Thread by @JohyanCruyff

Enzo Fernandez is one of the most in demand midfielders in the world, but what makes the Argentinian so special? What are his strengths & weaknesses?

THREAD:

Enzo Fernandez is the definition of a controller, he ALWAYS demands the ball & has over 84 passes per game, his heat map for the season shows how he’s constantly involved in the game, here’s his heat map in 14 games vs De Jong’s in 32

His ability to affect all phases of play is also why he gets so many touches, one minute he is dropping next to the centre backs to form a back 3….

And the next he’s part of the attacking front line to chip in with shot creation actions/goal contributions

But what is he like on the ball? Well you’ll struggle to find many midfielders in the world who have a wider passing range than the World Cup’s young player of the tournament, I’m at a loss for words when reading these stats

His main weapon are his switches of play, he strikes through the ball with power & accuracy to find players who are in space on the wing so they have time to either go 1v1 with their man or put a cross in

Switches of play is an area where we’re currently lacking, we only rank 10th for switches in the entire league, Enzo would improve this statistic immensely

His ball striking also translates well into his goal threat, he scored 10 goals in 31 games in his final season at River Plate including 7 in 15 as an advanced 8 in the Copa De Da Liga, he’s a great long shot threat

His long range passing is a cheat code, he completes 9.5 long passes per games with a whopping 76% success rate, for comparison Bernardo Silva, Verratti, Thiago & Kimmich complete 2.4, 3.5, 5.4 & 5.9 respectively

He even once completed 25, yes TWENTY FIVE long passes out of 27 in ONE game 🤯🤯

His clipped balls over the last line of the opposition defence also gives our runners more options, currently only our centre backs come close to providing them but even then they’re further away to runners than our midfielders are to the runners

He also adds disguise to his passing, I know this example may not look like much but that extra half a second can be the difference at the elite level, particularly as his teammates get more used to his quality of passing to make their movement early

Watch how he first passes with power so the receiver has enough time to control the ball, how he separates himself from his marker to receive the ball in space, then the disguise to delay the through ball so Alvarez receives it in time to win the penalty

This leaves the opposition in a predicament, if you play a low block he will find switches to isolated players & can score from range, if you play a mid block he can find clipped passes over the defence as well as through balls, so what if you press high?

Well good luck with that, he has top press resistance to win a foul, spin a player or keep the ball safe to kill the press as the team slowly makes their way up the pitch

Press resistance controllers are so rare to find, you have your Thiago’s, Kova’s & Verratti’s who are constantly injured, you have your Bernardo’s & Pedri’s who are unrealistic to sign, that probably leaves De Jong & Enzo Fernandez who can play at the highest level immediately

Oh & good luck in just hoping to block out spaces because Enzo also happens to be the most progressive midfielder in Europe, he will break the lines & it’s almost impossible to stop him from doing so

He’s also quite physical & wins quite a lot of ground duels, he has that DAWG in him & has great defensive coverage & proved it whilst playing as a 6 for Argentina which isn’t even his main position, his slide tackling is also very impressive

He’s played on the left & right 8 in a 3, a double pivot & a lone 6, he knows when to drop in between the defence & when to attack the box, add that with how many times he receives the ball in space with top decision making & he may have a top tactical understanding of the game

And because of all his strengths he would be capable of playing the role of an 8 as a Klopp or Tuchel would use covering the half spaces & playing from deep as well as an 8 that a Pep or Arteta where they can attack the box & link with teammates in the final third

Benfica even admired his quality so much that they even gave Enzo kit number 13 which was previously worn by club legend Eusebio

So what are his weaknesses? His ball carrying isn’t elite yet mainly due to his lack of top dribbling but that may come over time as he’s only 21, it’s also worth noting Mount & Nkunku are great ball carriers so they could hide that weakness a bit

His other 2 weaknesses are why I don’t want him as the main 6 past this season, he can struggle against dribblers as he gets dribbled past 1.53 times per 90, pairing him with a DM who’s elite defensively balances this out

The other weakness is aerially, Enzo has only won 38% of his aerial duels this season & it’s vital teams have a way to win long balls into midfield to keep possession & stop easy progression from the opposition, partnering him with a tall, physical DM is key IMO

It’s worth noting that mids usually peak around 26, he may learn to deal with dribblers better & become more a viable 6 option (& may start as one short term till a new DM arrives) his tenacity to win duels means although he doesn’t win many aerials, he can force tricky 2nd balls

I didn’t throw this in as a strength or weakness as it’s a small sample size but Enzo has scored 7 out of the 8 penalties he’s taken in his career so it’s an extra option in shootouts, he’s also always been available to play which is really important

End of thread

If you enjoyed, consider giving the original tweet a like & retweet, Enzo is a top midfielder who I would put in the same tier as a Jude Bellingham, he hasn’t hit his peak yet, but that makes him even more frightening 👌

Tagging some people who may be interested in this thread: @CFCCentral3 @Potentsports @matissearmani @FelixJohnston_ @ConnCFC @AlexGoldberg_ @TobzHollywood @DarkerDarks @CFCJaffs @LB23_CFC @SeunMobolaji @TheBlueDodger @VdykCFC @dreezyCFC @SO_livendirect @Merkostt @Blue_Footy

QUICK ADDITION: the video posted for the clip underneath this tweet is the wrong video for those confused, it was the one about Alvarez winning the penalty, check the caption for the tweet below then watch this video to see what I meant

This was the caption meant for the video above

https://twitter.com/johyancruyff/status/1610208844025667585