Callum O’Hare has played a significant role in Coventry City’s recent ascent up the Championship standings.
It should come as no surprise that the playwright from Solihull has long been admired; in fact, his fan base has grown over the course of his prolific career, which included a lengthy hiatus from December 2022 to October 2023.
Everyone is used to the Sky Blues’ recent hiring spree, which has brought players like Gustavo Hamer and Viktor Gyokeres to this region of the West Midlands only to be sold for huge sums afterwards.
We’ve examined who Fbref believes would be the most comparable substitute for O’Hare at Football League World in the event that he decided to hunt for a new challenge outside of the CBS Arena.
This comes after HITC Football reported that Burnley, Leicester City, and Southampton were all reportedly interested in the recent transfer window.
Callum O’Hare’s average statistics for Coventry City
Comparisons between center-forwards and attacking midfielders can be made thanks to O’Hare’s role as an attacking midfielder behind Mark Robins’ primary focal point, who has either been Ellis Simms or Haji Wright since his comeback to the team.
The percentile rankings based on O’Hare’s numbers vary, especially when considering the skill-set needed to perform the various roles. This is especially true of his average of 0.45 non-penalty goals during the previous 365 days.
When compared to other attackers of a comparable calibre, O’Hare’s ranking is in the top 4% percentile, while that of other offensive midfielders—the position he clearly excels in—is slightly below the top 25%.
For comparison, Red Star Belgrade’s Jean-Philippe Krasso is seen as the best suitable center-forward alternative in the event that O’Hare were to leave.
Fans of the Championship are well aware that O’Hare’s greatest strength is his inventiveness.
It is therefore not surprising that the 25-year-old has amassed figures like 3.85 shot producing actions per 90 and an 84.1% pass completion percentage—just 2.3% less than Seattle Sounders player Albert Rusnak, who now holds the record for the greatest completion percentage within that time span.
Whose statistics compare the most to Callum O’Hare?
It is a wild assertion that, when compared to the Aston Villa academy product, Joao Mario of Benfica is the most like-for-like playmaker, based on statistics gathered from Fbref.
Although O’Hare’s long-term injury may make such stats slightly misleading, the former West Ham United midfielder’s data over the last 365 days reveals that his performances have been on par with the Coventry playmaker.
A portion of the period includes the 2022–2023 season, in which the 56–time Portugal international scored 17 goals and assisted nine more in 33 Liga Portugal matches as Benfica defeated rivals Porto to win the title.
Since Mario has been used in a deeper role thus far in this campaign, it is easier to understand why O’Hare has averaged more assists and goals (not including penalties) per ninety minutes (0.45) than the Portuguese (0.17 and 0.10).
Mario should have racked up higher average numbers in defensively minded categories because he sits in front of Benfica’s back four. That is not the case, though, since O’Hare excels in every category save blocks produced per 90, where he ranks in the top 15% of players with an average of 1.33 per 90 over the previous season. O’Hare used to play for Inter Milan.
In light of the City star’s more advanced role, he also surpasses the guy six years his senior in terms of progressive passes and carries, amassing figures that are 1.25 and 0.56 higher than Mario’s throughout the course of the previous year.
They are both in the top 15% for passes attempted per game (48.3 vs. 53.2), the top five percent for pass completion ratio (84.1% vs. 83.3%), and the top 20 percent for progressive passes per 90 (7.17 vs. 5.92) in the passing stats, though, which is where the two comparable percentile values lie.
A compliment to Callum O’Hare’s progression
It speaks volumes about O’Hare’s impact on this Sky Blues team and the remaining potential he can still achieve to be referenced in the same sentence as a player of the calibre of the Benfica midfielder.
Anyone wouldn’t be surprised if the player, who has over 160 appearances in Sky Blue, is playing top division football very soon, considering prior attention from Premier League clubs.
The City supporters, meanwhile, will be hoping it’s in their favour because they have a strong chance of qualifying for the playoffs for a second straight season and will be looking to improve upon last year’s performance.
O’Hare will be looking to maintain his excellent form in order to support his team’s aspirations, having missed a significant portion of their run to the Wembley defeat at the hands of Luton Town.
If O’Hare were to go, it would be extremely bold to ever see Joao Mario play at the CBS Arena, but the numbers show that he is now the player most similar to the former England youth international.
