' WILL VAULKS '

The qualities Will Vaulks will bring to Cardiff City and the big weapon you'll be seeing a lot of

Will Vaulks is on his way to Cardiff City, the deal is virtually done, just the final part medical this week.


Tuesday 25th June 2019



Cardiff City look set to finalise a deal for Rotherham United midfielder Will Vaulks in the coming days.

The two clubs have already agreed a fee to bring the former Falkirk man to the Cardiff City Stadium on the back of a strong campaign last season for the Millers.

Although still relatively unknown to some, the Welshman has begun to forge a name for himself in his homeland after making his international debut in March for Wales in a friendly win over Trinidad and Tobago.

He made his competitive bow in the Euro 2020 qualifier against Slovakia thereafter before winning his third Wales cap in the recent 2-0 Euro 2020 qualifying defeat to Croatia.

Now joining Cardiff, he will play a pivotal role for Neil Warnock as he looks to rebuild a midfield that lost Aron Gunnarsson at the end of the season, as well as loanees Harry Arter and Victor Camarasa who have returned to their parent clubs.







But what will the 25-year-old bring to Warnock’s side?


Firstly, his versatility across the midfield is one of his most desirable qualities. As the above heatmap demonstrates, he is comfortable sitting in as a holding number six, or playing as an all-action box-to-box midfielder. He can even feature as a more advanced number eight when asked to do so.

This is because he possesses somewhat of a hybrid skillstet. In terms of his defensive attributes, he has proven himself a great reader of danger and averages 5.89 interceptions per 90 minutes.

After winning the ball back, depending on his role in the side, he will usually look to lay the ball off and contribute in his sides attacks.

He is not a particularly strong runner with the ball and averages just 0.33 progressive runs per 90 minutes, and at an initial glance, he doesn’t seem to be an exceptional passer of the ball either, with a pass success rate of just 70.1%.


However, a noticeable caveat to this is the fact he isn’t afraid to attempt more penetrating and riskier passes forward. Last season, he averaged over 15 forward passes per 90 minutes and over nine passes into the opposition 18-yard-box per 90 minutes.

For comparison, nobody in Cardiff’s midfield attempted as many forward passes per 90 minutes and only Arter could match Vaulks in terms of the number of passes made into the opposition 18-yard-box per 90 minutes.

What this tells us is that whilst Vaulks may not boast the highest accuracy in terms of passing the ball, he is willing to take on more responsibility in playing line breaking passes capable of moving his side further up the pitch.

Despite playing predominantly in deeper roles, when the Welshman himself advances up the pitch, he proves a real offensive threat and can be difficult for defending sides to deal with.

He netted an impressive eight goals and assisted a further seven across all competitions last season. His goals scored total can largely be attributed to his high output of shots towards goal - just short of two per 90 minutes.


He can also boast an Expected Goals (xG) total of five for the campaign. This tells us two things, firstly, he managed to convert more low quality chances than would have been expected given the chances created for him. Secondly, there shouldn’t be a dramatic drop off in terms of his scoring output next season based on those underlying numbers.

His Expected Assists (xA) total of seven for the campaign also demonstrates he was creating high quality chances for his team-mates and showed he was good value for of his seven assists last season.

Whilst the above helps to illustrate how Vaulks is both strong in defence and threatening in attack, there is one other facet to his game that makes him a shrewd acquisition for Warnock’s men - his long throws.

A decade ago, Rory Delap became notorious for Stoke City with his trademark long throws into the opposition's 18-yard-box which caused panic and hysteria. Teams often would prefer to concede a corner rather than a Delap throw.

Whilst the same was seen as somewhat of a novelty act back then, top sides have began to invest heavily in trying to utilise throw-ins as an attacking asset, looking to purchase players with the skill to throw the ball a long distance. Liverpool even brought in a throw-in coach to join Jurgen Klopp’s coaching staff last summer.

This skill was, of course, something synonymous with the recently departed Gunnarsson, but the Bluebirds certainly have a high quality replacement.




An example of Vaulks' threat from throw-ins is in the below sequence taken from Rotherham vs Nottingham Forest last season.

Rotherham win a throw inside the opposition half and Vaulks is primed to take it.

Vaulks aims for the penalty spot with the hope of causing panic and unease in the opposition defensive line.

A Rotherham attacker wins the initial flick on and they subsequently score from the loose ball in the box.

Overall, Vaulks looks to be a strong addition to the Cardiff side with a number of attributes that should serve his new side well in the coming seas

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They speak as if its a done deal.Not too shabby goal and assist rate last season but tends to favour the long pass out of defence which will suit the gaffers style.Sounds like more of a direct replacement for Gunnars than Bacuna.

They speak as if its a done deal.Not too shabby goal and assist rate last season but tends to favour the long pass out of defence which will suit the gaffers style.Sounds like more of a direct replacement for Gunnars than Bacuna.

We’ll need both over a long Championship season

He's like a Gunnars that can pass and shoot? But can he do long throws?

He's like a Gunnars that can pass and shoot? But can he do long throws?

It says in the article that he does indeed do long throws.

So now we know the real reason we are buying him. No doubt he'll be sent pictures of Morrison's forehead so that he knows what he'll be aiming for constantly.

Wonder if we'll try the odd short throw for a change this season?

I'll not hold my breath.

He's like a Gunnars that can pass and shoot? But can he do long throws?

It says in the article that he does indeed do long throws.

So now we know the real reason we are buying him. No doubt he'll be sent pictures of Morrison's forehead so that he knows what he'll be aiming for constantly.

Wonder if we'll try the odd short throw for a change this season?

I'll not hold my breath.

Great.

Personally - Hope this guy signs,the sooner the better .

I’m out in Spain and a Rotherham fan approached me as I had my city top on this morning and said he’s gutted we’re singing Vaulks... reckons the guy is really good. Said he was nothing when they signed him but has improved dramatically

He's like a Gunnars that can pass and shoot? But can he do long throws?

Okay, he can pass and shoot and do long throws ..... But can he do somersaults ?

He's like a Gunnars that can pass and shoot? But can he do long throws?

Okay, he can pass and shoot and do long throws ..... But can he do somersaults ?

And score like Earnie?

Done deal. It's official and a great quote...

"It's great to be playing for the biggest club in Wales"

Done deal. It's official and a great quote...

"It's great to be playing for the biggest club in Wales"

Someone should put that on the Gypo's site.To think they actually thought they were in the running to sign him.