Miguel Almirón – Will He Ever Score?

Written by JP Quinn – @AttackingCB

Newcastle United broke their transfer record to bring Miguel Almirón to Tyneside for £21m in January. He made an immediate impact in a struggling team. In his first start, against Huddersfield, he showed what he was capable of. Early in the game he ran clean through, lifted the ball over Jonas Lössl, but hit the post. He then tempted Tommy Smith into a dangerous tackle, for which he received a red card. Almirón caused problems all game and was part of a comfortable victory. The fans were left excited by his performance.

He added much-needed pace to the attack and the ability to carry the ball and beat defenders. Playing on the left of midfield when out of possession, Almirón could burst forward and join the attack, along with Rondón and Pérez, creating a front 3 which worked well together. He would effectively become a number 10 when Newcastle had the ball but he could also run beyond Rondón to threaten in behind defences. His start to his Newcastle career was promising, but he ended the season without a goal or assist. Now 8 games into the new season and he still hasn’t registered either and has been struggling to impact games at all. So what’s wrong?

In terms of Expected Goals (xG), Understat has him at 2.86 since joining Newcastle, so he could expect to have scored around 3 goals by now. At that rate he would get 7 goals over a season, which would be a reasonable return. So has he just been unlucky or is it poor finishing? Almirón is certainly guilty of missing some good chances and perhaps making the wrong decision in front of goal but he has also shown an ability to strike a ball. His effort against Huddersfield would have been considered a great finish had it crept inside the post. He is getting into good positions to score – don’t expect him to be prolific (he only has 1 goal in 23 appearances for his country) but we should see him break his duck soon enough if he continues to do so.

 

The bigger worry here is his lack of creativity. Almirón has less than 1 expected assist in his time at Newcastle (0.76) – that is 0.05 per 90 (less than 2 assists a season). This season has been even worse. He has created just 0.07 xA in total – less than 0.01 per 90! He has created just 3 chances this season, and none of them good ones. By comparison, Saint-Maximin has created the same number in less than a quarter of the time on the pitch.

Considering Almirón had more assists than goals (19:17 excluding penalties) at Atlanta United, it seems odd that he is struggling so much to be creative. And surprisingly, he dribbles much less than both Atsu and Saint-Maximin (not so surprising).

Compare his numbers to Pérez last season, who he is effectively replacing in the team. He got 12 goals last season, though only 2 assists.

Of course being in a somewhat struggling team that aren’t known for their attacking prowess doesn’t help and I can’t imagine Almirón was thrilled about the departure of Rafa Benítez, a world class coach who also speaks his native language.

One issue may be his position in the team. At Atlanta he preferred to operate as a number 10, or on the left of midfield. In Newcastle’s current system, there is no central creator but Benítez deployed him in an inside-left role. With Pérez’s departure to Leicester City, Almirón has moved over to the right, where perhaps he is less comfortable.

This might have something to do with his lack of crosses. Last season he played 21 crosses, of which 7 were successful, creating 2 chances. This season he has played just 7 crosses and none of them have been successful. However, Saint-Maximin also appears to favour the left, so he may not get that opportunity.

He also had a prolific striker ahead of him in Josef Martínez while in the USA and Rondón as a target last season. Joelinton isn’t really that player, preferring to get involved in the build-up himself.

So far, we have seen glimpses of real quality from Almirón but not enough end product. There are times when he tries to do much on his own instead of passing and times when he makes the wrong decision. It is still early days in his Premier League career though and he needs to be given time to adapt to a new country – it is a big step up from MLS. He has shown enough to suggest that he can make it in this league but some improvement is needed.

 

Data from Understat and WhoScored.

Aaron Connolly: A tactical and statistical insight into the predictable rise of Albion’s enigmatic Irishman

Written by @AlbionAnalytics

The 19-year-old Irishman burst onto the world scene at lunchtime on Saturday, as his brace secured Albion’s second win of the season, beating a Spurs side in freefall 3-0.

