In the final of this winter’s series, Adam Price assesses midfield addition Malachi Boateng.
Plymouth Argyle have spent money to sign a midfielder. I know, I know, that feels like an alien concept, but it’s happened.
Half an hour before the January transfer window closed, Argyle announced the arrival of Malachi Boateng. The 22-year-old brother of former Argyle midfielder Hiram joined from Scottish side Heart of Midlothian, signing a three-and-a-half-year deal. The fee, whilst officially undisclosed, was probably in the region of £500,000. And the existence of a fee at all feels hugely significant, its presence making Boateng the first midfielder Argyle have actively bought since Simon Walton, the best part of two decades ago.
If you’re inclined to believe the rumour mill, Boateng wasn’t Argyle first choice of midfielder this winter. And given news regarding the player only broke on deadline day itself, there have been accusations that his arrival has all the hallmarks of a panic buy. But could he be a success story at Home Park? As ever, let’s see what his data has to offer.
Physical specimen
Given Boateng only joined Hearts permanently in August, it stands to reason that Argyle made their move based on his numbers in recent months. After all, if the Home Park hierarchy had seen something in his data beforehand, they could easily have made their move in the summer. Naturally, it therefore makes sense for us to look at those numbers specifically when looking at what Boateng may bring to the team.
Immediately, I was taken aback by what Boateng’s numbers imply about his physical presence. He appears to be a player who loves to get involved in duels, and it’s invariably something that has a tangible benefit to his team.
To be honest, his ground duel success this season of 49% isn’t particularly something to write home about. It was far higher earlier in the campaign, but it’s dropped off after a poor run of form, which possibly explains why he recently lost his place in the Hearts side. In the air, however, Boateng has been dominant. He’s won an average of 3.05 aerial duels per 90 minutes this season, which dwarfs what any of Argyle’s other midfield options have managed…
| Player | Aerial duels won per 90 |
| Malachi Boateng* | 3.05 |
| Adam Randell | 1.32 |
| Jordan Houghton | 1.24 |
| Darko Gyabi | 1.13 |
| Adam Forshaw | 0.52 |
…whilst Boateng’s success rate in the air would also be enough to top the charts against his new teammates in the centre of the park.
| Player | Aerial Duels Contested | Aerial Duels Won | Success Rate |
| Malachi Boateng* | 87 | 53 | 61% |
| Adam Forshaw | 7 | 4 | 57% |
| Jordan Houghton | 18 | 10 | 56% |
| Adam Randell | 64 | 35 | 55% |
| Darko Gyabi | 49 | 25 | 51% |
I also get the impression that Boateng’s presence in midfield, physical or otherwise, is going to benefit Argyle defensively. His tackle success of 79% this season is certainly solid enough, and his reading of the game appears excellent. He’s made an average of 1.84 interceptions per 90 minutes for Hearts, which is another figure that would comfortably top the charts when compared with Argyle’s midfield options.
| Player | Interceptions per 90 |
| Malachi Boateng* | 1.84 |
| Adam Randell | 1.21 |
| Adam Forshaw | 0.79 |
| Jordan Houghton | 0.74 |
| Darko Gyabi | 0.73 |
In an ideal world, perhaps one in which we can allow ourselves to be fanciful, Boateng could be seen as the final piece of the jigsaw. Since Miron Muslic’s arrival as head coach, he’s reformed the way Argyle play, and brought in a couple of defensive battlers in Maksym Talovierov and Nikola Katic. There has always been an impression, however, that the squad has lacked a combative central midfield player to really implement the style of play to its highest possible potential.
Whether he’ll have the required quality remains to be seen, but Boateng is exactly that sort of player.
Passable in possession?
Boateng’s qualities out of possession appear obvious. However, there is always a risk that a combative player can fall short with their technical attributes. Particularly in a midfield two, which Muslic has clearly indicated he intends to deploy, both players must have a good level of all-round attributes to make up for the lack of a third body in the middle of the park. It’s therefore crucial that we look at Boateng’s attributes in possession before we can conclude he has the credentials to be a success in this Argyle side.
