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Alex

@AlexanderBrkr

May 12

Mythbusting: Jonathan David 🇨🇦

A player I've been watching on a regular basis since he moved to Lille in 2020 - five years ago now 😆

But, with his contact up, the time to move on has finally come. And, whoever signs him, is getting a player with some unique gifts...

History + Profile 📖

This will be a longer section than usual, but I think David's career trajectory is really interesting, especially as his role has changed a lot. If you just want the pure analysis, skip to the next couple of tweets :)

2020-21: The First Season 👶

David struggled at first at Lille. I remember him saying that he underestimated the quality of the league. After scoring 18 goals in his final season at Gent, it took him three months to score one Ligue 1 goal for Lille.

He often looked off physically too, which wouldn't be the first time someone has looked that way when moving to France.

Still, the 2020-21 season is a famous one: Lille won the Ligue 1 title that year. And David played a crucial role in the second half of the season!

He was basically the run-in-behind guy for Burak Yilmaz. The pair played upfront together in a 4-4-2 under Christophe Galtier in a counter-attacking system. David's role in this then, was relatively one dimensional. Offer runs in behind, help finish off counter attacks.

The form picked up, and he finished the season with 13 goals. A lot of these were crucial in Lille winning the title too.

He scored the winner against PSG in March of that year, a goal which I remember being billed as the title-sealer.

But, he'd go on to make more valuable contributions, including scoring in a 3-2 comeback win against Lyon, a 3-0 derby win against Lens with three games to go, and in the final game of the season to clinch the title.

A strong first season, in the end.

2021-22: The 'bad' season 😐

Lille's title defence was absolutely horrible. Under Jocelyn Gourvennec, they finished 10th - nearly 40 points behind PSG. Tactically...yeah there wasn't much to praise here. It was a weak immitation of Galtier's 4-4-2 mostly.

Yet, David *still* managed to score 13 non-penalty goals. He was the club's top scorer, something he hadn't managed the previous year when Yilmaz hit 16 in Ligue 1 (what a player btw, that season for Yilmaz was incredible 🇹🇷👑).

Not much I think to add here on David's profile developing, but again it was impressive he managed to keep scoring goals despite such a poor season for the club. Although, one caveat is that he only scored in two games in the second half of the 21-22 season. Went on quite a barren streak there...

2022-2024: The Paulo Fonseca years 🇵🇹

Fonseca changed Lille's system to a 4-2-3-1, and put a much greater emphasis on maintaining possession of the ball.

While David had evolved past just being a run-in-behind ST, dropping in to link play quite often - this now became a large responsibility of his. Particularly last season, where he'd often drop into the L10 spaces during build-up to try and launch attacks, as Lille baited the press Roberto De Zerbi-style.

This saw David's touches in midfield greatly increase, as well as the number of progressive passes he was receiving. It was a pretty significant role change, attempting more passes as he linked play together more often.

Without the ball though, David's responsibilities changed even further.

Lille went from a counter-attacking team happy to sit off, to one looking to press high under Fonseca, to dominate territory.

Now, Fonseca's OOP coaching isn't great, as he tended to change system on a game-to-game basis and still not cover himself in glory.

For David though, this was another important period of education. He had to learn to lead the press, keep midfielders in his cover shadow...basically all the qualities needed of a modern pressing forward.

2024-25: Final season (?)

Bruno Genesio took over from Fonseca, and has given Lille a bit more tactical flexibility, at least in intent.

They're happier to sit back and counter, a bit like under Galtier, against tough opposition. But, they still tend to dominate play against weaker teams.

Personally, I think we've seen David operate in the most complete fashion since arriving at Lille. He's tasked with both linking play together, and providing danger with runs in behind defences.

Basically: David has had a lot of responsibilities since moving to France. He's evolved as a player, and I think in terms of profile, you can categorise him as an all-rounder.

He's comfortable:
▪️playing with his back to goal
▪️linking play together
▪️ operating on the last line
▪️ running the channels
▪️ running in behind

I don't think it's up for debate that he's been great in France. He's contributed to 72 G/A in the last three seasons in the league alone...hah!

The question is, how well will his qualities translate to another league?

Let's find out!

Positives 🟢

The best place to start is David's ability to link play together. I think he's really good at this.