As someone who has watched Connolly closely for the best part of a year now, his rise to the top and more importantly the nature of the goals he scored, were somewhat predictable. Saturday, on paper, wasn’t an easy task either – Connolly was up against a side who were in the Champions League Final last season. Though they are in poor form right now – no Premier League team have lost more games than Spurs (15) in 2019. Connolly has come off the back of an award-winning season in the PL2, scoring every 108 minutes. A dream first start in the Premier League for Connolly was capped later on Saturday evening when an injury to Derrick Williams saw Ireland manager Mick McCarthy call the 19-year-old up to the senior squad, Connolly having put in some outstanding performances for the U21s over the summer.

From a statistical perspective, he appears very similar to Neal Maupay; which makes sense as they are both small, under 5’10 and around 70kg (Wyscout). When you consider the fact that Connolly’s sample size includes U23 games, they’re pretty similar from a metric standpoint. It’s worth mentioning that the sample sizes for both are small (around 500 minutes), so it’s hard to totally draw conclusions, hence why this article will mainly look at Connolly’s performance from a tactical standpoint.

A frequent shooter, Connolly has taken 9 shots in the Premier League already this season (5.2 per 90) and scored twice, as well as 1 in the League Cup and 3 goals for the U23s. He’s so frequent in-fact, that no player had more shots than him (6) in this game-week (Whoscored). Of greater importance than the shooting frequency is the location of these shots:

All of Connolly’s shots have come from central locations or in the left-hand half space, the latter of which I’d categorise as his ‘danger zone’, with only 1 outside the box. The shots in this map are from the Burnley, Newcastle and Spurs games. Connolly’s threat in central areas was reflected perfectly by his first goal against Spurs – he’s a clinical 1 touch finisher from crosses. In the thread I posted on Connolly in May I showed two examples of this type of finish when Connolly scored a hat-trick for the U23s against MK Dons.

What deserves greater attention is Connolly’s ability in the left-hand half space. Before he opened his account on Saturday, Fabian Schär had denied him a goal at Newcastle two weeks ago, with a goal-line clearance from the Galway forward’s first touch effort after some fantastic link play from Pascal Gross. This reflected his ability to finish first time in this location of the pitch too, as did his first senior goal for Brighton at Bristol Rovers.

His shot map from this game reflects another key element of his attacking nature in this ‘danger zone’. Connolly typically attempted to finish across the goalkeeper at Bristol Rovers, however Alan Shearer pointed out something which was also evident last season, that Connolly’s ability in these areas is multidimensional. He can go inside or outside the defender to either finish from a wider or narrower angle, across the goalkeeper or with a curling back-post effort to the far post.

Against Spurs, he opted for the latter, although once again there is visual footage of him doing the former in the thread.

Perhaps the other key statistic to draw attention to is Connolly’s progressive running and dribbling. He is by far most dangerous when he’s running at defenders with his front to goal. Considerable credit for the second of his two goals should go to Dunk, who produced effectively a carbon copy assist of what he delivered to Maupay on the opening day at Watford. The England international on both occasions broke the midfield and defensive lines, although in this case instead of wrapping it around a defender he played the ball over Alderweireld’s head.

This created the opportunity for Connolly to be dangerous. His high touch frequency and ability to manipulate the ball is what underpins his goals. Including his first touch, he takes 6 touches before he shoots in just 4 seconds. 5 of these 6 (including the first touch) are small touches which keep the ball on the outside of Alderweireld. On two other occasions last season he took 6 touches in 4 seconds and 8 touches in 3 before scoring.

Adam Webster spoke about this: “The touches he takes on the ball, you can’t tackle him. There are a lot of little touches, so it is hard to defend against”.

Connolly’s approach play is such that he is able to force defenders to drop by keeping the ball close to him, meaning he is able to get closer to goal, where the likelihood of him scoring is higher (which xG would reflect). His run with the ball is a diagonal one; he decides whether to go inside or outside his man very late, and often uses entry to the box as his reference point for doing so. By isolating himself 1v1 he discourages the defender from pressing.

