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Cauley Woodrow - What do the stats say about the new Luton Town signing?
Arriving back at Kenilworth Road over 10 years after he departed, Cauley Woodrow will be hoping to kick on and progress with Luton Town.
The former Barnsley talisman, who certainly had a memorable four years with the Yorkshire outfit, has been presented with an opportunity to remain in the Championship, following the Tykes' relegation to League One.
Jumping up four leagues from the Conference Premier when he headed for Fulham of the Premier League back in 2011, he will be eager to play a part as the Bedfordshire outfit strive for promotion to England's top-flight.
Seemingly set to add a new dimension to an already strong attacking lineup at Kenilworth Road, the 27-year-old is an exciting addition on paper.
Using Wyscout, here, Woodrow's numbers and data is assessed to try and work out what can be expected of him on his Kenilworth Road return...
A player that evidently takes lots of shots, Woodrow also shines when it comes to his passes, progressive passes (A forward pass that attempts to advance a team significantly closer to the opponent’s goal) and smart passes per 90 (A creative and penetrative pass that attempts to break the opposition's defensive lines to gain a significant advantage in attack), suggesting he has the creative abilities required whilst displaying somewhat of a predatory instinct when presented with opportunities in front of goal.
However, he does rank low in his goal conversion rate, showing that he did not make the most of the high number of shots he had during the 2021/22 campaign.
Returning good figures for his defensive duels per 90 and his successful defensive actions, Woodrow appears to be someone who is not restricted to his attacking and creative capabilities, showing that he can contribute when the Hatters are off the ball too.
Circling back to his excellent passing figures, his low returns for dribbles per 90 and progressive runs per 90 (A continuous ball control by one player attempting to draw the team significantly closer to the opponent goal) acts as an indication that Woodrow is someone that looks to do things quickly and with precision, something that would work well if we take a fast-approach to build-up play like we did last season.
Offering a little bit of insight into what kind of role Luton fans could expect to see Woodrow taking at Kenilworth Road next season, this first graph shows that the 27-year-old does not rank too well when it comes to his aerial and offensive duels (A ground Duel for the player in possession of the ball) that he won during the 2021/22 campaign.
However, if tasked with operating in a two with Elijah Adebayo or Cameron Jerome, then his returns for these two statistics are not as important.
Interestingly, Harry Cornick proved to be above average in his offensive duels won last season, whilst not too many forwards were more successful than Jerome when it came to winning aerial duels.
Emerging as one of the top performers - in a struggling Barnsley team - when it comes to his progressive passes per 90 and when considering the accuracy of his passing, it shows that Woodrow is brave and positive when in possession, whilst he also takes good with the ball.
Possessing excellent movement, Woodrow is someone that can vary his attacking play, with his ability to drop deeper and progress an attack being an exciting feature he can bring to Kenilworth Road. When looking at our other three strikers, it is clear that Woodrow brings a completely different type of service, something that only bolsters our attacking line up.
Interestingly, when it comes to the number of attempted dribbles per 90 and the success of them, Woodrow ranks as one of the lowest in the division, with Adebayo's attempted dribbles three times higher than the former Barnsley forward, whilst Cornick's success rate is around 20% higher.
This again acts as an indication to the kind of player Luton fans should expect. Woodrow is progressive in his passing, as opposed to progressive in driving and committing defences.
When combining this with the graph displaying progressive passes and the accuracy of his passing, it would suggest that there is scope for Woodrow to even be deployed as a number 10, just behind a front two.
As a striker, attacking statistics give the best indication of what to expect, however, within a Nathan Jones side, defensive output will also be mightily important.
With Adebayo and Cornick possessing excellent returns when combining defensive duels per 90 and successful defensive actions per 90 (A Defensive duel, Interception or a Sliding tackle made by the player), Woodrow is also in the ideal quadrant, which is another reason why he appears to be such a good addition. This could prove to be particularly important if he is tasked with operating in a number 10 role where naturally more defensive responsibilities will be taken on.