In an article on ESPN, they report that Liverpool youngster Sheyi Ojo, who spent some of last season on loan in the Championship with now-relegated Wigan, is due for another loan to the Championship, this time at Wolves. ESPN quote that the rationale behind this move is so that the young winger can gain some “valuable first-team experience.” With chances of breaking into the Liverpool first team thought to be limited this coming Premier League season, it is thought that this represents the best move to see Ojo continue his footballing development. ESPN mention that a number of Championship clubs are thought to be interested but “Wolves are leading the race to land the England Under-18 international.”
Ojo joined Liverpool’s youth set-up in 2011, signing from the MK Dons and has progressed in those four years to the fringes of the first team. Ojo’s career seems to have stalled there, but teams began to take interest after his 11 appearance cameo for Wigan last season from game 29 through to game 44, with him starting in seven games and being subbed on in four others. The rest of last season was spent playing for the Liverpool U21 side in the U21 Premier League (where he scored four goals and provided two assists) and in the UEFA Youth League where he scored two goals against PFK Ludogorets Razgrad. It was due to this performance and the promise that Oji has that Wolves have made tentative approaches to Liverpool to secure his services, as evidenced by the following Tweet.
The Head Coach has also confirmed Wolves' interest in Liverpool's Sheyi Ojo but admitted the process isn't as far along as Adam Le Fondre.
— Wolves (@Wolves) August 3, 2015
With this interest in mind, what is it that Wolves fans can expect rocking up through the door of Molineaux should the loan be actioned?
Sheyi Oji – the numbers game
Wolves fans, should Sheyi Oji sign for them, will be getting a player with jet heels and ability to run at players; this can bee seen in the 3.4 successful dribbles that he accomplishes on a per typical 90 minute basis. Whilst the volume of his passing is quite low (21.2 completed passes per 90 at 75.4% accuracy), it is his short passing game that will excite Wolves fans. Sheyi Ojo gets his head down and runs, when he does pass it is short, neat passes with 96.8% of his passes (26.6 short pass attempts) coming from the typical 28.1 total passing attempts per typical 90. These short passes can also be seen in another area of his game, laying on passes for teammates that end up as shot assist passes. In this respect, Ojo creates 1.9 shooting opportunities per 90 minutes that he is on the pitch, which at the time he was at Wigan represented 6.81% of his total passing attempts, a high number for a shot assist pass percentage. Of course, Wolves fans would likely see some regression and drop in this percentage but it wouldn’t be a drastic drop.
One area that Wolves might want to develop is Ojo’s shooting game; he only fashioned himself 1 shot per typical 90 minutes of play, with only 0.4 of these per 90 minutes being on target. Saying that, that represents a 40% shooting accuracy and with more attempts, comes more chances to score – a keeper can’t save every one of the shots that you take. He is also decent at anticipating the play of opponents and breaking up their attacks, making 1.5 interceptions per 90 minutes. The only real ‘negative’, and I use that term loosely, is the amount of possession he loses per 90 minutes (3.8 possessions lost). If Wolves could could down his possession losses per 90, whilst raising his production then they could really have a threatening player on their hands that would add a pacey facet to their flanks.
The verdict
There is always a danger when loaning a player that many are tipping as the ‘next big thing’ or labelling with phrases such as ‘highly valued at X club’. However, Wolves would have seen that Ojo played well for Wigan, often outshining and outperforming players many years his senior. He’s quick, tricky and the sort of player who could give Championship defences a torrid time. Schooled for four years in the Liverpool youth system, he will come to Wolves, should they be able to secure his signature, with an excellent football background and his time at Wigan would only have honed that a little more.
