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Player reportPremier League 2025/26

Ayden Heaven

Man Utd
Stopper centre-back CB
14.1 defensive actions/90 · 2.5 progressive/90 — defends first
centre-backball-playing centre-backbuild-upline-breaking
999
minutes
17 apps
495
passes
90% completed
90%
pass completion
495 passes
28
progressive passes
2.5/90
30
line-breaking passes
2.7/90
157
defensive actions
14.1/90
23
tackles + interceptions
59% tackle win
61
clearances
5.5/90
Overview

The player

Who he is and how he compares with his peers.

01

What Patterns Define Him?

His repeatable signature. A step only appears if its reliability score (sample size × match coverage) reaches at least Medium confidence — pattern mining, not anecdotes.

RECEIVE
in the first line of build-up — mostly in the middle third (53% of his 495 passes)
90% completion · 495× in 14/14 matches
↓
CARRY OUT
step into midfield to commit a presser
8 carries · 16× in 5/14 matches
↓
BREAK A LINE
vertical pass past the opponent midfield
2.5 prog/90 · 30× in 13/14 matches
↓
SWITCH PLAY
diagonal to the far side
cross-field balls · 13× in 8/14 matches
↓
PROGRESS
entries into the final third
2.5/90 · 28× in 10/14 matches
Signature: receive in the first line → break the midfield line vertically → switch or progress. Press him early and shut the vertical lane to force the safe sideways ball.
17

Where is he influential — vs where is he merely present?

Red fill = raw touch territory. Gold rings = zones where his influence (xT added, progression, line-breaks, key passes) outweighs how often he's actually there — one combined map instead of two separate maps to compare by eye. Red with no ring: present but not dangerous. A ring on faint red: rare touches, outsized impact.

own goal left, attacking →
35
passes / match
14.1
def actions / 90
2–60
pass range (matches)
61
clearances
Pass range = his fewest and most passes in any single match this season (2 at the low end, 60 at the high) — a measure of match-to-match involvement, not pass distance.
In possession

In possession

What he does with the ball: build-up, progression, creation, carrying and finishing.

08

How dangerous are his carries?

Real ball-carries

140 tracked carries (12.6/90, 24 progressive, 1224m total) — the ball moving with his touches, a different signal from dribbles below (beating an opponent 1v1). even a player who rarely dribbles past a man can still carry the ball forward constantly in build-up; this is that.

3%9%10%11%3%22%18%7%6%7%3%1%
progressivelateral/short% of his 140 carries originating in each zone · own goal left, attacking →
Every carry, exact path — median 7m, longest 26m
By zone — where the carry started → where it ended
12Outside → Inside
105Inside → Inside
13Outside → Outside
10Inside → Outside
First (52)Second (34)Third (33)Fourth (21)grouped by carry pattern (start + end position), largest group first
startendown goal left, attacking →

Beaten in the tackle

How often an attacker gets past him in a 1v1 defensive duel — the closest signal the data has to "dribbled past" (no attacker-beat-defender field exists directly, so this counts tackles he attempted and lost).

22
tackle duels
13
won
9
beaten · 41%
brighter band = more tackle duels · own goal left, attacking →
INSIDE 68%
OUTSIDE 32%
Tackle-duel location — 15 inside · 7 outside
Right Wing
6 · 27%
Right Half-Space
2 · 9%
Central
9 · 41%
Left Half-Space
4 · 18%
Left Wing
1 · 5%
Vision AI beaten in 9 of 22 tackle duels (41% loss rate) — a real defensive leak worth flagging.
Every tackle duel, exact location
wonlost — dribbled pastown goal left, attacking →

Dribbles (1v1s)

For a centre-back the carry is a build-up weapon — does he step out through the middle, or keep it simple? Every carry classified by channel. Season rate: 0.72 dribbles attempted /90.

brighter band = more dribbles · own goal left, attacking →
INSIDE 25%
OUTSIDE 75%
Dribble location — 2 inside · 6 outside
Right Wing
2 · 25%
Right Half-Space
0 · 0%
Central
2 · 25%
Left Half-Space
0 · 0%
Left Wing
4 · 50%
Vision AI 25% of his carries are central — he steps out through the middle to draw a presser before releasing.
02

How does he build & move the ball?

How does he escape the first line?

6%
vertical passes
22×
2%
switches
9×
31%
carries
113×
61%
short circulation
222×
Answer: he escapes the press primarily through carrying — stepping out with the ball.

