JG Writes

It has been a tough few weeks for Brighton and Hove Albion striker Neal Maupay. Most recently, a missed penalty & injury in the 1-1 draw with Liverpool has since seen Maupay come under a significant amount of criticism.

However, here’s why some of that criticism is unnecessary and why the Frenchman brings a lot more to the team than just the goals he scores.

Last season, Maupay managed to reach double figures for goals in the Premier League, something no other Brighton player has achieved in their time in the Premier League aside from Glenn Murray. Ten goals and three assists from 37 appearances after his £16m summer arrival from Brentford was a pretty solid return for a 23-year-old in his debut top flight season.

The Frenchman missed ten big chances and underachieved his xG by 4.7. The argument that he should’ve had more goals with the chances the likes of Leandro Trossard, Pascal Gross and Aaron Mooy created for Maupay is something not many could disagree with. The striker himself would’ve been disappointed to not score more. 

Of course, Football is not all about stats. Watching Maupay with the naked eye would’ve left most fans frustrated that the club’s leading goalscorer didn’t score 20 goals as seemingly everyone expects these days. Maupay had scored 25 goals and also accumulated eight assists for Brentford in the Championship prior to signing for Brighton. To suggest he is a prolific goalscorer is obviously factual, with 33 goal involvements over the season an impressive total. 

However, Maupay did miss 19 big chances that season. Ten big chances missed last season and five this season proves that sometimes he isn’t clinical. Every top striker will go through a poor run of form where their confidence drops and goals dry up. Maupay himself went eight games without scoring last season until his header away at Sheffield United rescued a 1-1 draw. 

While missing big chances is frustrating to watch from a fans perspective, it is only natural for strikers to miss chances. Aaron Connolly was through on goal against Liverpool at the weekend and his chance was put narrowly wide. Danny Welbeck, on his first start for Brighton against Burnley three weeks ago, had his one-on-one effort saved by Clarets keeper Nick Pope.

Nowadays, for a club to sign a 20 goal a season striker in the Premier League, you are looking at spending a lot of money on one player. How many strikers are there that will cost under £20 million and will score 20+ goals? 

The strikers in that bracket are names such as Jamie Vardy, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Sergio Aguero, Harry Kane and Danny Ings, just to name a few. How many of those would cost the same as Maupay did for Brighton when they signed him? 

I’m not sure how the expectations of Maupay are fair, when he cost the club far less than an elite striker would – the club cannot afford to do that.

The main reason for this article isn’t to break down how many goals Maupay scores, how many chances Maupay misses or whether he faked an injury after missing a penalty. 

Just by watching games as a fan in the stands or on television (since lockdown, obviously), you can clearly see how much Maupay contributes to the team. He is one of the top pressers at the club, along with Connolly, and his constant harrying of defenders is a pain for every team in the Premier League. 

What is impressive is Maupay’s ability to drop into pockets of space and pick up the ball from the centre backs looking to pass between the lines. We can see from his heatmap the different positions he picks up, where he can turn and drive at defences. Examples of this include his assist for Connolly’s goal away at Newcastle, picking the ball up from Ben White and driving through the middle to tee up the Irishman for his first goal of the season. 

The Frenchman is Brighton’s leading goalscorer this season as well as last, and despite a dip in his own form, has seemed to start forming an effective link up with new signing Danny Welbeck. Their partnership has already been evident in their games against Burnley and Aston Villa. Maupay was involved in Welbeck’s opener against Villa and it was Welbeck’s flick that played Maupay in behind before his left-footed attempt was save by Villa ‘keeper Emi Martinez. 

Albion’s best performances in the 19/20 season came when Maupay was paired with Connolly in a 4-2-2-2, being supplied by chance creators Mooy, Trossard and/or Gross. They beat Tottenham with an impressive performance at home with both strikers netting in the 3-0 victory. Both strikers were deployed at the Emirates against Arsenal last December, a game in which Maupay scored the winner for the Seagulls. In the reverse fixture at the Amex, the first game back after lockdown, Connolly set up Maupay for the late winner that gave them their first three points of 2020. 

Maupay’s contributions can not be underestimated in terms of how important they have been to his team. Up until the Manchester United game (3-2 defeat), Brighton were unbeaten in every game Maupay had scored in. There is much more to his game than just goals and is a key player for Brighton and Head Coach Graham Potter. 

Stats courtesy of infogol and SofaScore. 

Written by Joe Glayshier.