Connolly’s height and centre of gravity help him massively in this respect; he’s much more agile than most defenders, which allows him to create the half-a-yard of space to shoot before they can react.

The only time he moves the ball inside Alderweireld is his set touch prior to shooting, which is a touch he always takes into space. This is part of the reason for Gazzaniga’s positioning being so far across his goal that it gives Connolly a large, unkept part of the goal to shoot into. By running directly at defenders, Connolly keeps space either side of them, which he moves into prior to shooting. The left-hand half space creates good shooting angles for Connolly anyway, as the trademark far post finish of his is encouraged by the slightly narrowed angle.

Finally, it’s worth touching on why Potter’s new system may be perfect for the Youngster. As mentioned, in regards to build-up play, he’s receiving passes from Pascal Gross (statistically one of the best chance creators in the league) and now from Lewis Dunk and Adam Webster; two terrific progressors of the ball. Perhaps even more beneficial is the formation set-up. Potter’s 3-4-3 means that there are wide players either side of the striker, whose ambiguous position is the centre of much debate. Mooy, Trossard, Gross, Maupay, Locadia and Connolly have all played in such positions despite being very different players. However, what is certain is that the player to the left of the striker, by default, will operate more in the left-hand half-space and channel, the perfect scenario for Connolly.

Now to answer a key question – what does Connolly offer that Maupay (given his similarity) doesn’t? From observation, Connolly’s unpredictability and two-footedness is quite a unique thing for a player his age. The ability to score from a variety of angles with either foot, in that left-hand half space, is something I’m yet to see of another player at that age, while he’s also shown poacher instincts too, reflected in the first goal he scored against Spurs.

For more statistical and tactical insight, plus further video footage of his performances, please look at my twitter page (@AlbionAnalytics).

How Pascal Gross puts the magic in Potterball

Written by @AlbionAnalytics

Having set the Premier League alight with 15 goal involvements in his first season as a virtual unknown, Pascal Gross quickly became a key figure in the Albion side. Though just 2 games in, it appears the German has fit perfectly into Graham Potter’s new fluid 3-4-3 system, amid suggestions that he may be axed entirely from the side as he perhaps lacks the necessary requirements to operate in the new set-up – those suggestions have since stopped.

Versatility shouldn’t come as a surprise, though, given his role as a number 10 in Brighton’s first season, followed by playing as a deep-block RCM last season. It’s clear Gross has multiple dimensions to his playing style, both with and without the ball, though for this article I’m going to exclusively focus on the former. Graham Potter has managed to marry Gross’ extensive passing range and pinpoint accuracy with an attractive, fluid and attacking system. This piece will focus on how he has become the nucleus of this new-look side.

On paper, Pascal Gross doesn’t fit the mould as a right-winger. This isn’t an issue, because despite playing on the right-hand side of the forward three, he doesn’t operate as a typical winger. Perhaps a fair way to describe the German is through his native language, as a ‘raumdeuter’ – a ‘space investigator’. Gross loves the half-spaces and operates best as a link player, working as a primary outlet for the back line to play into – in particular his right-sided companion Martín Montoya.

Developing further on the Gross-Montoya relationship, Johan Cruyff – in his book ‘My Turn’ – talks of the importance of players needing to ‘complement’ each other, which is exactly what the two Europeans do. Potter has opted for Trossard or Locadia to the left of Murray, both of whom are ‘wrong-sided’ as they are right-footed and will therefore naturally drift inside into central areas as the angles there are more suited to them – Trossard highlighted this with his goal against West Ham. Whereas Gross is ‘right-sided’ and therefore would logically tend to stick closer to the right-hand channel. The two ‘average player positions’ (from SofaScore) highlight how Gross (13) typically operates in and around the half-space and right on the edge of that right-hand channel.

