How many times have we seen a scene in which a shell-game artist tries to scam the public with the old trick of the ball and the cups?
In the back of our minds, we all know that we are being swindled and that the magician controls the entire situation from the start, but our ego makes us feel more intelligent than the rest and believe that we can, in fact, beat him.
You are told: “Where is the ball? On the right? On the left? Where is the ball sir?”. At that point, you are already dead, since you have fallen for his trap.
Now you can put yourself in the cleats of a defender that is faced by a dribbling specialist, the kind of players that we constantly claim there are not any left of: let me introduce you to Edon Zhegrova.
Edon Zhegrova is 24 years old and is a heavily left-footed winger. He plays on the right lane, has been one of the best players in Ligue 1 and his name is already being linked to Real Sociedad after the departure of Mohammed Ali-Cho.
The Kosovar sensation joined Lille from Basel in the 2021-2022 season in a transfer worth seven million euros, and even though he has struggled to break out, he had already displayed flashes of his quality.
We are talking about a player that is lacking the ability to make the right choice in the last third of the pitch in order to increase his statistics and capture the attention of all of Europe. But at the same time, he is a tremendous offensive generator as a result of his dynamism. He is not a winger that (in spite of being quick) stands out because of his astonishing speed, but due to his dribbling with feints and the creativity that sprouts from his left foot.
It seems logical that Real Sociedad have him among their targets as a result of Kubo’s absence to play the Asian Cup, but after the Japanese winger returns, the position could become overcrowded. They would constantly overlap eachother as Edon Zhegrova will always demand coming off the right wing.
This year, he has taken a leap in the team managed by Paulo Fonseca, playing more minutes and making more appearances in Ligue 1 than in the entirety of last season. The confidence of the Portuguese manager has allowed him to let loose and his dynamism has been critical for Lille to not fall behind in the race to qualify for the Champions League.
Currently, he has recorded seven goals (three of which he scored in the first round of the Coupe de France) and seven assists that prove that his mesmerizing dribbling still lacks the decision making required to become elite.
In spite of that, we are still talking about a decisive player: he may not be scoring a lot, but he is in the 97th percentile of wingers in Europe when it comes to key passes (passes that lead to a teammate’s shot).
This proves that he is not just a winger specialized in dribbling that plays his own match, but a player that takes advantage of his skillful left foot to generate advantageous situations for his team, especially using a cross with a lot of curve.
But bringing more to the table than just dribbling does not mean it is not his main virtue, as he is among the top 1% of players in the top five leagues that attempt and successfully complete the most dribbles (almost four per match). He shines in all of the statistics relative to drives and dribbles, as he boasts massive talent in his left foot.
In the current state of football, the pressure is becoming increasingly suffocating, so having a player who can get past an opponent and create advantageous situations is a must. Any team would love to have a winger like the Kosovar.
We will see if Real Sociedad actually invest on the player. It seems difficult that he will leave for an amount inferior to the 20-30 million euros range, but hopefully LaLiga will soon be able to enjoy this shell-game artist.
A warning to all defenders in the Spanish competition: be careful if you are facing Edon Zhegrova, you are not as smart as he will make you believe.
Translated by Nuño Alonso.
Main image: @losclive.
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