How he moves the ball — his 4 busiest progression routes, not where every pass starts and ends separately. Arrow width = how often, colour = xT gained, dashed = switch of play. The full breakdown is in the lane matrix below.

own goal left, attacking →
Lane transition matrix — when he receives in a lane, where does it go?
TO →RWRHSCLHSLWRW4030%1230%1238%152%1RHS12129%3519%2343%527%82%3C1777%1321%3744%7723%406%10LHS783%213%1038%3022%1724%19LW3113%445%1442%13FROM
Rows normalised: each row sums to 100% of that lane's completed passes. Grey number = passes from that lane.

Primary route: the right wing in the middle third → the right half-space in the middle third — 3 progressive passes (12% of his progression) at 0.027 xT each. He moves it inside.

His progression is inward: 48% of progressive passes move the ball toward the middle versus 12% going wider — he cuts in rather than holding width.

Only 6% of his passes switch play, so his threat is same-side — contain the flank he occupies and the route closes.

Quality behind the volume: 9 line-breaking passes and 28 final-third entries, 4.8 total xT added.

Origin and destination are measured on the same event row — no receiver inference. Receiver identity is not recoverable from this data source.
All passes — origin zone share
Filter: from to
1%9%10%8%1%1%6%18%19%7%1%0%6%5%6%2%0%
completedincomplete495 passes · any zone → any zone · own goal left, attacking →
495
passes
90%
completed
48
lost
Vision AIIn line with his 90% season completion rate.
04

How does he progress play?

How much he drives the ball forward. Progressive = completed pass advancing ≥15 toward goal.

28
progressive · 2.5/90
28
final-third entries · 2.5/90
2
box entries · 0.18/90
13
progression index /90
Progression index: one composite number — progressive passes + progressive carries + 2% of total distance progressed + 8× positive xT added, all per 90. Weights VOLUME and THREAT together rather than counting progressive actions alone.
12

How does he create chances?

2 key passes (0.18/90), 0 of them assists — where his chance creation specifically comes from, 18 zones (6×3), showing his share of key passes originating there.

Chance creation — key pass origin zone share
Filter:
100%
chance creation (2)assist (0)% of the selected group's key passes originating in each zone
09

Where does he become vulnerable?

50 times he gave the ball away. For a defender the danger is where — a loss in his own third can turn into a chance against; higher up it costs little.

5
attacking third (cheap)
28
middle third
17
own third (dangerous)
Vision AI 10% of losses are in the attacking third — a notable share happen deeper, which invites transitions.
Mistake danger (proxy): 2.11 danger-index/90 · 0.468 avg/turnover. Weights each loss by threat conceded at that location. True xT-conceded needs the opponent possession model; positional proxy.
05

What is his passing profile?

495
passes attempted
45%
mostly sideways
49%
mostly short
Direction
Forward
198 · 40%
Sideways
221 · 45%
Backward
76 · 15%
Length (completed)
Short (<15m)
217 · 49%
Medium
207 · 46%
Long (>30m)
23 · 5%
11

Preferred Progression Routes — xT-weighted

His progressive passes as zone→zone routes, weighted by expected threat (xT) added — arrow width and the number are the total xT generated on each route, not just how often he plays it. This is where he actually moves the needle.

0.440.380.180.150.150.14
own goal left, attacking →
Highest-value routes (xT)
0.44
Central Mid third → Central Att third
2 passes · 1 to a shot
0.38
Central Mid third → Left Half-Space Att third
2 passes
0.18
Right Half-Space Mid third → Right Wing Att third
3 passes
0.15
Left Wing Mid third → Left Wing Att third
1 passes
0.15
Right Half-Space Mid third → Right Half-Space Mid third
2 passes
0.14
Right Half-Space Mid third → Right Half-Space Att third
1 passes
06

Where Does He Receive?

The zones where Ayden Heaven gets on the ball — his top three ball-collection areas highlighted (gold = primary). Reception is proxied by where his on-ball actions begin (no explicit receiver is recorded).

123
1 = primary, 2 = secondary, 3 = third · own goal left, attacking →
His collection zones
19%
Primary
Central, Middle third
18%
Secondary
Central, Defensive third
16%
Third
Right Half-Space, Middle third
These are the zones where he collected the ball most.
07

Where Does He Operate? — Every Zone

Every on-ball touch (pass, dribble, shot) binned into a 6×3 grid — raw counts of where Ayden Heaven actually gets on the ball. Hover any zone for its breakdown by action type, its share of all touches, and the exact coordinate range it covers.

