Player dossier
Premiership · 2026/2027
Bert Esselink
Bert Esselink- Team
- Dundee United
- Role
- Centre back
- Nationality
- Netherlands
- Date of birth
- 16 Aug 1999 (age 27)
- Shirt number
- 3
- Competition
- Premiership (Scotland)
- Season
- 2026/2027
Season snapshot
8 appearances · 692 minutesDeveloping sampleAll figures cover completed fixtures in this season only.
- Appearances
- 8
- Starts
- 8
- Minutes
- 692
- Goals
- 0
- Assists
- 0
- Yellow cards
- 1
- Red cards
- Not available
0 unused substitute matchdays
Counted from match events
Counted from match events
Counted from match events
Provider rating & details
Provider match ratingAverage rating across 8 rated matches.Third-party match rating. Not used in FootyCabin scores.
7.18
FootyCabin performance
FootyCabin scores compare this player with others in the same role, league and season. Higher scores indicate stronger statistical performance.
Impact Score
52.1/ 100
Slightly above average for their role
Early-season estimate · 8 appearances · 692 minutes as centre back
Defensive Activity Score
35.9/ 100
Close to average for their role
Compared with centre backs (32)
Ball Security Score
66.0/ 100
Above average for their role
Compared with centre backs (32)
How the Impact Score is built
- Duelweight 25%
- 45.0
- Passingweight 25%
- 43.9
- Defensiveweight 35%
- 57.8
- Ball retentionweight 15%
- 63.9
An experimental in-house model based on available match data. It weights role-relative percentile families and is not an official rating, a definitive measure of player quality, or a prediction.
Playing style
How this player tends to contribute, compared with players in the same role and season. Style, not quality.
Aerial Defender
Moderate matchDefends the box in the air, contesting and winning a lot of aerial duels.
Why this style
- Aerial duels per 9092th
- Clearances per 9073th
- Aerial win rate15th
Archetypes describe statistical playing style, not player quality. How this is built
Player profile
See where the player ranks compared with others in the same role. A percentile of 80 means the player ranks higher than 80% of the comparison group. Only areas relevant to centre back are shown.
| Family | Percentile |
|---|---|
| Passing | 43.9 |
| Defensive | 57.8 |
| Ball retention | 63.9 |
| Duel | 45.0 |
| Creation | 40.4 |
Dashed ring marks the centre back median (50th percentile) across 30 comparable players.
Percentile detail
Compared with Centre back players in this season30 in reference group
- Passing43.9pctl
- Defensive57.8pctl
- Ball retention63.9pctl
- Duel45.0pctl
- Creation40.4pctl
Similar players
Players with the most similar statistical playing styles. This compares style, not player quality.
- Michael ForbesVery similar style99 / 100
Dundee United · Centre back · Premiership 2026/2027 · Aerial Defender
Similar in attacking involvement, shooting, defensive activity. Different in defensive duels, dribbling.
- Martin ErlićVery similar style99 / 100
FC Midtjylland · Centre back · Superliga 2025/2026 · Aerial Defender
Similar in shooting, defensive activity, chance creation. Different in dribbling, aerial play.
- Craig Halkett Very similar style97 / 100
Hearts · Centre back · Premiership 2025/2026 · Aerial Defender
Similar in ball security, shooting, attacking involvement. Different in defensive duels, aerial play.
Show 2 more similar players
- Ethan Schilte-BrownVery similar style97 / 100
Kilmarnock · Centre back · Premiership 2025/2026 · Conservative Distributor
Similar in ball security, chance creation, defensive activity. Different in aerial play, shooting.
- Frankie KentVery similar style96 / 100
Hearts · Centre back · Premiership 2025/2026 · Aerial Defender
Similar in chance creation, attacking involvement, passing. Different in shooting, defensive duels.
How similarity works
Similarity compares playing profiles inside the same role family. A score of 92 means the pair is closer than 92% of comparable player pairs. It is not a rating of ability, market value or transfer suitability.
Form & context
Recent form, development and match context from completed fixtures. These figures add context to the scores above and are not official ratings or predictions.
Form
Form is falling
Detail
Momentum ScoreLast 2 scored matches 37.2 vs earlier 55.3 (−18.2).13.7/ 100
Development
No clear upward trend
Detail
Breakout ScoreLooks at recent performances, playing time and starts to spot signs that a player is improving. It is not a prediction.Minutes +5 · Starts 0pp22.2/ 100
Decline
Strong downward trend
Detail
Decline ScoreLooks for signs that the player's performances and playing time are dropping. It is not a prediction.8 scored matches77.8/ 100
Opposition strength
Easier than average
Detail
Opposition Difficulty ScoreShows how strong the opponents have been. It is context only and does not change the Impact Score.8 rated opponents44.8/ 100
Efficiency
Too few recorded actions to score
Detail
Efficiency ScoreShows how often the player's actions lead to successful results.Coverage 80%Insufficient sample
Team effect and success rates
Team effect
Compares team points per completed match when the player starts and when he does not. This describes results, not proof that the player caused them.
Insufficient sample. The comparison needs at least 3 completed fixtures in both groups (currently 8 started and 0 not started).
| Metric | Rate |
|---|---|
| Pass accuracy | 87.2% |
| Dribble success rate | 75.0% |
| Duel win rate | 60.3% |
| Aerial duel win rate | 58.2% |
| Tackle success rate | Not available |
| Shot on target rate | 33.3% |
| Long ball accuracy | 52.1% |
Bert Esselink · 0–100% scale
Methodology
Data source
Match, lineup, event and player statistics come from Sportmonks and are stored per fixture. Only completed fixtures with recorded minutes are aggregated. Announced lineups and future fixtures are excluded.
Per 90 minutes
A per-90 value scales a season total to a full match: total × 90 ÷ minutes played. It is not calculated when minutes are missing or zero.
Missing data
The provider omits some statistics instead of sending a zero. A missing value is shown as "not available" and never converted to 0, so rates and percentiles are only produced where the underlying fields genuinely exist.
Impact Score
The Football Performance Lab Impact Score is an experimental in-house model that combines role-relative percentile families with explicit weights. It is not an official rating and not a measure of transfer value.
Minimum samples
Values are calculated internally from 180 minutes, but a player is only shown publicly with a ranked Impact Score from 360 minutes and 5 appearances, with at least 90% metric coverage and an established role. A single appearance contributes a match impact observation from 30 minutes.