This compliments Montoya, who advances forward in the right-hand channel, perfectly, particularly at Watford. Gross helps to create an overload, often with Davy Pröpper – the right sided CM. A perfect example of this can be seen in the build-up to the second goal at Watford:

Gross drifts inside to a central area to provide a link option, which creates further space out in the right-hand channel. This allows Montoya to push further forward and act as an outlet to switch play – Albion attempted to switch play 8 times at Watford, completing 5, 4 of which were to Montoya and Gross’ right-hand side (StatsZone).

March’s looping back-post cross ended up being an indeliberate switch of play, as Montoya recovered the ball in the second phase following the headed clearance.

Roaming to connect play was a key part of Gross’ playing style in his breakthrough 17/18 season, which his heatmap from that season highlights (SofaScore). Although even then his preference to play in the right hand channel and half-space can be seen.

Here is the Montoya-Pröpper-Gross triangle; Albion exploiting a 3v3 in the right-hand channel, which Gross had dropped into, in behind Holebas, likely to provide a crossing action. Gross ends up acting as the ‘third man’ here, as Pröpper uses him by, well, not using him. Ultimately, Gross is used as a screen from Pröpper to drive wide with the ball to cross himself.

It is unsurprising to see Gross finding positions whereby he has an angle to cross, in the 17/18 season only Kevin De Bruyne played more crosses into the area – 248 to Gross’ 234 – and the German produced the most ‘good crosses’ (69) of any player in the league. Perhaps no surprise he assisted 8 goals in that season then. Despite having his minutes limited last season due to injury – playing just 1,876 minutes (less than 20 games total) – Gross was still in the top 10 for ‘good crosses’, though it should be noted that set-pieces do contribute significantly here.

Returning to the point of Gross in the half-spaces, his roles in Brighton’s first goals against Watford and West Ham deserve highlighting, but for different reasons.

The Gross-to-Murray combination which has proved so fruitful – 4 goals for this specific assist-goal combination in the 17/18 season alone (Transfermarkt) – was nearly added to at Watford, although Murray was robbed of a tap in by the outstretched leg of Doucouré. Not sure he was too bothered though, as the Watford man deflected it into the net. More importantly, Gross’ position in the final third is what I want to draw attention to. Despite this pass technically being ‘incompleted’, he completed 13 of the 18 passes in/into the final third he attempted – 72.2% conversion rate (StatsZone). He averaged 1.4 short key passes per 90 minutes last season (WhoScored) and his combined (short and long) 2.6 key passes per 90 minutes ranked 7^th in the entire league last season – that’s level with Ryan Fraser for context.

Now to look at his chance creation from a long pass perspective against West Ham. Not to say that his passes in/into the final third weren’t good here, because they were; in fact, good is perhaps an understatement – 16 of 18 completed, which once again was the most on the pitch, showing even greater precision than at Watford with 88.8% competition (StatsZone).

One of these passes led to the goal – the Gross-Murray combination again would you believe? However, on this occasion Gross creates the chance with a long pass. As you can see on the passmap (StatsZone), he is again utilising that border between the half-space and right-hand channel to create chances. He created a total of 5 chances against West Ham (StatsZone) – the most on the pitch – and he only played 67 minutes!

With Gross leading the way for chance creation and final third passes, it is no surprise to see most of Brighton’s attacks taking place down the right-hand side. 48.8% of attacks against Watford and 44.3% of attacks against West Ham coming down the Pascal Gross side gives an average of 46.55% of attacks down the right. This exploitation of the right-hand side is a sensible one; Gross consistently creates chances and can do so because he frequently receives the ball and is involved in phases of play. This is reflected in pass patterns from the back line, and switches of play which were referenced earlier, that typically show movement of the ball from left to right. This is explored in more depth on my twitter page – @AlbionAnalytics.

Gross’ multidimensional threat will only be seen more throughout the season, as he continues to create chances and goals through short and long passes. Now this is without even highlighting his threat from set-pieces – Gross is also able to produce goals from corners, highlighted both in pre-season and the final game of last season by assisting Duffy against Valencia and Murray against Manchester City respectively from looping corners.

