Best Alternatives to Ilya Zabarnyi

Top 3 Alternatives to Ilya Zabarnyi

1. 1.Nayef Aguerd86% DNA match·Olympique Marseille€35.0M
2. 2.Leonardo Balerdi86% DNA match·Olympique Marseille€20.0M
3. 3.Jakub Kiwior85% DNA match·Porto€27.0M

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

Playing Style Analysis

A Ball-Playing CB. Statistically, he stands out as meticulous in distribution (95% pass accuracy), heavily involved in possession (79 passes/90), central to possession (87 touches/90) and active off the ball (2.4 press score/90), contributing to defensive transitions. The three most similar players to Ilya Zabarnyi by playing style are:

• Nayef Aguerd(86% match) — A Ball-Playing CB. Statistically, he stands out as naturally left-footed, commanding in the air (4.6 clearances/90), meticulous in distribution (93% pass accuracy), wins the physical battle (58% duel success), heavily involved in possession (87 passes/90), central to possession (99 touches/90) and active off the ball (2.7 press score/90), contributing to defensive transitions.
• Leonardo Balerdi(86% match) — A Ball-Playing CB. Statistically, he stands out as an aggressive ball-winner (2.8 tackles/90), commanding in the air (4.0 clearances/90), meticulous in distribution (93% pass accuracy), heavily involved in possession (72 passes/90), central to possession (84 touches/90), uses long balls frequently (5.6/90) and active off the ball (2.2 press score/90), contributing to defensive transitions. However, he struggles in aerial duels.
• Jakub Kiwior(85% match) — Kiwior has quietly rebuilt himself into one of the most pass-progressive centre-backs in Liga Portugal — a defender whose primary weapon is the ball at his feet, not the boot to clear it. His 12.53 passes into the final third per 90 ranks in the top 5% of the league, and that volume tells you something important: this isn't a man sitting deep and recycling. He's the first link in attacking transitions.

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