Best Alternatives to Dan Ballard

Playing Style Analysis

A Ball-Playing CB. Statistically, he stands out as commanding in the air (7.8 clearances/90), wins the physical battle (59% duel success), strong in aerial duels (4.4 aerials won/90) and uses long balls frequently (6.6/90). The three closest DNA matches to Dan Ballard:

• Cristian Romero (80% match) — A Ball-Playing CB. Statistically, he stands out as an aggressive ball-winner (2.8 tackles/90), commanding in the air (4.5 clearances/90), meticulous in distribution (87% pass accuracy), wins the physical battle (66% duel success), dominant in the air (3.5 aerials won/90, 71%), active off the ball (2.6 press score/90), contributing to defensive transitions and top 10% tackler in the league.
• Joe Worrall(86% match) — A Physical Stopper. Statistically, he stands out as a reliable supplier (0.18 assists/90), commanding in the air (10.9 clearances/90) and strong in aerial duels (3.8 aerials won/90).
• Malick Thiaw(86% match) — Thiaw has quietly become one of the Premier League's most complete defensive profiles — a towering centre-back who doesn't just win his battles, he wins them cleanly. His aerial win rate of 65.1% and duel success of 64.2% both sit in the league's top 20%, but the counterintuitive story is his attacking output: 0.16 goals per 90 and 0.98 shots per 90 place him in the top 10% among defenders, suggesting a genuine threat from set-pieces that opponents routinely underestimate.

Similarity uses per-90 performance across playing-style dimensions. How Player DNA matching works →