Despite being under 6ft, I think he's more than capable of playing with his back to goal and handling tough, strong CBs. He has good upper and lower body strength, and shows good technique when receiving the ball.
▪️ Moves his arms back
▪️Sticks his lower body into the defender
▪️ And tends to stay up, keeping good balance as he receives

I've also seen him muscle defenders off the ball who start with control of it. He's quite a stocky player, and I think it helps a lot in these situations.

But what helps the MOST, is the fact that he can execute accurate first-time passes on both feet.

This is something that's known about David, and his ability to strike the ball with his weak foot is a shooting positive we will get to later. But, what often gets missed is how valuable this trait is for your target man.

It means that when defenders mark David, they have little clue as to where he's going to bounce the ball off. He has completely open passing angles.

I will say that I have noted his touch to be a bit loose at times. However, it doesn't give me too much concern, because I do think David is generally pretty secure back to goal.

I also don't think it's a technical issue, more just when he's under heavy pressure.

His decisions are generally good with his back to goal. I think he likes to keep security of the ball, which means he'll pick out the safe pass quite often. However, is there's a player making a run beyond him - or someone in space out wide - David will make that flick or switch towards them.

He can also spin his marker too.

He consistently scans before receiving the ball(side note, think he could scan a bit more but still), which means he's got a good idea if there's space he can turn into.

David is also deceptively quick. I say deceptively because - and I'm not a running expert here so take these notes with a pinch of salt, but:
▪️I think he tends to take quite small steps, and small strides
▪️ Which is perhaps the reason why David tends to accelerate quite slowly

Once he gets going though, he's definitely someone capable of getting away from defenders chasing behind him.

And this is a lethal quality when paired with his intelligence off the ball.

To put it simply: I adore David's movement 😆

He's good at hiding runs, he's good at bending runs to stay on side, and he's just constantly active.

Make a run in behind that's not found? David quickly swivels and looks to receive ball to feet instead.

And that's not *just* about dropping a bit off the defensive line either. I love David's positional intelligence, something which may well be down to the years under Fonseca. He'll seek those pockets of space to move into, both deep and beyond him. He's a really valuable asset for Lille with the ball.

This also extends to his work out of possession. As we spoke about in the last section (if you read it all, sorry it was quite long), David has been educated in how to press. He can provide pretty good intensity with diagonal pressure against CBs.
-

Now, we've spent a lot of time here talking about a strikers' qualities away from goal. That's partly down to the fact the negatives section is coming up (sorry).

But! Don't get your pitchforks out yet. I think David's traits allow him to create a lot of problems for opposition defences.

Firstly, there's his creativity. This is a striker who has made 11 league assists in the past three seasons, and once again this is down to his ability to play passes on both feet.

When he makes those runs in behind, not just from the halfway line mind you but also in and around the box, he can play cutbacks from *both* sides. And, he's generally pretty good at both spotting a teammate, AND finding them with a driven low cross 👍

The technique is clean here, and it makes David able to provide the type of threat you'd want from your winger (at times).

You won't be surprised to know that someone who has scored so many goals is generally pretty good at finishing too. And yes, this is helped by his ability to shoot on his weaker left foot,

Just as he can cross from both sides, David can finish first-time across goal from both sides.

I think this is his specialist trait in front of goal: hitting first-time inside of the boot shots across goal, usually catching defenders + goalkeeper off guard. Watch the goal against Dortmund for example.

I also think he's a pretty reliable finisher 1v1. That may sound off, considering David has a mixed record in terms of overperforming his xG. I think there are reasons for that...

...but, when it's him and the keeper, David tends to stay composed. He can pick his spot pretty well, provided it means he's able to shoot with the inside of his boot.

However, sometimes good finishing isn't even needed for David. Something that impresses me a lot about him is the scrappy side to the game. He shows good anticipation and instinct. There's a great goal this season where he sticks a foot out to deflect a low shot into the net. There's plenty of rebounds where David is the first to react.

Pair this instinct with his movement in general, and a pretty functional Lille team, and you get a very prolific player at finding touches inside the box.

As you can see below, in a graphic courtsey of @mygameplanai , David ranks VERY high for passes received in Zone 17. For context, he’s received the ball 79 times in this position, this season…Haaland, obviously in more packed boxes but still, is on 72 times. That’s in the same number of games.

Is David as good at Haaland? Lmao no. But, it does speak to his movement and positioning, which married with his shooting, makes him a very dangerous threat.

Read 5 tweets

Alex

@AlexanderBrkr

Apr 28

Mythbusting: Jamie Gittens 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

The 20-year-old Englishman is the talk of the town. There's a lot of hype, and plenty of criticism flying his way.

