Is Johan Vásquez ready for a big move?

Data from Wyscout, photo from ESPN Deportes.

Whilst Santiago Giménez has dominated news regarding Mexicans in Europe, Johan Vásquez has been building-up his reputation, little by little. Vásquez is currently playing in his fourth Serie A season, reaching a total of more than 9,000 minutes in Italy’s first division. At 26 years old, Johan has reached peak age and given his development and Serie A experience, his transfermrkt value has risen to 10 million Euros.

Centre-backs are a difficult position to analyze with traditional data and “events”. We can use defensive actions such as tackles, interceptions and aerial duels to get an idea of a centre-back’s style, strengths and weaknesses. But, without tracking data, it isn’t possible to analyze a defender’s ability to reduce opposition threat by marking effectively or being positioned well. Also, it’s very important to take into account team context when analyzing a centre-back, to understand what they’re being asked to do.

How have Genoa played?

With possession, Genoa have been more direct than league average, attempting a high number of long passes in their build-up, and with lower ball retention.

Defensively, Genoa have used a more passive block in recent seasons, however, their PPDA (permitted passes per defensive action) ranks around league average in 2023-24 and 2024-25.

Whilst Genoa haven’t forced too many ball recoveries in the final third, compared with Serie A average, their number of recoveries in the middle third is rather high. Therefore, in certain moments Vásquez has to step-up, hold a high line to maintain a compact shape and be prepared to attempt to force recoveries.

What type of centre-back is Vásquez? What are his main abilities?

Wyscout’s metrics can give us a general idea of his style of play, strength and weaknesses.

Defensively, Vásquez isn’t a centre-back that goes looking for too many duels against opponents, outside of aerials, perhaps due to his physical profile. Johan isn’t very effective in his defensive duels either and often goes to ground with sliding tackles, a higher-risk decision, when attempting to recover the ball.

He’s particularly weak towards the left wing, in front of his penalty area, although his efficiency has been better in the wide area near to his goal line.

Vásquez has adapted his game in order to limit the impact of his weakness in duels. Making the most of his anticipation, Johan makes recoveries before a direct opponent is even able to control the ball, avoiding the need to contest a duel. He’s frequently aggressive in his marking, attempting to read opposition decision making to intercept passes.

For example, in his previous match versus Lecce. Genoa attempt to recover the ball in the middle third with their midfielders jumping, and therefore Vásquez has to be aware of any movements and passes between the lines.

He quickly reads the pass and anticipates well, getting in-front of his opponent and generating a ball recovery.

Whilst Johan does contest plenty of aerial duels per game and can create threat at set-pieces (his xG is rather high for a centre-back), his effectiveness in the air hasn’t been a great strength. His height it a factor, as 185cm isn’t particularly tall for a centre-back. Inside his penalty area, Johan’s frequently shown an ability to block shots, making the most of his agility and slide tackle ability at times.

Finally, in possession, Genoa’s directness likely hasn’t helped Vásquez’s retention, but he doesn’t appear to have much of an ability to add value on the ball. An expected pass model would help to better understand his passing accuracy (given the context of the attempted passes), and his overall low pass success rate is affected by trying more difficult, long passes. However, by separating just progressive passes, his low ranking suggests that he isn’t too effective in possession.

Green bar = Better ranking versus other Serie A centre-backs. Red bar = Worse ranking. The numbers show his percentile ranks.

What possibilities does Johan have in the future?

Vásquez renewed his Genoa contract in February 2024, and it runs until the summer of 2027. At 26 years old, Johan will likely be looking for his best paid contract the next time he signs.

There’s rumours connecting Vásquez to Premier League sides and bigger Italian clubs, although many of the stories have come from Mexican sources. His height, physical profile and contract (two more years at the end of the season) may prevent any possible transfer this summer to a bigger club or league.

However, Genoa may be looking for a significant sale before his contract runs out, and Johan also has the advantage of being left-footed. Whilst Vásquez hasn’t shown a great ability to help in build-up, many head coaches prefer a left-footed centre-back on the left-side to have better passing angles when building-up. There aren’t too many left-footed centre-backs, only 28% of centre-backs in the big five European leagues attempt more passes with their left-foot. Given his left-footedness, ability to intercept passes in a high defensive line and to block shots, it isn’t impossible to imagine Johan Vásquez making a few scouting shortlists, before the summer window.

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