After a successful season with Barcelona B, where Jutglà managed 19 goals in 32 appearances, and with a limited number of opportunities with the senior side, Jutglà made the difficult decision to leave Catalonia. He explained the reasoning behind his decision to move to Club Brugge, saying: “I am clear that I want to go where I have the opportunity to play every weekend and at Brugge they will give it to me… It’s the perfect club to keep growing.”
This tactical analysis and scout report will analyse the strengths in Ferran Jutglà’s game. It will also take a look at how Jutglà will fit in a new-look Club Brugge side, who after winning the Belgian Pro League once again, will go directly into the group stages of the Champions League next season.
Player profile
During his time in Catalonia, Ferran Jutglà became the focal point of the Barcelona B attack. While Jutglà was normally deployed as a central striker for Barcelona B, as the heat map shows, he has a tendency to drift into wider positions. This is because Jutglà likes to be on the ball, attempting to contribute offensively wherever he can. This is easily demonstrated by his 19 goals and 6 assists last season while being Barcelona B’s first player on the team sheet.
While 40% of Jutglà’s playing time this season for Barcelona B was through the middle, a combined 24% was on the wings. This multi-positional capability that Ferran Jutglà possesses will be a valuable asset for a Club Brugge side who are currently in the midst of a transitional period. The future of former Ajax winger Noa Lang is uncertain, while the centre-forward positions are also up for grabs. With Sargis Adamyan’s loan spell expiring, and the ex-Wolfsburg man Bas Dost’s future also uncertain, Jutglà and returning Vitesse Arnhem loanee Loïs Openda may be looked to as the central striking options for Club Brugge.
Clinical in front of goal
With 19 goals to his name last season with Barcelona B, composure in front of goal is not something that is an issue for Ferran Jutglà.
The graphic above shows the last 75 shots that Ferran Jutglà took, with the purple being goals, blue being on target, and misses as well. As displayed, Jutglà attempts most of his shots inside the penalty box, with only 2 of his 19 goals this season being scored from outside the area. He also does not attempt many shots from outside the box in general, with only 20 of his last 75 shots being taken from this range. Last season, Jutglà averaged 3.05 shots per 90 minutes of action, with 44.1% of those being on target. While the success percentage can surely improve, as the following examples will show, Club Brugge are getting a clinical goal scorer.
In the example above, Jutglà was in possession from a wide left position and drove forward into the box with the ball at his feet. Even with three opposition defenders in close proximity to him, Jutglà was still able to cut inside and place his shot into the far corner of the net, out of reach of the diving goalkeeper. This is a trademark Ferran Jutglà finish, with his tendency to receive the ball in wider positions before cutting inside on his favoured right foot to fire a shot on target.
While Jutglà prefers shooting on his right foot, he is not afraid to take shots on his weaker left foot. Preceding this shot, Jutglà received possession in the half-space before driving into the penalty box. The opposition defender attempts to force Jutglà wide, but he manages to cut inside. Even though the angle for the shot is tight, along with the defender being in close proximity to him, and on his weaker left foot, Jutglà is still able to place his shot with pinpoint precision past the goalkeeper and into the far corner. Ferran Jutglà is a striker who uses precision over power when it comes to shooting, and it has had a major impact on his goalscoring record with Barcelona B.
While the two examples so far showed Jutglà’s tendency to aim for the far post when cutting inside from a wide position, he can also surprise goalkeepers by using more power and aiming at the near post as well. In the image above, Jutglà has once again driven inside towards the centre of the box from a wider position where he received possession. He is once again being closed down by opposition defenders from either side of him and decides to use power instead of precision with his shot. He catches the goalkeeper off guard with a rocket of a shot at the near post, scoring after wonderful individual work led to the chance.
Club Brugge are getting a clinical goalscorer in Ferran Jutglà, but it will be interesting to see if he can translate the success that he has had in this department at Barcelona B to the senior level. With the Belgian champions going straight into the group stages of the Champions League for next season, Jutglà will hope he can have the same goal-scoring success on the biggest stage to show the Blaugrana what they missed out on.
