Best Alternatives to Guillermo Varela

Playing Style Analysis

Varela is a defensive anomaly operating within a Tier C Serie A side, functioning as a high-volume creative engine masquerading as a traditional fullback. While his 41 passes per game suggest a player on the periphery of build-up, his impact is surgical; he sits in the top 5% of the league for both key passes and goalscoring, a statistical profile more akin to a modern wing-back than a standard defender. His defensive floor is surprisingly high, winning tackles at a rate that eclipses 95% of his peers, yet the data reveals a telling contradiction: while his duel win percentage is robust, his low volume of successful aerials (0.79/90) suggests a player who avoids the clouds, preferring to dominate on the deck. The three closest DNA matches to Guillermo Varela:

• Denzel Dumfries(80% match) — A Active Full-Back. Statistically, he stands out as a regular goalscorer (0.20 goals/90).
• Brooke Norton-Cuffy(80% match) — A Active Full-Back. Statistically, he stands out as active in the tackle (1.8 tackles/90) and active off the ball (2.1 press score/90), contributing to defensive transitions.
• Emil Holm(80% match) — A Active Full-Back. Statistically, he stands out as a prolific assist provider (0.55 assists/90), an aggressive ball-winner (2.7 tackles/90), wins the physical battle (55% duel success), central to possession (72 touches/90), a high-intensity presser (press score 3.2/90), constantly disrupting opposition build-up and top 10% tackler in the league.

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