That...is about fair, imo.

As you can find out below, Gittens has a lot of room for improvement 😬but a ton of potential 🔥

History + Profile 📖

Gittens is basically in his second season of being a senior pro. Before that, he was at Reading and then Manchester City's academy, and he has made appearances for Dortmund's U19 side.

Since the midpoint of the 2023-24 season, Gittens has gradually integrated himself into Dortmund's first-team squad. He made 14 Bundesliga starts last season, and has made 20 in 2024-25.

The returns in terms of goals and assists have been more significant this season though; 11 G/A in the league ranks him as one of Dortmund's most impactful players 👍

However...

The bulk of those G/A came in the first half of the season. He hit five goals across seven games from November -> January 14th, but has managed just one since then, in ALL comps.

He's also been benched recently, starting just three Bundesliga games since February 1st.

So, he's going through ups and downs, it's fair to say.

Something else that has changed this season is Gittens' position. While he has, on occasion, played on the right, he has spent muchhh more time on the left compared to last season.

And, after watching his minutes on the right, I've only become more convinced that Gitten's home is as a LW. He is much more comfortable on that side, and I don't think it's worth even criticising his output on the right as a result.

Further notes in terms of profile include:
▪️Gittens spends a lot of time waiting on the touchline to receive the ball
▪️He's comfortable taking it to the byline, as he's pretty good on passing/crossing/shooting with his left foot
▪️But generally he wants to cut inside on his favoured right
▪️He could also possibly play as an inside forward, as he looks comfortable in central areas

One thing that should be highlighted is the environment Gittens has played in.

Yes, Dortmund had a good run at the end of last season under Edin Terzic, but tactically speaking, Gittens has played in some pretty poor sides.

Particularly this season under Nuri Sahin, where at various points he was becoming the saviour of this poor Dortmund side. I publicly called Sahin's Dortmund the worst (relatively speaking) side I've watched all season.

This experience has definitely had some negative consequences that we'll touch on later, mainly in terms of Gittens' tactical maturity in my opinion.

Still, let's get into the positives! As there are still plenty of them!

Positives 🟢

There's no better place to start than Gittens' dribbling. While there are definitely ways he can become a stronger threat 1v1, the foundation we're working with here is *excellent*.

Firstly, Gittens is absolutely rapid. One of the fastest accelerators I've watched this season. He's unique in that he's quick enough to escape being doubled up, provided there's space for him to knock the ball into. It signals just how efficient he could be out wide.

The speed he can reach feels effortless too It's not like he struggles to change direction/slow down once he gets going at full tilt - he's a very agile player, capable of quickly making large changes of direction.

He can't be brought down or held back easily either. I think perhaps his biggest strength is his resistance to challenges 💪
▪️If he's being pulled back, he'll use his arm to beat the defender away
▪️ If he's going for a 50/50 about to be shoved, Gittens has great core strength. I can't remember seeing him get physically overwhelmed, and can actually remember him shoving opponents to the floor.

These tools alone are enough to be successful out wide, but what makes Gittens an elite 4+ dribbles-p90 winger is his control of the ball with both feet (albeit, mainly his stronger right foot).

The best way to explain this is to talk you through a typical 1v1 situation with Gittens:

1⃣ He'll receive the ball with space between him and the defender (good intelligence shown to create separation on a consistent basis)
2⃣ He'll start creeping towards the defender, using his right foot to keep the ball with him
3⃣ He'll throw in some hops and step overs, looking to unbalance the defender
4⃣ Then, generally, he cuts inside after luring the defender in close enough and bursting away from them...
...OR, he can use quick footwork to shift the ball right -> left -> right, usually bouncing it between his two feet

The result is a 47.5% success rate.

That may feel low, but it actually ranks in the 70th percentile on FBref.

Or in other words, being able to beat your man around 50% of the time, when you're already attempting 8 dribbles p90, is a pretty good number. ESPECIALLY for a 20-year-old.

But could it be better?

Absolutely.

This is the positives section so we won't drone on too long here, but some areas to improve imo are:
🔻Right-foot reliance. Think Gittens is getting too comfortable using his right foot to manipulate the ball, and that makes him a bit predictable, more inclined to cut inside.
🔻Think he could use his body more to dupe defenders into thinking he'll go one way, before going the other. He tends to rely more on just quick footwork.

