Thread by @CoachesVoice

A THREAD! 👇 Ismaïla Sarr has been linked with a move away from Watford this window with Manchester United and Liverpool reportedly interested. Our coaches take a closer look at the attacker and analyse why he is more of a threat in a counter-attacking system 🐝 #WatfordFC

Sarr’s main threat is on the counter-attack because he can carry the ball at pace. That was useful for a team that spent long periods of 2019/20 out of possession, and often at their most dangerous on the break 🐝 #WatfordFC

At the moment of a transition, Sarr springs into life and his teammates know that if he has space to run into he will often beat a defender to the ball. Midfielders will therefore often play round-the-corner passes into the right channel for Sarr to chase 🐝 #WatfordFC

Once he gets into space on the wing, Sarr looks to open enough of a gap between himself and any defender so that he can get his body between his opponent and the ball 🐝 #WatfordFC

If he is unable to forge a direct path in that way, Sarr will try and get into a position from which he can put a low ball across goal. He could makes his deliveries more targeted – he tends to put the ball into a dangerous area rather than aiming for a teammate 🐝 #WatfordFC

Counter-attacking opportunities are likely to be less frequent in the Championship but Sarr is also adept at standing his opponent up and whipping a ball into the space behind an opposing defence for a forward to attack 🐝 #WatfordFC

In the way that many wide midfielders lacking the pace to beat an opponent are able to bend a cross with enough curl to ensure it stays away from the goalkeeper, Sarr is able to get a cross into the area without the space to dribble past his opponent 🐝 #WatfordFC

Sarr remains in his very early 20s and will undoubtedly improve further. He could be a brilliant signing for someone willing to gamble on that potential, or if he stays at Watford he could be one of the best players in the Championship in 2020/21 🐝 #WatfordFC