Thread by @PremLeaguePanel

The first part in our analysis series of Jadon Sancho returning to the Premier League.

🔎Part 1 - Jadon Sancho to LFC: an analysis thread

First some quality video analysis on how he would fit in at LFC:

1. Rotation of Salah & Mané in a 4-3-3

•Salah - 88/96 league games since 2017/18
•Mane – 81/96
•Although both have excellent injury records now, both will be 28 at the end of the season & the fact both are explosive players may mean they need to be rotated more to stay fit

• Klopp reluctance to play Shaqiri in the front 3 shows that he wants someone with raw pace in the front 3 – changes to a 4-2-3-1 when Shaqiri comes into the team

• Sancho's versatility – although he's played 50 times as a right winger,he's also made 16 appearances on the left

2. Tactical variation in a 4-2-3-1
• May extract the best from Salah - since start of last season, he has 17 goals & 4 assists in 18 starts as a central striker
•LFC now have someone who can deputise for Firmino in this system as a 10,in Minamino,so it would fit with this buy

- Minamino excellent at dropping deep from an attacking position to take the ball on the half-turn. And can then break thru defensive lines to play a penetrative pass or dribble with his excellent close-control and pace
- He hasn’t played in this role exactly but has played in

- Plus Minamino has the work rate to drop into midfield so double pivot isn’t overwhelmed by teams with a midfield 3

Some excellent Minamino video analysis is provided here:

3. Succession planning – Mané,Firmino & Salah will all be 28 by end of season and Sancho who already has two seasons of competing at the top end of a top 5 European league will bridge the gap from them to inexperienced youngsters Elliott (16) & Brewster (19) and also lead them.

4. Sancho will be attracted by working with Klopp- brilliant development of wide players.Gets them to an elite attacking output immediately
•Reus– 144 mins per goal/assist as a winger at Monchengladbach➡️107 mins in first season at BVB
•Mané– 130 mins➡️116➡️88 (this season)

•Salah – 95 mins (Roma)--> 68 mins (first season at LFC)

Klopp also improves versatility of a player and makes them more well-rounded as players:
•Reus mainly played as a 2nd striker at Monchengladbach. Klopp then got him playing often at LW & RW too

•Mané also mainly played as a 2nd striker off Pelle at Southampton. Klopp used him as a traditional right winger in 2016/17 and now increasingly used in a playmaker role off the left
• Salah has often been used as a central striker as well as his normal right wing role

5. Right-sided dynamic of Trent-Ox-Sancho
•Wonderful balance between:
- Trent crossing from deeper positions
-Ox driving inside
-Sancho constantly taking on the LB & getting into the box
•We saw it in the 7-0 thrashing of Montenegro - trio created 5 big chances between them

6. Defensive side of his game- fits into Klopp's geggenpressing philosophy:
•Sancho has recovered the ball in the middle & attacking thirds 11 times in the UCL this season
•Mané - 13
•Salah - 8

Plus he also has a willingness to track his full-back in a similar manner to Mané.

Stay tuned as we will be analysing where else Sancho could end up in the Premier League, very very soon