of those goals have come at the far post, and as well in spots that are very difficult to reach for goalkeepers.

As a predominantly left-footed winger, that is the area that Zhegrova will more often try and reach with his shots but he has also deceived defenders on multiple occasions by going for near-post attempts. Shooting just as many times from outside the box (34) as he has done from inside (34), Zhegrova does not waste too much time once he notices even half a chance is within reach.

Dribble-happy Zhegrova

Zhegrova’s love for shooting is perhaps only supplanted by his love to dribble past markers. Picking up pace in possession, he can often go off on long mazy runs with the singular focus on finding the back of the net. In a league blessed with several incredible dribblers, Zhegrova finds himself third for successful dribbles per 90 (3.6), just behind Rayan Cherki and Ousmane Dembélé.

Zoom out a little bit more and you find the Kosovan amongst the top 10 across the top five leagues for dribbles attempted. Accumulating 150 so far, that tally places him above the likes of Rodrygo, Nico Williams and Xavi Simons.

Zhegrova likes receiving as wide as possible on the right flank, preparing himself for the dribbles against his markers, his quick movement on the ball forces defenders backwards. In doing so, the Kosovo international creates space for his adventurous partner-in-crime Tiago Santos, who benefits from Zhegrova’s on-ball gravity.

Fonseca’s system allows for Zhegrova’s impressive albeit erratic style of play, with athletic defenders across the backline protecting space in case of turnovers, of which there are quite a handful.

It’s hard to argue against it though, Zhegrova’s ability on the ball makes the tradeoff worth it – he is second only to PSG’s Dembélé (49) for chance creating carries (48), with a split of 33 shots and 15 key passes from those carries. Furthermore, he has received more progressive passes than any other Ligue 1 player this term (268), for context, Kylian Mbappé has received 251.

So what’s the catch?

Room for improvement

As is the case with most wingers of Zhegrova’s ilk, the room for improvement is in activity out of possession, and the data reflects as much.

The former Basel man knows this as well, admitting last year that coaches at Lille are helping him work on the defensive side of his game. 

Which isn’t to say he hasn’t shown promise in that regard, 1.16 possession regains in the final third is quite impressive and does put him high up amongst other wingers, but his off-ball impact is by far the biggest space for improvement and something that limits him to good for now, when he can be great.

Zhegrova is hugely talented and at the age of 25, he has crossed 20 starts only for the second time in his career, and seems to have put his injury troubles behind him for now. Staying with Fonseca and Lille has been the right move for him in terms of his development and despite their rocky form away from home, it is clear that Fonseca has brought tangible improvement to this Lille side.

Players like Zhegrova are compelling evidence of just that. Staving off big interest in the winger in recent transfer windows, it might not be so straightforward if suitors come knocking on the door this summer. With Fonseca’s contract expiring in June and a renewal with the club not in his plans, it feels like the perfect time for Zhegrova to take that next step that was always expected of him.

The former Basel man was a prized asset when he made the move to Ligue 1 in the summer of 2021, rejecting Olympique Marseille for a move to Stade Pierre Mauroy back then. All things considered, he certainly made the right decision for his career. Now, with Lille looking to finish the season with a flourish under Fonseca, Zhegrova will have a big part to play.

He’s taken his time, but the Kosovan Messi is finally delivering.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every Europa League game live with FotMob — featuring deep stats coverage including shot maps, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Edon Zhegrova: Delivering on promise

The 25-year-old once dubbed the Kosovan Messi back in his youth days is finally starting to come into his own under Paulo Fonseca at Lille this term.

By Ninad Barbadikar

When you’re a player needing to show your mettle, there are few occasions better than a derby to do just that. Your performance in front of raucous supporters when bragging rights are up for grabs can often become a case of make or break. Fortunately, in the most recent Derby du Nord, it was the former for Kosovan winger Edon Zhegrova. 

Scoring a game-winning brace of goals in a 2-1 win for Les Dogues against rivals RC Lens, Zhegrova was at his clinical best in a player of the match display at the Stade Pierre Mauroy.

Paulo Fonseca’s Lille sit firmly within the top four, with four points between themselves and Eric Roy’s Brest. A strong finish to the season will represent progress and improvement from Fonseca’s men over last season’s fifth-placed finish. They also have a Conference League quarter-final second leg against Aston Villa to worry about. Whatever the outcome by the end of the season, no doubt Zhegrova will have a big say in it.

He’s taken a while to get here but the Kosovan Messi is producing displays worthy of that moniker.

Next in line

Over the past decade, Lille have scouted and developed a number of wingers, who have delivered huge income in the way of transfer fees for the club. Eden Hazard and Gervinho were amongst the first, more recently, Rafael Leão, Nicolas Pépé, as well as Sofiane Boufal have all emerged. Zhegrova feels like the next one in line.

