Best Alternatives to David Da Costa

Top 3 Alternatives to David Da Costa

1. 1.Lucas Da Cunha 85% DNA match·Como€15.0M
2. 2.Diego Rodrigues85% DNA match·Sporting Braga€4.5M
3. 3.Johnny Cardoso85% DNA match·Atlético Madrid€22.0M

Ranked by AI DNA similarity — 768 dimensions across playing style, pressing intensity, and tactical fit.

Playing Style Analysis

Da Costa is the kind of midfielder who makes a B-tier MLS side look more dangerous than they have any right to be. His key pass rate of 2.03 per 90 and assist numbers both land in the top 20% of MLS midfielders—not just productive, but consistently so across nearly 2,800 minutes, which filters out the noise. Here's the counterintuitive part: his 86.8% pass accuracy might read as conservative, but paired with his top-20% dribble rate, this is a player taking risks and still completing them. The three most similar players to David Da Costa by playing style are:

• Lucas Da Cunha (85% match) — A Metronome. Statistically, he stands out as naturally left-footed, a capable chance creator (1.5 key passes/90), active in the tackle (1.9 tackles/90), meticulous in distribution (90% pass accuracy), heavily involved in possession (65 passes/90), central to possession (79 touches/90) and active off the ball (2.8 press score/90), contributing to defensive transitions.
• Diego Rodrigues(85% match) — A Box-to-Box. Statistically, he stands out as an elite creator (2.0 key passes/90), a reliable supplier (0.21 assists/90), active in the tackle (2.0 tackles/90), meticulous in distribution (90% pass accuracy), central to possession (70 touches/90), active off the ball (2.3 press score/90), contributing to defensive transitions and top 10% creator in the league. Note: this profile is based on 848 minutes of playing time this season.
• Johnny Cardoso(85% match) — A Ball-Winner. Statistically, he stands out as an aggressive ball-winner (4.0 tackles/90), reads the game exceptionally (1.5 interceptions/90), meticulous in distribution (88% pass accuracy), wins the ball cleanly (1.9 successful tackles/90), heavily involved in play (69 touches/90), active off the ball (2.7 press score/90), contributing to defensive transitions and top 10% tackler in the league. However, he loses possession under pressure (1.6 dispossessed/90).

Similarity is calculated using per-90 performance data across multiple playing style dimensions. How Player DNA matching works →