Filter:
2827321223191943634843503843
own goal left, attacking → · brighter + higher number = more touches

Passes only — completed vs incomplete, by zone

Same zone grid, restricted to passes so completed/incomplete and match filters actually mean something — a shot or a dribble has no "completed" in the pass sense.

1%9%10%8%1%1%6%18%19%7%1%0%6%5%6%2%0%
own goal left, attacking →
10

Every Pass This Season — completed vs incomplete

Every pass this season, plotted individually — green = completed, grey (dashed) = incomplete, gold = key pass. Filter by outcome or isolate one match below.

2Key pass
4Cutback
28Progressive
30Long ball
13Switch
By zone — where the pass started → where it landed
46Outside → Inside
294Inside → Inside
25Outside → Outside
82Inside → Outside
By direction
198Forward
76Backward
221Sideways
own goal left, attacking →
03

Tactical patterns — how his football actually looks

Three clustered sequence diagrams from his own event data — his three busiest routes: the way he progresses, the pattern behind his chances, and where a turnover turns dangerous.

own goal left, attacking →
How does he progress the ball forward?
His most common route for progressing play: he plays straight through the central, advancing it forward in the middle third — 2 passes worth 0.44 xT.
Where do his chances come from?
Of 2 key passes, his busiest route is a delivery where he plays straight through the central, advancing it forward in the middle third — 2 times. The receiver isn't identifiable in this data, only where the pass started and ended.
Where does he lose the ball most?
This is a RATE, not a raw count — the share of his touches in each zone that end in a turnover, so a zone he simply plays in more often doesn't automatically look riskier. His weakest zone is the left half-space in the middle third: 16% of his 44 touches there are lost (7 times).
0%0/11 lost9%5/53 lost2%2/92 lost15%7/47 lost14%3/21 lost10%3/30 lost10%8/80 lost8%7/92 lost16%7/44 lost14%2/14 lost—4 touches · too few—3 touches · too few—2 touches · too few—1 touch · too few—1 touch · too fewRWRHSCLHSLWDEFMIDATT
Out of possession

Out of possession

Where and how he defends and presses.

13

How & where does he defend?

157 defensive actions across the season (14.1/90). Where he wins the ball, and how — the core question for a defender. Aerial duels are not recorded for this competition, so aerial dominance is not measured here.

click a card to isolate that action type · own goal left, attacking →
22
tackles · 59% won
1
interceptions · 0.1/90
40
recoveries · 3.6/90
61
clearances · 5.5/90
0
blocks
29
avg action height
10
won high (att 3rd)
46
middle third
101
own third
Vision AI A deep-defending defender. He wins the ball mainly by stepping in — tackles, interceptions & recoveries outweigh clearances. 63 proactive ball-wins (5.7/90), tackle success 59%. He defends deep, protecting his box — a last-line stopper.
14

Can he play under pressure?

Split by how hard the opponent pressed (opponent PPDA — lower = more intense press). Can Ayden Heaven still play out when the opponent presses high? His build-up quality split by press intensity — the key question for a ball-playing defender. Tiers of ~5-7 matches — directional evidence, not proof.

press tier
completion
prog /90
line-breaks /90
xT /90
High press (PPDA 4.1, 5m)
92%
3.4
1.5
0.79
Mid press (PPDA 4.8, 5m)
93%
0.6
2.2
0.43
Low press (PPDA 6.8, 7m)
89%
3.2
3.6
0.78
Team

Team context

How much of the team runs through him, and what changes without him.

15

Impact on the Team

Man Utd's output per match with Ayden Heaven (17 matches) versus without him (21 matches). What his own defending should move — goals conceded and results — leads; attacking output (largely out of a defender's hands) is shown after, for context. A proper on-off model needs many more minutes.

WITH (17)
WITHOUT (21)
Δ
goals against /match
1.24
1.38
-0.15
points /match
2.00
1.76
+0.24
goals for /match
1.94
1.71
+0.23
xG for /match
1.68
1.60
+0.08
16

His Share of the Team

Of everything Man Utd produced this season, the categories where the biggest share ran through Ayden Heaven specifically — his share of the team total, not a per-90 rate.

category
share
him / team
clearances
6%
68 / 1144
tackles
3%
25 / 793
ball recoveries
3%
48 / 1906
Recruitment

Style and verdict

Style profile, closest comparables, and the summary.

