Tag: Player Analysis

Joelinton – Player Analysis

by Rhys Desmond, posted in Central Midfield, Coach Education, Masterclasses, Player Analysis, Premier League, World Football

Often seen as the emblem of an overpriced transfer that failed to deliver, Joelinton has seen a complete transformation in position, role, and status under new Newcastle boss Eddie Howe. The former Bournemouth coach has harnessed the Brazilian’s tireless work rate by moving him from forward to central midfield, where he's performed brilliantly as a box to box midfielder. So with that, we decided to take a look at how Joelinton has transformed into one of Newcastle's most important players in the blink of an eye. Here is our latest Player Analysis.

Identifying players to fit your team’s style of play

by Rhys Desmond, posted in Coach Education, Masterclasses, Recruitment & Scouting

In the process of recruitment & scouting, an essential piece to the puzzle is in finding players to fit the team's style of play, rather than just the very best players. Without a game model that specifies how a team wants to function in each phase of the game, this is difficult to achieve. But beyond studying a game model, a recruitment & scouting analyst could use a few other methods for finding the right players, that would allow them to transform their team and achieve new heights.

Finding Jude Bellingham’s next club

by Rhys Desmond, posted in Attacking Midfield, Central Midfield, German Bundesliga, Premier League, Recruitment & Scouting, UEFA Champions League, World Football

18-year-old Jude Bellingham has lit the Bundesliga on fire since arriving at the start of the 2020-21 season, catching the attention of clubs, fans and managers across the globe. Evidently with still so much to learn, the Dortmund man plays with a class and confidence beyond his years, and already has a manager wanting to build a team around his undeniable quality. In this tactical analysis, we take a look at why Bellingham has excelled at Dortmund, and attempt to identify his next big club.

Why Julian Alvarez is perfect for Manchester City

by Rhys Desmond, posted in Data Analysis, Most Recent, Player Analysis, Premier League, Recruitment & Scouting, Striker, UEFA Champions League

Anyone who's read our work over the past few years knows that we have always been high on City's desire to play without an out-and-out striker. But there's no denying that a natural centre forward would be a massive help to City's quest to continuously evolve their tactics and find ways to break low-block opposition teams down, when nothing seems to be going their way. So with that, here is why the young Julian Alvarez is the perfect fit for Manchester City.

Why Bruno Guimaraes is being tracked by Europe’s elite

by Rhys Desmond, posted in Central Midfield, Coach Education, Data Analysis, Defensive Midfield, Masterclasses, Most Recent, Premier League, Recruitment & Scouting

These days, every single club in the world is in search of a top quality defensive midfielder, either to provide back-up to an already existing world star, or to transform their team in completely new ways. It seems inevitable that players like Declan Rice or Yves Bissouma will make a step up to one of Europe's elite clubs soon, but another lesser known name that's been catching the eye this season is Olympique Lyonnais' Bruno Guimaraes. Here is an analysis of why the Brazilian is turning heads, and why he should be on the radar of every single top club in Europe.

Conor Gallagher – Player Analysis

by Rhys Desmond, posted in Attacking Midfield, Central Midfield, Data Analysis, Player Analysis, Premier League

After turning a few heads during his loan spell at West Bromwich Albion last season, Conor Gallagher has turned several heads in 2021-22, with his stunning displays for Patrick Vieira's Crystal Palace. Gallagher fits into Vieira's 4-3-3 like a fever dream, and has become the most important player in a normally Zaha-reliant set-up. So with that, today we take a look at why Conor Gallagher has been so effective for Crystal Palace, after his first 19 appearances for the Eagles. Here is our latest tactical analysis.

Finding the next Sadio Mane – Tactical Analysis

by Rhys Desmond, posted in Data Analysis, Most Recent, Player Analysis, Premier League, Recruitment & Scouting, Striker, Winger, World Football

Sadio Mane may not have as much versatility in skillset as Firmino and Salah, but his talent levels are supreme. Out of all the candidates, Emmanuel Dennis might be the closest clone. The Nigerian forward is just sheer speed and scoring power, which, without underselling all of this, is Mane to a tee. Then you have Rafael Leao, who is so much more skillful than the Senegalese, but lacks the exact trait we would most want to find in a future Mane replacement (better scoring and shooting accuracy). So with that, we have to go with...

Finding the next Mohamed Salah – Tactical Analysis

by Rhys Desmond, posted in Data Analysis, Most Recent, Player Analysis, Premier League, Recruitment & Scouting, Striker, Winger, World Football

As we found out, finding Mohamed Salah's replacement at Liverpool is a tough task. He's a strangely unique player, who does just about everything in the game to great effect. Nobody will ever replace his goal-scoring presence for the Reds, and that much always needs to be taken into consideration. So with that, we've done something a bit crazy.