Scout report: Girona’s top talents

Girona are chasing a fairytale finish this season.

After 19 games, Los Blanquivermells sit at La Liga’s summit, joint on points with 35-time champions Real Madrid, the latter ahead on goal difference.

Powered by City Football Group and under the instruction of manager Míchel, Girona are keeping pace with the giants of Spanish football.

CFG’s backing has seen them acquire a number of top talents, which is pushing the Catalonian side to new levels and turning the heads of Europe’s elite.

Using Twenty3’s Toolbox, we’ve picked out four key players propelling Girona’s title charge.

Artem Dovbyk

Striker Artem Dovbyk joined Girona for a club-record fee from SK Dnipro-1 during the summer transfer window, after a prolific season in the Ukrainian Premier League.

Since arriving at the Spanish outfit, he has been a force up front and leads La Liga for goal involvements, scoring 11 and assisting four — level with Jude Bellingham.

Dovbyk’s league goals have come at a sustainable level with an expected goals (xG) ​​tally of 11.27 — well beyond the second-best total of Osasuna forward Ante Budimir (8.99).

The Cherkasy native’s piercing movement and ability to create space in the penalty area has seen him rack up 74 touches in the opposition’s box — ranking third in La Liga.

At 6ft 2in he dominates aerially, with a team-leading 15 headed efforts and 54 aerial duel attempts in the Spanish top flight.

The target man is tasked with dragging his team further up the pitch and linking play.

Already, Dovbyk has been linked with several clubs, including Chelsea. Should he end the season as strongly as he started, a move could well be on the cards this summer.

Sávio

Girona’s electrifying winger Sávio has been a joy to watch this term.

The Brazilian was acquired by Ligue 2 side Troyes — a CFG sister club — from Atletico Mineiro and immediately sent on loan to PSV for the 2022-23 season.

Unfortunately for the 19-year-old, he was forced out of action for two months with injury and played just nine times for Jong PSV upon his recovery. 

Sávio then travelled to Argentina for the Under-20 World Cup with Brazil, where he played a starring role and was subsequently loaned to Girona.

The São Mateus native has been La Liga’s breakout star of the season, having registered five goals and four assists thus far in 2023-24.

His greatest strengths are his directness and elusiveness — no player in the division has completed more dribbles (98) or won more attacking duels (128).

Sávio is equally adept at both cutting inside and attacking the byline, causing chaos for full-backs on both flanks, having shown the versatility to perform on either wing.

Among La Liga wide midfielders and wingers he ranks joint-third for completed crosses (28) and eighth for successful link-ups (38).

He has often sparked Girona’s attack into life, inciting combination play to cut through defences and helping them to lead the league for goals scored (46) and assists (27).

All in all, Sávio has proven an invaluable part of their success and has an extremely promising future ahead.

Aleix Garcia

At the heart of Girona’s midfield surrounded by a hotbed of exciting talent is Aleix Garcia, the team’s central linchpin.

The former Manchester City man has finally come into his own this season following a series of unsuccessful loans, including at his current club.

Garcia re-joined Girona on a free transfer in July of 2021 and has been a mainstay ever since.

As conductor of Míchel’s tactical operation, the 26-year-old central midfielder controls the tempo of play, switches the ball and provides line-breaking passes.

Garcia leads the division for passes completed (1,356) with an accuracy of 92.24%, and is equally composed in the final third with 25 shots assisted.

He has also played 120 successful long balls, often targeting Dovbyk and Sávio in open space to drag the Catalan outfit up the pitch.

While he is central to Girona’s attacking efforts, the Spain international is no defensive slouch.

In La Liga, he has racked up the second-most ball recoveries in the opposition half (82), as Míchel’s men look to win the ball back in dangerous areas.

Garcia is good at snuffing out opposition possession, with an impressive 112 interceptions to his name in the league as well.

Further evidence of his defensive acumen comes in his defensive duels won — he has been successful in 71 of 108 attempts.

Given Girona managed to secure Garcia’s signature on a free transfer, the return on their investment has been remarkable and crucial to their early success this season.

Miguel Gutiérrez

Miguel Gutiérrez is one of Girona’s most exciting talents.

The 22-year-old left-back joined from Real Madrid over the summer for a measly €4million fee and has been one of the stars of this campaign.

A perfect modern full-back, Gutiérrez looks to invert into midfield, creating options for the defence to play out from the back or make direct passes to Sávio for one-on-one situations.

Girona’s No3 is comfortable receiving the ball under pressure and ranks first among La Liga left-backs for pass receptions (658).

He often does so further up the pitch where he is happy to turn and play through-balls, completing a team-high eight in the league.

Still, if needed, Gutiérrez is also able to take on a more traditional full-back role — allowing Girona to adapt their system depending on the game state and opposition.

The former Los Blancos man is a strong ball carrier with 26 successful dribbles and 31 progressive runs in the league this term.

When in advanced attacking positions, he consistently picks out team-mates and has so far completed 26 crosses, ranking seventh in the Spanish top flight.

Defensively he holds his own, succeeding in 64 of his 107 defensive duels, while also managing 140 ball recoveries — though his talents mainly lie in possession.

Overall, Gutiérrez is Girona’s most intriguing talent and without his qualities Los Blanquivermells would unlikely be able to employ their current style, which has found so much success.

All visualisations in this article were produced with the Twenty3 Toolbox. For more information, please get in touch below.