Still, like I said, Gittens is already a pretty good dribbler. If he can avoid major injuries, there's no reason to think he can't be one of the best in the world in future.

----

The following isn't really a positive, but I felt mean putting it in the negative section (sorry).

Gittens shooting...

It's not great.

He may have scored 8 Bundesliga goals this season from a NpxG of 3.5 (lol), but there are plenty of issues. The reason it's in this section though, is that I'm not quite as pessimistic as others online.

The main critique of Gittens in front of goal is his shot selection. This is absolutely a problem, as while he doesn't take a huge amount of shots from range...the ones he does tend to be from REALLY far out.

On a similar note, Gittens is guilty of taking shots from impossible angles.

Think, using the inside of his right foot from the right side of the pitch, near the byline. As in, sidefooting it, across goal...from the byline.

What could you hope to achieve here?

He also telegraphs his shots pretty clearly, which makes him quite easy to defend against. Defenders can get in the way by the time he takes his shot.

The result is that Gittens has an NPxG per shot of 0.07, which is pretty low. It's not horrendous; It's the same number as Nico Williams, but a bit higher than Jeremy Doku.

Noni Madueke for further comparison, sits on 0.11.

Basically; Gittens could telegraph his shots less, and in general take them from better positions.

HOWEVER, I do think there are solid fundamentals here 👍

Firstly, Gittens can get great power on his right foot, and doesn't need much room/backlift.

He does have a tendency for hitting his shots quite low, and also struggles to contain his power from range. Sometimes, he'll blow a shot miles off target.

Still, with that power already there, it feels like this is a skill that can be improved. I'd say that Gittens has quite a high ceiling in front of goal, he's just starting from close to the floor.

Read 6 tweets

Alex

@AlexanderBrkr

Apr 14

Mythbusting: Liam Delap 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

The most time I've spent watching one player for these. If you're hoping for me to say that Liam Delap is ready to *start* consistently for a UCL team, you might be disappointed.

However, my assessment of Delap is still one of my most positive ones!

History + Profile 📖

Delap has actually wracked up quite a bit of senior experience. He has over 4k minutes of Championship football across spells with Stoke, Preston and Hull City.

I watched a little bit of Delap at Hull, where he was on loan last season, but the bulk of this analysis has been done on Delap's time at Ipswich.

There's obviously not much history to cover here, but there is a lot of points that need to be raised before we get into the actual analysis.

That's because I'm happy for many of Delap's flaws - the location he takes shots from, his decision-making, to name two - to be excused by the environment he is currently in 👍

They are still things that would need to change, assuming he went to a side like Man Utd. However, it's really difficult to criticise him, considering the environment he plays in.

What we can say is that Delap has been used as Ipswich's ST 28 times this season, mainly as a lone #9. His main priorities have been:
▪️Receive the ball back to goal, latch on to clearances
▪️Lay the ball off to teammates to start attacks
▪️Run the channels, try and carry the ball towards goal
▪️Score (please).

That last point isn't just a cry for help from Kieran McKenna but also the Ipswich fans, who have seen their side score barely over once a game this season.

This is a really weak team (albeit under a good coach) attempting to compete at the highest level.

Before we get into Delap's strengths & weaknesses, we need to give him some more excuses.

Delap, a 22-year-old, has been asked to deal physically with some of the world's most imposing defenders in his first season of Premier League football.

He's also been asked to, at times, be a one-man attack.

There's often little support, and barely been an occasion where he's had a clear goalscoring chance.

Put simply: I'm not going to be harsh on him. Mythbusting threads are meant to be boring, they are meant to go against the hype, but they shouldn't be needlessly critical.

Still, I might still be unfair in parts of my analysis. It's worth saying that I was pretty negative on Delap in early viewings. So feel free to point anything too harsh out.

Positives 🟢

We can't talk about Delap's biggest strengths without talking about his biggest strength....his, well, strength!

Delap is massive and rides pressure incredibly well. I went back through his earlier games and he's definitely improved, but even in August he was dealing with the Premier League pretty well.

He can still be handled by the likes of Van Dijk and Konate, but most defenders are fair game. And it's not just his mass, it's the way he uses his body. Delap is great at using his arms to keep defenders away, using his legs to protect the ball, making sure there is an obstacle between the ball and the defender.

And, when he's running, he also uses his arms to keep players behind him from getting too close. So, he's using his strength in two different ways here to benefit the play.

