Kaoru Mitoma
Brighton & Hove Albion · Midfielder · Japan · 2,322 min
Ballity Verdict
What makes this player special?
Kaoru Mitoma covers both boxes. He is not a specialist who only protects or only arrives late — he is the midfielder who can win it, carry it, and still show up in the final third. That two-way presence is what makes him hard to replace in Brighton & Hove Albion's structure.
What separates Mitoma from ordinary specialists is breadth inside a coherent family: credible as raumdeuter, and still trustworthy when asked to step toward target man. That is versatility with a purpose — not a random scatter of average roles.
On the pitch he has actually been used as LW / CF (#9). That matters: skill-set breadth is one thing; demonstrated deployment is another. Mitoma's authenticity claim starts from those minutes, not from a role board alone.
There are no major weakness flags screaming from the current profile — which does not mean he is complete, only that the main story is the strength of what he already does.
Why Ballity says this
- Midfield / role totality: raumdeuter, target man, poacher, wide runner
- Shown minutes: LW / CF (#9)
- No major weakness flags in the current profile
Receipts
- · Player Profile
- · Role Breadth
- · Deployment authenticity
- · Sample · featured
Position
Wide Forward
Appearances
26
Great+ roles
2
Age
29
Preferred foot
Right
Height
178 cm
Ballity insights
Peer context vs wingers — how often they get the ball and what they do with it. Separate from role tiers above. Attackers also split separation into on-ball (dribble-created) and off-ball (movement).
Usage rate
Share of team touches (non-GK) among wingers with match data.
13.6% team touches
Peer band · Average
Pool percentile
68.2%
Also 51.0 touches/90 (season aggregate).
Efficiency
Output quality per action for wingers.
31 score
Peer band · Elite
Pool percentile
93.6%
On-ball separation
Dribble-created space and self-made shot quality.
43 score
Peer band · Elite
Pool percentile
95.6%
Off-ball separation
Movement-created space on assisted attempts.
56 score
Peer band · Elite
Pool percentile
95.6%
Balance & structural weaknesses
How complete this player is on the position's job board — strengths and holes.
How we define this
Two-way = Great+ on ≥2 complementary axes. One-way = every other route Limited/closed. Weak routes = Average holes on complementary axes.
No Elite/Great axis on this position's job board, so no weakness flag.
Defensive contribution
Proxy only · confidence: proxy — not a role tier
Proxy p61 · Actions p65 within winger peers
Stat profile
Within Winger peers — percentile shape (not role scores).
Versatility Index
Precise 0–100 score — cross-group breadth (67%) plus within-group depth (33%), quality-scaled by tier. Distinct from the shape card below.
Index
31.4
Breadth 20.1 · Depth 11.3
- ·Wingers: Raumdeuter (Great), Wide Runner (Good)
- ·Forwards: Target Man (Great), Poacher (Great)
Versatility shape
Coarse directional pattern (Specialist / Dual-threat / Generalist) — not the 0–100 Index above.
Dual-threat
Great Dual-threatDistinct Great+
2 Great+ roles total
Where he plays
Positions with deployment evidence — not statistical guesses.
Natural
Role translations
Where the profile could fit. Tap a position — then see which role style suits it.
Select a position on the pitch to see the best role, alternatives, and evidence.
Role-by-role detail
How each role is scored. Expand a row for a radar of role-shaped stats.
Similar players
Shape match across winger roles — cosine similarity of role scores (domestic leagues only). Slot 1 is the best same-league match; the rest are the next closest from the full pool.
Hwang Hee-chan
Wolverhampton · PL 24/25
Closest roles
Wide RunnerΔ8
RaumdeuterΔ39
Duelist WingerΔ19
Tajon Buchanan
Villarreal · La Liga
Closest roles
- RaumdeuterΔ53
- Wide RunnerΔ37
- Duelist WingerΔ18
Marco Grüll
SV Werder Bremen · Bundesliga 24/25
Closest roles
- RaumdeuterΔ3
- Wide RunnerΔ8
- Duelist WingerΔ7