Much like all of those wingers, Zhegrova is the bonafide entertainer on the pitch. Equipped with many a trick in his bag of dribbles, the Kosovan is a menace with the ball.

There are shades of Hazard and Hatem Ben Arfa in his style of dribbling – with his low centre of gravity giving him the ability to move in and out of tight spaces seamlessly.

Notching 20 goal contributions across all competitions this term, including five goals and five assists in Ligue 1, Zhegrova has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of Fonseca’s arrival at Lille. Jonathan David has always been the main man at the club, but Zhegrova has contributed vital moments sprinkled across the season.

No time to waste

The one thing you have to know about Zhegrova is that he loves to take a pop at goal, and he will do his best to carry the ball into spaces that will manufacture opportunities for him. In that regard, he’s much less of a ‘creative’ threat, rather considering himself to be the main taker of chances.

At the time of writing, the Lille man averages some 3.17 shots per 90 in the league, placing him in the 92nd percentile amongst his positional peers in the top European leagues. He’s certainly more shot-happy than most wingers in his class.

Scoring five in the league so far from an Expected Goals (xG) figure of 5.63 suggests that he is finishing chances that he should, but notice how three of those goals have come at the far post, and as well in spots that are very difficult to reach for goalkeepers.

As a predominantly left-footed winger, that is the area that Zhegrova will more often try and reach with his shots but he has also deceived defenders on multiple occasions by going for near-post attempts. Shooting just as many times from outside the box (34) as he has done from inside (34), Zhegrova does not waste too much time once he notices even half a chance is within reach.

Dribble-happy Zhegrova

Zhegrova’s love for shooting is perhaps only supplanted by his love to dribble past markers. Picking up pace in possession, he can often go off on long mazy runs with the singular focus on finding the back of the net. In a league blessed with several incredible dribblers, Zhegrova finds himself third for successful dribbles per 90 (3.6), just behind Rayan Cherki and Ousmane Dembélé.

Zoom out a little bit more and you find the Kosovan amongst the top 10 across the top five leagues for dribbles attempted. Accumulating 150 so far, that tally places him above the likes of Rodrygo, Nico Williams and Xavi Simons.

Zhegrova likes receiving as wide as possible on the right flank, preparing himself for the dribbles against his markers, his quick movement on the ball forces defenders backwards. In doing so, the Kosovo international creates space for his adventurous partner-in-crime Tiago Santos, who benefits from Zhegrova’s on-ball gravity.

Fonseca’s system allows for Zhegrova’s impressive albeit erratic style of play, with athletic defenders across the backline protecting space in case of turnovers, of which there are quite a handful.

It’s hard to argue against it though, Zhegrova’s ability on the ball makes the tradeoff worth it – he is second only to PSG’s Dembélé (49) for chance creating carries (48), with a split of 33 shots and 15 key passes from those carries. Furthermore, he has received more progressive passes than any other Ligue 1 player this term (268), for context, Kylian Mbappé has received 251.

So what’s the catch?

Room for improvement

As is the case with most wingers of Zhegrova’s ilk, the room for improvement is in activity out of possession, and the data reflects as much.

The former Basel man knows this as well, admitting last year that coaches at Lille are helping him work on the defensive side of his game. 

Which isn’t to say he hasn’t shown promise in that regard, 1.16 possession regains in the final third is quite impressive and does put him high up amongst other wingers, but his off-ball impact is by far the biggest space for improvement and something that limits him to good for now, when he can be great.

Zhegrova is hugely talented and at the age of 25, he has crossed 20 starts only for the second time in his career, and seems to have put his injury troubles behind him for now. Staying with Fonseca and Lille has been the right move for him in terms of his development and despite their rocky form away from home, it is clear that Fonseca has brought tangible improvement to this Lille side.

Players like Zhegrova are compelling evidence of just that. Staving off big interest in the winger in recent transfer windows, it might not be so straightforward if suitors come knocking on the door this summer. With Fonseca’s contract expiring in June and a renewal with the club not in his plans, it feels like the perfect time for Zhegrova to take that next step that was always expected of him.

The former Basel man was a prized asset when he made the move to Ligue 1 in the summer of 2021, rejecting Olympique Marseille for a move to Stade Pierre Mauroy back then. All things considered, he certainly made the right decision for his career. Now, with Lille looking to finish the season with a flourish under Fonseca, Zhegrova will have a big part to play.

He’s taken his time, but the Kosovan Messi is finally delivering.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every Europa League game live with FotMob — featuring deep stats coverage including shot maps, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.