RB: Tendayi Darikwa – Pedro Porro (Spurs) 77.24%
Up first, our captain and leader, Darikwa. He’s one who has actually played in the Premier League, and at one point could have been the subject of a comparison rather than the focus. He’s with us now, turning in top-flight performances, and he’s most comparable with Pedro Porro.
26-year-old Porro has been capped 15 times by Spain, and has appeared 23 times in the top flight for struggling Spurs this season.
LB: Adam Reach – El Hadji Malick Diouf (West Ham) 68.65%
Reach hasn’t played top flight, but he has played in sides challenging at the right end of the Championship. Signed by us as a free agent in August, he’s been one of our standout performers this campaign, chipping in with goals and assists after settling quickly.
At 68.65%, he is most like West Ham’s 21-year-old Senegalese defender Malick Diouf, who joined them from Slavia Prague. He’s got a goal and four assists for the Hammers, who are also haunted by the spectre of relegation this season, and a possible trip to Sincil Bank in 2026/27.
LCB: Sonny Bradley – Omar Alderete (Sunderland) 78.5%
Alderete has a few nice tattoos, and while that’s not the reason for the comparison, as soon as his image popped up I figured him and Bradley going toe to toe would be like something out of UFC. Terrifying just to watch.
Bradley has been a behemoth for us in both boxes and has thrived in the left centre back position. Having a left-footed player at left-centre back is critical to success, and Tom Cleverley bemoaned his side playing out to the left with four right-footers yesterday. Point proven.
29-year-old Alderete was born in Asunción, Paraguay, a long way from Hull, England, but the similarities are there in terms of profile. He doesn’t get as many goals as Bradley, but he is the most Lincoln City left-sided centre back in the top flight.
RCB: Tom Hamer – Dan Ballard (Sunderland) 73.18%
I wonder if this is as much about Sunderland being closest to us in terms of defensive structure. Interestingly, Hamer also had high comparison numbers with Gvardiol of Man City (69.36%) and Romero of Spurs (65.84%). Still, none of the players in the top ten have a throw like our man.
He’s more than that, of course. He’s a mobile and competent centre back, unrelenting in the air and doggedly determined on the deck. Ballard, an international defender for Northern Ireland, once of Arsenal, has a reputation at Sunderland for the same qualities, making him our Tom Hamer alternative from the top flight.