Ilias Akhomach: Villarreal’s Moroccan Magician

La Liga has no shortage of promising wingers and attacking midfielders. With the likes of Savio, Nico Williams, and Take Kubo, among many others, the Spanish first division has enough young firepower to outshine even the sun on a hot Andalusian summer afternoon.

There are many styles and profiles in the league, which makes it all the more entertaining to watch. However, in the past eight seasons (possibly more if the data went back further), there is only one player to enter a La Liga season at the age of 22 or younger to register at least 900 minutes, 7.0 dribble take ons per 90 minutes, and 2.0 tackle attempts per 90 minutes: Ilias Akhomach.

2018: Álvaro Odriozola ➡️ Real Madrid (€32m)2020: Diego Llorente ➡️ Leeds United (€20m)2022: Alexander Isak ➡️ Newcastle (€72m)At 22 years old, could Takefusa Kubo be the latest Real Sociedad player to secure a big-money transfer?@ZachLowy: https://t.co/3NsUdoO3Pupic.twitter.com/Ka309QiGAB— Breaking The Lines (@BTLvid) May 8, 2024

Those figures might seem like arbitrary cutoffs, but they represent what is generally around the 95th percentile for La Liga wingers, meaning players with figures greater than those benchmarks fall outside the normal distribution. Translation: Ilias is an anomalously aggressive dribbler and defender given his positioning on the field, which represents a very unique profile, allowing the Moroccan to shine even among the dearth of young attacking talent in La Liga.