What can fans expect from new signing Pervis Estupiñán?

Now that Brighton have confirmed the signing of Pervis Estupiñán what can followers of the club expect from the Ecuadorian left back?

The player himself has said he is looking forward to playing for Brighton after securing a five-year deal. He has spoken about the positive impact that Ecuadorian teammates Moises Caicedo and Jeremy Sarmiento will have,

“This is very important – to be playing for an English team but to have two Ecuadorian teammates. It will help me a lot – I play with them for Ecuador, so I know how they play.”

So, there are positive influences that should help the new arrival perform well. However, the overall picture is not that simple.

There are positive and negative aspects to Estupiñán’s play as analysed by a member of justgamblers.com. He believes that these aspects are likely to have an impact on Albion’s results this season.

“Estupiñán has shown during his time at Villareal that he is a formidable force going forward. That is the positive side of his play that fans can expect to see this season.

However, he is less skilled when it comes to the defensive requirements of the left-back role. He tends to be reckless which could be costly if this weakness is not addressed.”

It’s clear from this analysis that there is room for improvement in Estupiñán’s play, but what does this mean in more detail?

Potential to help the attack going forward
There is no doubt that the new addition to Brighton’s squad adds something to the team’s attacking potential. Estupiñán completed more crosses into the box than any other player at Villareal last season.

There is power behind his lofted crosses, and he is also not afraid to cut the ball back to teammates if the situation requires this.

Estupiñán is also known for having high energy levels and being willing to work hard during games. This is a positive for any team competing in the Premier League.

Improvement may be required from a defensive point of view
Defence is the less effective side of Estupiñán’s game. This could be a concern for the Albion as they will want to maintain their impressive defensive record from last season when they conceded only 44 goals.

Estupiñán is an aggressive defender who can be reckless with his tackles. So, he may struggle to defend effectively without conceding free kicks or penalties. This contrasts with Marc Cucurella who recently left to join Chelsea.

He is equally effective in attack and defence and impressed in his recent performance for Chelsea against Tottenham even though the hair pulling incident involving Cristian Romero took centre stage.

Brighton will certainly miss Cucurella’s presence, but Estupiñán seems fully invested in taking up the mantle. Doing this will mean that he must work on defending with a more level head while also bringing his crossing and passing abilities to his new team.

If he does this, fans could have a lot to look forward to from this new signing.