To find someone who can both link-play and bang in the goals is a difficult task, but it's one that won't be all that difficult if they turn to Randal Kolo Muani of Eintracht Frankfurt. Here is why United should sign the Frankfurt man, and why Kolo Muani is turning the heads of all the European elites.
Sébastien Haller has been one of the key difference makers to Borussia Dortmund in another title-chasing campaign for the Black & Yellows. They've been brilliant under Edin Terzic since the turn of the year, and some of that success has been down to the resurgence of cancer-free Sébastien Haller into the team.
There is nothing that fascinates me more about tactical team construction than how managers change the job titles of certain players to achieve certain results. That may be to combat a strength of an opposition, to bring out a strength in their own team set-up, to bring the best out of a player at their disposal, or even simply to fill a hole. I created an entire series around this premise called 'Game of Numbers', analyzing the various roles that individual players take up to help their teams achieve success. With that, I highlight some of the best positional tweaks this campaign, detailing how managers were able to get the best out of each player.
Castellanos had one of the greatest games of his life, netting 4 goals against last season's Champions League victors. He became the first player in the 21st century to score four against Los Blancos in a league game, and did so with just 6 shots. With that, let's dissect how "Taty" Castellanos scanned for success in his heroic performance against one of the world's best sides.
Having torn the league apart in 2021-22, Julian Nagelsmann’s Bayern Munich look a shadow of their former selves this season. Dortmund and Union Berlin have topped the table in even amounts to the Bavarian giants this campaign, with Nagelsmann's men scraping by since the turn of the year. Perhaps most notably, they've failed to truly replace the man who became a record-breaking goal-scorer in a variety of ways during his time at the club. Robert Lewandowski was still in the form of his life at the age of 34, and by the time he left the club remained a genuine candidate for the Ballon d'Or. Replacing a player of that magnitude is never easy, yet Bayern settled for only former Liverpool man Sadio Mané.
Historically known as the 'Target Man', we've rebranded this term to be all encompassing. More than just about any role, the word 'Target' immediately paints a picture of the type of player we're looking for. That is, someone strong, typically tall, aerially savvy, robust, and frequently used by their team as a target for advancing up the pitch. In the hockey sense, they would typically be the one responsible for 'roughing up the opposition'
Creative Links are quite similar to our attacking midfielder persona - the 'Creative Ten'. The main difference is that they play up front, and typically conduct more of their play with their back to goal in linking up with their teammates. You could call them a 'False 9', a playmaking centre-forward, or something between a '9' and a '10.'
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