Best Alternatives to Isaac Hayden

Playing Style Analysis

Hayden is the Championship’s premier aerial vacuum, a defensive midfielder who treats every long ball as a personal affront. While many anchors are content to sit and screen, he is hyper-proactive, ranking in the top 5% of the league for aerials won per 90 (2.47) and the top 20% for interceptions. The counterintuitive insight here is his creative output: despite a pedestrian 76.8% pass accuracy that suggests a lack of technical refinement, he actually generates 1.10 key passes per 90, placing him comfortably above the league average for his position. The three closest DNA matches to Isaac Hayden:

• Yunus Konak(84% match) — A Ball-Winner. Statistically, he stands out as active in the tackle (2.3 tackles/90), wins the physical battle (58% duel success), draws fouls effectively (2.0/90) and active off the ball (2.7 press score/90), contributing to defensive transitions.
• Salih Özcan(82% match) — Özcan is a metronomic disruptor whose high-volume passing and elite defensive anticipation make him the structural glue for a mid-table side. While his 79.2% pass accuracy appears merely average, it is a byproduct of his relentless involvement; ranking in the top 5% for passes per 90 (57.9) suggests he is the primary valve through whom the game flows, rather than a passenger.
• Gianluca Gaetano(81% match) — A Box-to-Box. Statistically, he stands out as a capable chance creator (1.3 key passes/90), a reliable supplier (0.19 assists/90), heavily involved in play (66 touches/90), uses long balls frequently (5.3/90) and active off the ball (2.6 press score/90), contributing to defensive transitions.

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