A highly regarded youth player in Zambian football circles, Miguel Chaiwa is a tenacious right-footed defensive midfielder whose technical abilities continue to improve.
He made his move to European club football with Swiss club BSC Young Boys soon after his 18th birthday from rising Zambian club Atletico Lusaka. After appearing mostly for Young Boys’ reserve team with a few appearances for the senior team, Chaiwa is now earning regular playing time after completing a transfer to Scottish Premiership club Hibernian ahead of the 2025-26 season.
What stands out immediately about Chaiwa is his eagerness to put in a challenge. Very aggressive in the tackle, he certainly has the tenacity to compete in a physical league like the Scottish top flight. However, he is clearly still in the process of understanding when to commit to a challenge and when to go to ground.
In possession, Chaiwa is quite advanced considering his limited experience in Europe. He understands his role well by looking to collect and distribute the ball as quick as possible without dwelling on the ball or taking too many touches. Chaiwa fulfills his role in possession well and is also quick on the ball, allowing him to navigate through tight spaces and escape high pressing.
With impressive pace and a strong understanding of his role, Chaiwa also has the potential to be trained for a new position like fullback due to his defensive strengths. Areas where he can improve are controlling his aggression on tackles, improving strength in his lower body to avoid being bullied and consistency with his long range passing.
Statistics
Club (Years)
League
Appearances
Goals
Atletico Lusaka (2022)
Zambia Super League
N/A
N/A
BSC Young Boys (2022-2025)
Swiss Super League
19
0
FC Schaffhausen (2024)(Loan)
Swiss Challenge League
14
0
Hibernian FC (2025-)
Scottish Premiership
12
1
General Pros & Cons
Advantages
Excellent combination of pace and tenacity for his position
Advanced understanding of his role in possession. Plays ball quickly and does not attempt to play beyond his abilities.
Very good at advancing the ball forward.
Disadvantages
Lacks lower body strength, resulting in ineffective challenges.
Needs to understand when to be aggressive, goes to ground too often.
Improvement needed with confidence and decision-making on long range passes.
Physical
Above average pace for closing down and pursuit of attacking players.
Very good jumping ability for his height.
Below average lower body strength.
Technical
Confident on the ball. Can navigate tight spaces well and is good at escaping pressure.
Lacks confidence when it comes to his passing range. Lacks precision on long range pass attempts.
Needs to improve tackling technique. Goes to ground too often and is often bullied by bigger attackers who are in possession of the ball.
Mental
A well-established leader and vocal player for his national team at the youth level. Already displays confidence for the Zambia senior national team and looks to direct players around from his position deep in the midfield. Eager to communicate.
Strong decision-making on the ball, a crucial attribute for his position. Knows where to move when his team is in possession and does not take any unnecessary risks.
Needs to control his aggression. Wants to win every ball at times, which decreases the efficiency of his tackles and creates strain on his teammates when he fails to win the ball.
Tactical
Impressive understanding of his role in possession for a player at his age. Attempts to receive and distribute the ball as quick as possible with one or two touches.
Disciplined positioning. Is usually in a good place to pursue attackers in space and defend against counter-attacks when play opens up.
Needs more experience to understand when to challenge for the ball and when to maintain his positional discipline.
Statistical Analysis
Statistics are from the 2025-26 Scottish Premiership season and the rankings are from a group of 47 central midfielders who have played 500 or more minutes this season.
Chaiwa’s highlights look very promising but there still remains a long way to go in his development, particularly at a position like defensive midfield which requires efficiency and strong decision making. Here is a collection of defensive statistics for Chaiwa
Statistics
Total
Ranking
Successful Defensive Actions/90 minutes
8.02
15
Defensive Duels/90 minutes
5.85
22
Defensive Duels Won
39.53%
Last- 47
Sliding Tackles/90
0.82
3
Fouls/90
1.90
4
Interceptions/90
4.89
7
What is interesting about his defensive statistics is that they show how aggressive Chaiwa can be at times but also show how effective he is when he decides to be more cautious. A high rate of interceptions is the most positive statistic because it highlights his strong positioning senses. A lot of these interceptions come from situations when he marks players closely or anticipates passes with strong positioning.
His high rate of fouls is a good indicator of being overaggressive. But the Defensive Duels Won statistic needs context. It indicates that Chaiwa is shrugged off a lot by attackers on the ball due to his weak lower body strength at this point…he often engages and chases lost causes at times, which results in him “losing” many duels. Finally, the high rate of slide tackles is another clear sign of overaggression and something that can cost his team when he fails to win the ball.
Passing is another important area to look at with a defensive midfielder. Here are a few statistics on Chaiwa’s passing this season:
Passes/90 minutes: 29.23 (36th)
Pass Accuracy: 84.65% (14th)
Forward Passes/90: 7.21 (41st)
When you watch Chaiwa on national team duty with Zambia, he is asked to do more and looks more confident when attempting more ambitious passes. However, with Hibernian it is clear that he is asked to keep things simpler. Therefore, in Scotland you will see Chaiwa look to get the ball off quickly and his passes often go back to defenders or laterally. Chaiwa does strike a decent long ball, but at Hibs most of his long passes are hopeful clearances under pressure.
Suitable for the second level of European leagues (Ex. Belgium, Netherlands, Austria)
It must be said that Chaiwa is a good fit for the Scottish Premiership due to his natural aggression and positional discipline. His pace and athleticism is above average and his lower body strength will develop well in Scotland where play is much more physical compared to many mainland European leagues.
But as mentioned in the statistical analysis, it does not appear that Chaiwa is going to develop his technical deficiencies in Scotland very much. He is growing with his decision making but his freedom is restricted at Hibs, where he is not trusted with distributions duties from the Hibs defense when play slows down. Chaiwa thrives when the pace of play increases where his instincts and ball carrying abilities can shine.
At this point, Chaiwa is at a good level and club for his development but it is difficult to see him progressing to a major top-5 European league unless he plays at a level that requires more technical ability and understanding of how to play when the pace slows down.
