21 Under 21: Rubin Colwill (Cardiff)
Episode #19 | George Elek and Ali Maxwell list the most outstanding young players in the EFL.
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“I find him such a pleasing player to watch.” — Ali Maxwell
Rubin Colwill
Cardiff City – Championship, 2023/24:
Born: 27 April 2002
Position: Attacking midfielder
League appearances: 36
League starts: 14
🌍 The first 21 Under 21 entrant to have already played in a World Cup…
The next time Cardiff are on TV, take five minutes to watch Rubin Colwill and only Rubin Colwill. Something may happen; something may not. But he’ll constantly be trying to make that thing happen. He’s tidy – fitting for a South Walian – but more than that, he’s hypnotic, from his touches and flicks to little glances over his shoulder, identifying the best off-the-ball run for himself or a team-mate.
You won’t fail to spot him, at any rate. When Mick McCarthy gave Colwill his debut in February 2021, he said, “He’s a big, powerful lad, but technically very good – and he looks like a bloke”. Now, following another growth spurt, that bloke is in the region of 6ft 4in or 6ft 5 (inexplicably, in football’s age of data, we still have to measure a player’s height by comparing sources and measuring them stood next to a team-mate, as if trying to prove the existence of Bigfoot or something). Colwill may have a high ceiling, but he’d still bump his head on it.
Yet growing pains have actually stunted Colwill’s development. Due to a variety of injuries, as well as managers, 60 of his 96 Championship appearances for Cardiff have been as a substitute – that he nonetheless has Premier League interest speaks volumes about his potential. Wales spotted it early: Colwill’s call-up for the delayed Euro 2020 was largely symbolic but he did get minutes in Qatar during Wales’ historic(ally crap) World Cup.
Now, however, playmaking promise must be put into match-playing practice. If the Championship has room for a twinkle-toed giant, Colwill must make 2024/25 his season.
📈 At a glance
Pizza charts informed by match data. Each chart rates a chosen player from 0-99 across different metrics (e.g. Dribbles) according to their “percentile rank”. A 75 score shows a player outperforming 75% of other players in the dataset. Each dataset is position-specific. Negative metrics are reversed. [Credit: Riley Roberts.]
▶️ Watch: Episode 19
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