‘It’s a new world’: the analysts using AI to psychologically profile elite players

Statistics can help assess a potential recruit's emotional control and leadership, while highlighting red flags

The players didn't show enough fight." Listen to any pundit's post-match reaction and you will hear variations of that soundbite. But can you analyse an athlete's state of mind, based on their on-pitch body language?

In an era when football is increasingly leaning on data to demonstrate physical attributes, statistics offering an accurate indication of a player's psychological qualities, such as emotional control and leadership, are harder to come by. But Premier League clubs including Brighton are using a technique intended to help in that regard with selection and recruitment.