Real Madrid: Cavani, Jovic, Werner effect analysed by AI
The Uruguayan would have filled a Ronaldo-shaped void at Real this season according to Olocip, a company that applies Artificial Intelligence to professional sports.
Paris Saint Germain striker Edinson Cavani, who has scored 17 league goals for his club this season, would have been a very profitable signing for Real Madrid in terms of the 2018-19 campaign according to a study by Olocip, a company that applies Artificial Intelligence to professional sports.
According to Olocip’s performance prediction analysis Cavani, playing alongside Madrid number nine Karim Benzema, would have scored a goal every 112 minutes, averaging between three and four shots per match.
“The possible arrival of Cavani at Real Madrid would have had an impact on both the team and the player itself,” explains Artificial Intelligence specialist Asier Rodriguez. “Cavani would no longer be on the wing trying to assist the scoring pair of Neymar and Kylian Mbappé. Rather, he would have assumed a more offensive role, being the reference point of the Real attack together with Benzema. Therefore, his ability to provide assists would also have decreased and he would have achieving only one goal-providing pass every 500 minutes.”
In this case, the projection of Cavani’s performance has been analysed in a contextualized way with the hypothetical addition of the Uruguayan to Real Madrid’s squad during this season, taking into account hundreds of variables such as his adaptation to the Spanish league, his rapport with his teammates and the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo, among others.
Jovic, Werner also profitable additions to Real's squad
“The Artificial Intelligence that we have developed allows us to contextualize the player in a new team in a future context. In this way, we can answer the most complex questions that come to us from scouting departments”, Rodríguez explains.
Behind Cavani, the closest player to the Uruguayan's league goal tally this season would be Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski, with a goal every 114 minutes and Inter Milan's Mauro Icardi, with a goal every 123 minutes.
On the other hand, young talents Luca Jovic (Eintracht Frankfurt) and Timo Werner (RB Leipzig) could also be significant alternatives for Madrid. The Serbian has been one of the Bundesliga's revelations this season, with 17 goals and six assists in 30 games, while the German is the reference point for both the national team and Leipzig, where he has scored 16 league goals and provided 10 assists this season.
Although both would offer a lower overall goals-per-minutes record than Cavani (one every 83 minutes in Ligue 1), Lewandowski and Icardi, both Jovic (21) and Werner (23) would have more or less matched the record of Madrid's top scorer Benzema, who has found the net every 133 minutes in the league.
Under the same analysis, the Frankfurt striker would have scored a goal every 136 minutes for Madrid this season, while the German would have found the net every 142 minutes. Furthermore, based on the performance prediction, Jovic would have been considerably more involved in the defensive aspect, where he would have recovered 2.5 balls per game.