Instrumental Inler to be Missed at Udinese with Napoli Set to Profit

Gokhan Inler has completed his move to Napoli after a drawn out transfer saga concluded with a bizarre unveiling of the Swiss international wearing a lion mask.

The 27-year-old was a key player for fellow Serie a side Udinese last term and will leave a void in the centre of the park at his former club having been instrumental to their play over recent seasons.

Behind top scorer Antonio Di Natale and seemingly Barcelona-bound Alexis Sanchez, Inler rated as Udinese third best player according to WhoScored.com ratings, and here's why;

The Switzerland captain played in all but three of his sides league games last term, netting 3 times and assisting a further 3. His pass success rate of 83% was bettered only by defender Zapata and fellow middle man Pinzi who both scored 84% in this regard.

Inler also ranked highly in terms of aerial duels one amongst his team-mates with a figure of 56% being the best total outside the defence on his way to picking up 4 WhoScored.com man of the match awards, again only beaten by Di Natale and Sanchez.

The midfielder's total of 2.6 tackles per game was the third best in the Udinese squad once again, as was his interceptions per game score of 2, which was once more the best outside of the defence.

Despite his obvious defensive capabilities, Inler attempted more shots per game than any of his colleagues in midfield (0.9), made 1.1 key passes a match, and completed 0.6 successful dribbles per game.

Pivotal Influence

Having made an average of 53.7 passes a match you can see how pivotal the new Napoli man was to his former team, totalling over 10 more passes per game than any other player at Udinese, making his pass success rate all the more impressive.

His decent percentage of passes completed comes despite the Swiss international averaging more long balls per game than all of his team-mates, completing 6.5. He also only ranked behind Sanchez in terms of through balls per game with 0.5 a match.

The above table shows that, in all 10 of the stats in which he was compared against his midfielder counterparts, Inler finished in the top two in comparison to his fellow midfielders at Udinese in the last campaign, highlighting his all round ability to assist in defence but also as a creative playmaker.

Potential Napoli Pairing

Either Walter Gargano or Michele Pazienza are likely to suffer at Napoli due to Inler's arrival, so who is Inler most likely to line up against at his new club and how do his stats compare to the duo's efforts last season?

Neither of Napoli's regular starting midfielders weighed in with a significant contribution in terms of goals, with Pazienza's sole effort bettering Gargano's blank slate from last season. The Uruguayan did however assist 4 goals, double that of Pazienza and one more than his new team-mate.

The players have similar pass success rates at 83% and 84% (Gargano and Pazienza respectively), with the former also equalling Inler's figure in terms of aerial duels won, while Gargano managed just 33%.

Pazienza's team high of 3.3 tackles per game and advanced figures in terms of interceptions made show that he may be the preferred candidate. Neither offer any real attacking threat so the Italian's superior defensive stats should also stand him in good stead, despite Gargano's offensive figures being slightly better.

Both were central figures in Napoli's success last season, with Pazienza's team high 49.4 passes per game just topping Gargano's 47.1, with both player's favouring long balls, completing 6.5 and 7.1 per game respectively.