Julian Draxler: Scout Report

Style, Strengths and Weaknesses

Julian Draxler of Schalke 04

Draxler is 6 foot 2 inches tall but he isn’t the target man style of player. He has sheer pace with superb ball control, he also possesses great dribbling technique. Draxler can also strike a ball with accuaracy and can cross a ball as well which gives him quite an all round game apart from aerial ability in which he lacks but which is weird as he is a fairly tall person.

He is capable of playing anywhere across the midfield, if it’s out wide or through the middle he can adapt his play to suit his position on the pitch.

When Holtby was at Schalke, he was deployed out wide which made him change his style to suit where he is on the pitch but now Holtby has left, Schalke deploy him more centrally which is his natural position. He can provide a lot of passes and chances for his teammates which could end up in assists building up. Not only can he pass but he can score goals as well.

As said just before, Draxler can score goals. He made 30 appearances last season and scored 10 from a midfield position which shows he can finish chances. Below is a chart which shows that he can score from various places around the box with some outside of the area shots flying in. One of his strengths is his shots and shown by a few of his goals, you can see why this is one of his more positive attributes.

Credit: Squawka.com

Draxler managed to create 45 chances for Schalke last season, which shows that he as an eye for a pass and has the creative spark to give a teammate a chance at goal. 66.7% of these chances came from the centre of the opponents half which shows on lookers that he is most effective through the middle but with 33.3% of chance coming from outwide, it shows that he is able to mold into positions.

Not only can he create chances but his pass accuaracy is also brilliant with a percentage of 82%. He made 687 successful passes last season compared to 152 which were unsuccessful.

Draxler doesn’t just carry strengths though as he struggles with his aerial ability. He scored 10 goals last season but not one of them came from a header. This graph shows us where most of his goals came from:

Credit: Squawka.com

This chart shows us that he scored all 10 of his goals with his feet, 3 coming from his left and 7 coming from his right. Not one goal was used with his head and this is why this is presented as a weakness of his. If he improves his aerial ability, he could become a better all round player. With is the height of 6 foot 2, there is no reason why he cannot use his height and improve his aerial ability.

Transfer Situation

Schalke have said they will not sell Julian Draxler despite clubs being interested. The clubs arch rivals Borussia Dortmund made an approach for the youngster but Schalke turned it down not wanting to lose their player. Draxler caused a stir though saying he would be a perfect fit to Dortmund’s midfield. “In sporting terms, I would definitely have fit into the Dortmund team,” he said in an interview with Sport1.

Interest floods in for him despite him sealing a deal which will keep him at Schalke until 2018.