Hopefully this article provided an insight as to how one of the most underrated players in the league – given the statistical heights he reaches – has been moulded into a new set-up by Potter, into a player who is the same, but different.

Newcastle United Season Preview – 2019/20

Written by John-Paul Quinn – @AttackingCB

Things are never dull on Tyneside, at least away from the pitch. Surely only Newcastle United could smash their transfer record and still maintain a negative atmosphere among supporters?

Rafa Benítez’s future had been a topic of discussion ever since he joined the club in 2016. For 3 years, he rarely seemed happy, in a constant battle with the ownership. There was always a fear that eventually he would decide he’d had enough and walk away. With his contract up this summer, that fear became real. The line from some fans was ‘If Rafa goes, we go.’

However, there were ongoing contract talks and Benítez made noises that he wanted to stay, if given the assurances he needed but this was further complicated by a proposed takeover. The Bin Zayed Group said they had agreed a fee with Mike Ashley for the club and some reports even claimed that the deal was as good as done.

But the takeover and contract talks dragged on and meanwhile there were no signs of any transfers. On the 30^th of June, Rafa’s contract ended and he left the club – no manager, no takeover, no signings. No hope.

A couple of days later, Newcastle sold Ayoze Pérez to Leicester for £30m. With Salomón Rondón having already returned to West Brom after his loan spell, that was Newcastle’s 2 top scorers from last season gone. With 23 goals between the pair, add the 3 goals from Kenedy and Joselu and Newcastle have lost 26 of the 40 non-penalty goals they scored last season. The only players remaining at the club who scored more than a single goal are Fabian Schär (4) and Ciaran Clark (3).

3 weeks after it was announced that Rafa was leaving, Newcastle eventually appointed a new manager. You can’t blame them for taking so long, no one could possibly have predicted the need to find a replacement! The man they decided was the best candidate for the job (or the only one who would take it)? Steve Bruce. Cue the celebrations.

It didn’t take long before the pull of managerial giant Bruce attracted Brazilian forward Joelinton from Hoffenheim for around £40m – a club record fee.

He’s a 22 year-old with a couple of solid seasons in the Austrian Bundesliga and another in Germany. He’s a big guy – tall and athletic – but not a typical target-man. He’s an all-round forward who likes to drift off the front and get involved in play. He’s mobile too and likes to run with the ball. The question is whether he will score enough goals in a team that badly needs them – he hasn’t been prolific so far. He has great potential but it feels like there is a lot resting on a young man in a new country to be the focal point of the attack.

More signings followed, with tricky winger Allan Saint-Maximin joining from Nice for £16m, right-back Emil Krafth from Amiens for £5m and left-back Jetro Willems on loan from Eintracht Frankfurt. Left wing-back was a problem position last season, with Matt Ritchie filling in for most of it. As well as he did, if Newcastle do stick with the 5 at the back, Willems is a more natural fit for that role.

There was also a shock return for local boy Andy Carroll on a free transfer, although he seems to have been linked with a move back to Tyneside ever since he left for £35m in January 2011. Carroll has played a total of 1200 minutes over the last 2 league seasons, amounting to just over 13 full games. He can still be effective but the problem is getting him on the pitch – he is allegedly on a much-reduced basic salary.

Dwight Gayle has also returned to the club after another prolific season in the Championship, on loan at West Brom. A player who seemingly can’t quite make the step up to the Premier League but he is useful to have in reserve – Newcastle do have options up front now.

There is a lot of dead wood though, to the point that Jack Colback, Achraf Lazaar, Rolando Aarons and Henri Saivet haven’t even been named in the 25-man Premier League squad. They might be looking to move on before the transfer window elsewhere has shut.

An area where Newcastle excelled last season was in games against the teams around them – fellow strugglers. Against the other bottom-8 teams, they only lost 1 game and conceded just 7 goals.