18

Playing-Style Profile

Not raw event counts — football style scores: weighted models scored 0–100 against the 517 centre-backs in the pool (min 450 min). This is what separates players who post similar numbers but play differently. Proxy dimensions are inferred from on-ball data; true off-ball running / under-pressure context is not measured.

Ball-playing centre-back75%Stopper centre-back55%
Why Ball-playing centre-back 75%: a weighted blend of retention 84 (weight 30%) + build-up 74 (weight 30%) + press resistance 82 (weight 15%) + progression 35 (weight 25%). The score reflects how distinctively his profile SHAPE matches this archetype vs his peers.
Elite
dribbling
Strong
retention, press resistance, build-up
Average
ball-winning, carrying, receiving zones, creativity, line-breaking, transition, defensive aggression
Weak
progression, box threat, final-third threat, through-balls, passing directness, territory (wide vs central), crossing
Unknown
aerial ability, marking, off-ball running — not in event data
Dribbling
86
Retention
84
Press resistance ~proxy
82
Build-up
74
Ball-winning
58
Carrying
57
Receiving zones
56
Creativity
56
Line-breaking
51
Transition ~proxy
46
Defensive aggression
41
Progression
35
Box threat
28
Final-third threat
27
Through-balls ~proxy
27
Passing directness
16
Territory (wide vs central)
14
Crossing
6
19

Similar Players — in style space

Closest comparables measured on the style scores above, within the same position family — so it separates how players are alike, not just how much they touch the ball. Each line explains the shared strength and the divergent mechanism. A light physical-profile term (height / weight; this player: 189 cm / 77 kg) is included at a quarter of one style axis's weight — enough to break ties between stylistic twins, not to override style. Scope: pooled across the Premier League, Bundesliga, La Liga, Ligue 1 and Serie A, percentiled within each player's own league before comparing — a match from another league is marked with its league name.

Style, not quality: a high match here means two players tend to produce the ball in similar ways — it is not a ranking, a scouting recommendation, or a claim that they are equally good.

Trevoh Chalobah Como · Serie A · 190 cm / 75 kg
82%
Driven by: press resistance (20%), retention (18%), build-up (13%). Different mechanism — Chalobah more via box threat, final-third threat.
Josip Sutalo Lazio · Serie A · 185 cm / 82 kg
81%
Driven by: crossing (17%), press resistance (16%), retention (14%). Different mechanism — Heaven more via line-breaking, creativity; Sutalo more via territory (wide vs central), transition.
Soumaïla Coulibaly Brest · Ligue 1 25/26 · 191 cm / 73 kg
80%
Driven by: crossing (20%), press resistance (15%), territory (wide vs central) (14%). Different mechanism — Heaven more via creativity, dribbling.
Juma Bah Augsburg · Bundesliga · 195 cm / 80 kg
79%
Driven by: press resistance (19%), crossing (16%), retention (15%). Different mechanism — Heaven more via receiving zones, through-balls; Bah more via passing directness, box threat.
Mamadou Sarr Real Sociedad · La Liga · 194 cm / 77 kg
77%
Driven by: press resistance (18%), build-up (16%), retention (16%). Different mechanism — Heaven more via line-breaking, creativity; Sarr more via crossing.
Einar Galilea Malaga · La Liga · 185 cm / 73 kg
76%
Driven by: press resistance (19%), dribbling (13%), build-up (12%). Different mechanism — Heaven more via creativity, receiving zones; Galilea more via crossing.
20

Summary

Ayden Heaven is a ball-playing centre-back / stopper centre-back: 90% pass completion, 30 line-breaking passes and 2.5 progressive passes /90. A build-and-progress centre-back whose value is in beating the first line with the pass, not in raw defensive volume. [Aerial duels, marking, line-height and 1v1 recovery need aerial-event + tracking data, absent here.]

Based on 17 matches (999 minutes) — a reasonable read, still building toward a full-season sample. He profiles as a ball-playing centre-back / stopper centre-back — best used in a system built around that identity. His biggest room for growth is progression — even a modest improvement there would meaningfully lift his overall ball-playing centre-back profile.
✨ This report is interactive

Click any stat card to filter its map, hover a dot for the exact match, and use the dropdowns to slice passes zone-to-zone. Nothing here is static.

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