Barcelona have had a fine start to the season, winning five out of their opening seven LaLiga games. Only three players have been present in all of these games, one of whom is Jules Koundé.

Since signing for them last summer, the defender has become an integral part of Xavi’s team. The defender, having played as a right-back for most of last season, is playing as a right-sided centre-half this season.

With the addition of João Cancelo during the summer transfer window, Koundé is likely to continue playing centre-half this term.

The below visualisation shows where Koundé ranks for some key metrics compared to the other rights-sided centre-backs from Europe’s top five leagues.

One of the important things required of a centre-back playing for Barcelona, especially under Xavi, is to possess the ability to be comfortable on the ball, and Koundé is good in that aspect.

He ranks in the top 6% for Progressive passes per 90 minutes and is among the best for carrying the ball forward by beating the opposition press. Only Eric García and Nemanja Gudelj have made progressive runs per 90 minutes than Koundé’s 2.24 progressive runs per 90 minutes.

Considering other defensive actions, Koundé is not very aggressive in tackling and is not someone who commits many fouls. His positioning can be improved as sometimes he is caught higher up the pitch, but he has the pace to make up for it. While defending transitions, he is not too early into his decisions, which is once an excellent sign for a center-back.

The numbers suggest Koundé has started the season well and will likely be integral to Barcelona’s progress this season. It will be interesting to see how the season pans out for the Frenchman.