	Bottom 8 mini-league
	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Newcastle United	14	8	5	1	22	7	15	29
Burnley	14	8	3	3	24	15	9	27
Bournemouth	14	6	3	5	23	18	5	21
Cardiff City	14	6	3	5	14	14	0	21
Fulham	14	6	2	6	19	24	-5	20
Southampton	14	3	7	4	17	17	0	16
Brighton	14	3	3	8	13	26	-13	12
Huddersfield Town	14	1	4	9	7	18	-11	7

Their record against the top 6 was poor, however, collecting just 3 points all season – coming from a home win against eventual champions Manchester City. Having said that, they lost many of those games by a single goal. Under Benítez, Newcastle were competitive in most games, the most organised the team has been in a long time (possibly ever) – they rarely got hammered.

So how will Steve Bruce set the team up?

Benítez favoured a 5-4-1 last season, becoming a 3-4-3 in possession, and it seems Bruce may stick with that, though he has tried a 5-3-2 in pre-season.

 

 

 

Bruce seems keen to give the players more freedom than they had under Benítez and to play a slightly more positive style of football, but at what cost defensively? This team was built around Rafa’s meticulous organisation, so hopefully at least some of that remains.

There are some worrying parallels to draw with the Steve McClaren era here. After hiring a manager from the Championship, the club invested heavily that summer in some talented players, but there didn’t seem to be any real planning. McClaren wanted to play a more attractive brand of football but ended up assembling a team that weren’t great going forward and absolutely hopeless at defending. It was a mess and Newcastle were relegated at the end of that season, despite Benítez’s best efforts to save them.

Some positives.

Miguel Almirón’s arrival in January made a big difference to the team. He has pace, a great ability to run with the ball and although he is yet to score for the club, he should chip in with his fair share of goals. He built up a good relationship with Pérez and Rondón but is unfortunately the only one of the ‘three amigos’ remaining.

Sean Longstaff was a revelation last season, despite only making 8 starts. A midfielder who seems to have a bit of everything, he became a key player and was even linked with a move to Manchester United. One to watch is his younger brother, Matty (also a midfielder), who has impressed with the first-team in pre-season.

Isaac Hayden was out of favour and looking for a move further south for personal reasons last season, before getting a run in the team and showing the form that made him a key player in the promotion season. He and Longstaff could be paired in midfield – a partnership that would have great energy and balance, though the talented Jonjo Shelvey might be given an opportunity under the new manager.

So, after all that, there’s an uncertainty among supporters about whether to be excited by the new signings or worried about relegation. The reality is probably both. Talk of boycotts and protests remain among supporters, as they seek to rid the club of its poisonous owner.

There is talent in the squad and a core group of players who have survived in this league so far on heart and organisation. However, the feeling is that the key ingredient was a world class manager in Rafa Benítez. If things start to go wrong under Steve Bruce, will he be able to steady the ship in the same way?

Tottenham Hotspur Season Preview – 2019/20

Written by Luke Griffin – @GriffinFtbl

The 2018/19 season was a mixture of emotions. A disappointing semi-final loss to Chelsea on penalties in the League Cup, losing to Crystal Palace in the FA Cup 4th round, defeat in the Champions League final and injury issues throughout being the negatives.

But, it was a great Champions League campaign, resulting in Tottenham’s first final in the competition, with dramatic wins against Dortmund, Ajax and Manchester City along the way. Another year of Champions League football and a short-lived title race, despite injuries and not making any signings – the first time a Premier League team had ever done so.

Transfer Business

The English transfer window shut yesterday at 17:00. After 518 days without a signing, Spurs made two early on and another two on an eventful deadline day. There have been a lot of links with players, and when I say players I mean attacking midfielders who shoot from range: Lo Celso, Coutinho, Dybala and Bruno Fernandes, with Lo Celso eventually signing on deadline day.

Ryan Sessegnon, who has been a target for a while, also signed for about £25m, a lot less than the £50m quoted a year ago. I see him best utilised as a wing-back and I’ve seen reports saying Mauricio Pochettino wants to use him as a winger before converting him into a left-back. I’ll get onto how I see this move panning out later.