Able to make an impact from a wide position
Though Ferran Jutglà has played mostly as a central striker during his time with Barcelona B, his tendency to drift wide during matches at times turned him into a winger in the traditional Barcelona 4-3-3 system. While the biggest impact Jutglà has is from a central striking position (as illustrated by his 19 goals for Barcelona B this season), drifting wide has proven to be a happy venture for the Catalonia-born striker. This section will have a look at the capabilities that Ferran Jutglà has when operating in a wider attacking position.
The image above shows an attacking phase where Jutglà is positioned in a wide right position. After drifting wide, the ball is played to him by the central midfielder. Jutglà notices the run being made into the space in the centre of the penalty box and is able to play a pinpoint accurate cross on his weaker left foot onto the head of his teammate. This is one example of the quality that Jutglà possess when he finds himself drifting wide.
Preceding this attacking moment above was a corner kick for Barcelona B that was cleared away by the opposition defence. The ensuing clearance found its way to Jutglà, who was positioned on the edge of the penalty box. After gathering possession and spinning away from the fullback and into the wide channel, he is able to send a pinpoint cross onto the head of the forward, who heads home the chance.
For half a season under Alfred Schreuder, Club Brugge shifted tactics to a 3-5-2 formation, one that ultimately clinched them another Belgian League title. It remains to be seen whether new head coach Carl Hoefkens sticks with this system or reverts back to a more traditional back four. Whatever the case may be, Ferran Jutglà will likely play as either the sole striker or in a dual striker system with one of either Bas Dost or the returning Loïs Openda his partner. However, as this section showed, Jutglà has the capability of making an impact from the wider positions he often tends to drift into.
High work rate and defending from the front
Another key trait of Ferran Jutglà is his high work rate, with the Spanish forward not afraid to put pressure on the opposition defence while they are in possession to try and force a turnover. For Barcelona B in the Primera Division RFEF last season, Jutglà attempted 18.14 duels per 90 minutes, being successful in 40% of them. This intense work rate and tendency to constantly put pressure on the opposition back line has led to problems for opponents, with Jutglà pressing leading to turnovers and chances for Barcelona B this season.
Preceding this pressing sequence from Jutglà was a throw-in by the opposition. The fullback decides to throw the ball to his goalkeeper instead of to a defender in the centre of the pitch. This frees Jutglà to put pressure on the keeper, which he does. His pressure forces the goalkeeper into a poor clearance, with his attempted clearance sent right to the Barcelona B attacker on the near touchline. This allows Barcelona B to quickly counter, all as a result of Ferran Jutglà’s work rate.
The image above shows another example of the work rate of Jutglà leading to an opposition turnover in a dangerous area. The opposition defender is in possession and is moving back into his penalty box. Jutglà continues to put pressure on the defender before eventually winning possession inside the penalty box. This allows Barcelona B to have an attacking opportunity, all from the work rate and pressing ability of Ferran Jutglà.
Another example of Jutglà’s high work rate and pressing ability is shown above. Playing as the central striker, Jutglà is the first line of defence for Barcelona B and excels at this task. With the opposition centre-back in possession, Jutglà puts pressure on him, pressing him until he is able to knock the ball away from the defender, with the loose ball falling to the advancing winger who sets Barcelona B on a counterattack. Once again, the work rate and pressing ability of Ferran Jutglà leads to a transitional moment for his side.
Conclusion
This tactics and analysis piece has gone over a few of the key strengths that are present in Ferran Jutglà’s game. While he did not get enough time to show his talent in the Barcelona senior side, the talent is undoubtedly there. Club Brugge, and Belgium in particular, is a perfect stepping stone for Jutglà to continue developing his game, with him destined to play plenty of senior football next season.
Jutglà is joining a talented Club Brugge side who will be battling on multiple fronts next season, with the Belgian champions automatically being placed in the group stages of the Champions League. Jutglà will be determined to show Xavi and the Barcelona hierarchy what they missed out on next season.
Comments