I certainly don’t have any huge doubts about Boateng’s in-game intelligence. His raw number of interceptions demonstrates that he reads the game well, and I suspect he will at the very least attempt to play intelligent passes with regularity. At this point, I was expecting to have to downplay the potential quality of those passes but, looking at Boateng’s numbers in possession, I’ve been pleasantly surprised.
On average, Boateng has attempted 50.13 passes per 90 this season, completing an average of 39.99. On both counts, only Lewis Gibson and Kornel Szucs have posted higher numbers in Argyle’s ranks this year. And Boateng’s passing success is also notable. His total of 80% isn’t in the “outstanding” category, but it doesn’t look out of place when compared to Argyle’s other midfielders, and is absolutely fine when you consider his qualities without the ball.
| Player | Passes Attempted | Passes Completed | Success Rate |
| Adam Forshaw | 324 | 278 | 86% |
| Darko Gyabi | 639 | 533 | 83% |
| Adam Randell | 1270 | 1044 | 82% |
| Malachi Boateng* | 870 | 694 | 80% |
| Jordan Houghton | 218 | 151 | 69% |
It’s a very similar story when we look specifically at key passes. Boateng’s average of 0.63 per 90 is around average. It isn’t excellent but, given what he’s been brought to Argyle to do, it doesn’t need to be.
| Player | Key passes per 90 |
| Adam Randell | 1.21 |
| Darko Gyabi | 1.00 |
| Malachi Boateng* | 0.63 |
| Adam Forshaw | 0.52 |
| Jordan Houghton | 0.12 |
I will accept there are some caveats to Boateng’s broadly acceptable passing numbers. First of all, Hearts are not bottom of their league, and it’s entirely expected that their players will have had more opportunities to make key passes than those at Argyle. And on the pass completion front, it’s important to note that Hearts appointed Neil Critchley as manager in mid-October. He values possession more than many of his counterparts, and of course his midfielders are likely to improve their pass success figures as a result.
Still, the numbers are encouraging. Boateng has been brought to Argyle as a defensive midfielder, but the system requires that he is at least passably acceptable in possession. Based on what I’ve seen, I’d be willing to claim he is indeed at least passably acceptable.
The crucial step up
Whenever I write about a player coming to Argyle from another league, particularly from abroad, I always feel I have to mention that how they adapt to the Championship will be crucial to their success. It’s up to you how “abroad” you would consider Scotland, and I’m not sure this is the correct channel for that particular debate. Regardless, Boateng will need to adapt to a new league, and he’ll need to do so at pace.
For Boateng, I feel this is arguably more vital than normal. He’s a battler, at his best when he’s in the face of the opposition, and someone who will fancy himself to win the initiative in his duels. In the English second tier, those duels are naturally going to be against stronger opponents, and there are undoubtedly battles that Boateng will have a lower likelihood of winning.
If I’m being completely honest, that does leave me concerned, particularly when you consider the situation Boateng has left behind. By the time of his departure, I think it’d be fair to argue he was a bit-part player at Hearts. He’s played just 143 minutes of competitive action since mid-December, and has only made one start out of a possible nine. He was a regular at Hearts earlier in the campaign, but I think it’d be fair to suggest that he arrives at Argyle undercooked.
Again, there are mitigating factors to consider. Critchley’s arrival at Hearts has led to the role of a defensive midfielder being diminished, with the occasional switch to a single pivot limiting Boateng’s appearances through no real fault of his own. I also think Boateng has an unfairly poor reputation amongst some of the Hearts faithful – he was a regular during a poor run earlier in the campaign, and results have picked up since he was dropped. However, correlation isn’t causation, and I find it highly improbable that the exclusion of one player could have such a drastic impact on results.
Nonetheless, it’s not the ideal preparation for the biggest challenge of his career. Given all of Boateng’s previous professional appearances have come in Scotland, he’s about to go from a squad player in a weaker league to facing a relegation dogfight at the highest level he’s ever experienced. He’s only 22, and there’s no reason why Boateng can’t be a success in this system long term. All of the attributes are there, and the length of his contract demonstrates the faith Argyle are willing to place in the player.
In the immediate future though? Let’s just say I hope he likes a challenge.