The first two deals that were done are great. Jack Clarke from Leeds looks like a really exciting prospect who really impresses statistically in his limited minutes last season. I’m going to try and keep an eye on him over this season during his loan spell back at Elland Road.

Tanguy Ndombele is one of the best signings of the window. He has been my first-choice option for a while but I didn’t think that it would happen. I’m still a bit surprised that Spurs managed to pull it off and that other clubs didn’t compete more for his signature. He is a world class player and to be honest, the type of signing that Spurs should be making. It shows great intent and the direction of the club, as well as showing that the club is willing to invest by smashing the transfer record.

Ndombele is a really exciting player. He’s only 22 and is already a great, modern midfielder. He is a perfect replacement for Dembélé stylistically. He is an energetic box-to-box player with great line-breaking ability through passing and dribbling as well as press-resistance. He is going to be great next season.

Squad

Last season, Pochettino was often forced to adapt to the squad he had available due to injuries and lack of depth, leading to the use of several formations. Mainly 4-2-3-1 (used 33% of the time) and 4-diamond-2 (24%). I think the current squad is best suited to a 4-2-3-1  but many think that Poch intends to use a 4-diamond-2. I’ve shown below how both of these would look with the squad I expect to see. I’ve left out Christian Eriksen for simplicity, but other than right-back, I think the team pretty much picks itself.

Regularly going after Sessegnon does make me think that Poch wants to use a back three, due to his suitability as a wing-back and possibly being underutilised as a full-back. Juan Foyth’s injury complicates it a bit as it limits options at centre-back, but with a back three, centre-back depth isn’t that key as if there’s an injury you just change to a back four. Sessegnon is a versatile player and still had a good season last year after an impressive start to his Fulham career in the Championship; he offers cover at left-back and left-wing.

There is still some uncertainty surrounding Eriksen but with Lo Celso coming in there isn’t a worry about depth as he’s already been replaced, although going into the season with both would obviously be the ideal situation.

There is still dead wood in the squad which needs sorting and I’m surprised Levy hasn’t been more proactive about it. However, without it there would be too little depth, even if the current depth lacks quality.

Obviously, there is one glaring hole in the squad.

Right-Back

With Kieran Tripper leaving there is a dilemma at right-back as no replacement has been brought in. There are four options still: Serge Aurier, Kyle Walker-Peters, Foyth and Moussa Sissoko. Pochettino seems to favour using Foyth out of position, but with his injury, the issue is more complicated.

There are pros and cons to using each of these players and is really a personal preference of what you want. KWP is young and will benefit from the minutes that he lacked last season, but isn’t the best defensively and his passing can be mixed, especially in build-up. Foyth is injured, lacks athleticism and needs minutes at centre-back. Aurier just hasn’t worked out, he has off-field issues and is a liability on the pitch with questionable decision-making.

I want to see Aurier given a chance but I’m sceptical. Sissoko is the option I’d like to see. People can forget that Sissoko used to be a winger. As I said before, I feel a back three is possible this season and Sissoko could make a Victor Moses-esque transition into a solid wing-back. He’s lost his starting position in midfield to Ndombele and could be utilised well at full-back/wing-back.

Anything that happens is a quick fix until a proper replacement is brought in, ideally in January. I’m currently compiling a shortlist of potential right-backs which hopefully I’ll be able to post on my page before January. Don’t be surprised when Youcef Atal is top.

Conclusion 

Three first-team signings which all have great promise and can make big impacts this season. With all four signings aged 23 or under, this window has been great, as if I was playing Football Manager. One more signing to fix the major issue at right-back would have been good, but at the end of the day, I don’t want to complain about an overall promising window after so long without signings.

Overall, achieving third while also pressuring Liverpool and Manchester City if possible, to prevent a duopoly, has to be the aim, with getting Champions League football again next season the minimum. Obviously, fans want to see a trophy so the cups should be a high priority and attempting to repeat last season’s Champions League success, trying to make the final step with a team that is suited to knockout football and late winners.