Put simply, Delap can already comfortably resist pressure with his back to goal. Something many STs cannot do and will likely never do in the PL.

That also extends to his aerial ability. He has a 45% aerial win rate which, considering the duels he's asked to get into, I think is pretty respectable. But man, he can get so high in these duels, he has an EXCELLENT leap.

He hasn't scored any goal with his head which I think is disappointing. Just 1/24 attempts. There was one really bad miss a few games ago. But, it's something that I bet will change, because he generally shows good accuracy in how he directs his headers in open play 👍

And to be fair, Ipswich have attempted the fewest crosses in the Premier League. Perhaps it's more of a tactical issue rather than a Delap one.

Anyway, back to physicality.

Delap is still a bit raw in how he uses his strength. He is committing 2.5 fouls per game and I'd wager most of them are avoidable - these silly pushes into the backs of defenders or just COMPLETE headloss-shoves off the ball need to be eradicated from his game ❌

Still, there's such a good base to work with here.

It also helps that not only does Delap hit with the force of a train but he can run like one too.

I think it's been well-documented that he has pretty good pace over larger distances, but I was surprised at how quick he can be over the first 5-10 metres. Don't often see that with a guy of his size.

It helps him burst away from defenders, and makes him more dangerous to defend in channels. You should NOT be diving in to tackles against Delap.

And yes, I wrote this before he sent Chalobah back to Crystal Palace yesterday 🤣

So, most of these positives have been linked to physicality. And, I'm happy to say that there are brains to match the brawn 🧠

In short:
▪️Delap is a good scanner, checking his shoulder just before receiving a pass (a 'critical scanner' so to speak)
▪️This helps him have a good awareness of space, allowing him to make big touches round corners of defenders
▪️Delap's movement in behind is pretty active. He's always providing an option off the defensive line. This would be a great quality for Man Utd under Amorim especially
▪️He's also good at getting into goalscoring positions, getting into the goal mouth and feeding off scraps
▪️ Delap shows good anticipation out of possession, actively reacting to opponents' build-up and looking to intercept potential passes, or apply pressure to potential receivers. Man City coaching coming in clutch here I guess 💪
▪️Also just think there's real determination in his attacking play. He's desperate to just get one touch on the ball in front of goal, turning crosses into potential goals

To conclude this section: there is a great foundation to work with here. Both physically and mentally, Delap impresses me.

Read 5 tweets

Alex

@AlexanderBrkr

Apr 7

Mythbusting: Castello Lukeba 🇫🇷

For most people, Lukeba is one of the best centre-backs on the market. He's left footed, 22 years old, and very highly rated.

I took a deep dive to see if there were any red flags going under the radar...

(Spoiler alert: there wasn't really)

History + Profile 📖

I remember watching Lukeba come through at Lyon, playing in a back four during one of the most tumultuous periods for the club in their recent history. He made 24 and 33 starts in seasons 2021-22 and 2022-23, mainly playing under Peter Bosz and Laurent Blanc.

Bosz did not coach a good defence, but Lukeba always stood out for being pretty strong physically and adept on the ball. When Leipzig paid €30m for him in the summer of 2023, the move made a lot of sense.

Now since then, Lukeba has been a pretty important player for Leipzig. He's even captained them at times, and has usually been a first-choice CB for Marco Rose.

What's been interesting to follow over the last two seasons is his role in both a back four - mainly last season - and a back three - the popular formation this season.

It has meant Lukeba has been used as:
- standard centre-back anchoring the middle of the pitch
- and one providing support in wide areas, almost like a left-back playing in a back three.

He has missed some games this season with a hamstring injury, but that's been his first major injury throughout his career. He's still made 16 appearances in the Bundesliga, on top of 32 last season.

Put simply: Lukeba has played a lot of football for a 22-year-old defender, across two clubs (the former being quite a hostile environment), and adapted to different roles throughout this.

This is a great foundation, and it's helped him become a really nice defender...

Positives 🟢

It's hard to know where to begin here, but the bulk of this section will be under the same general compliment: I think Castello Lukeba is already one of the best CBs in Europe with the ball at his feet ✅

So firstly, good luck pressing him.

Lukeba is around 6ft but doesn't move like a stereotypical centre-back.He's agile and explosive, and is capable of duping defenders with feints/tricks.

Try and press him, and he can easily turn inside or skip past your oncoming challenge. He has excellent control of the ball, I even saw him Cruyff turn an opponent like it was nothing.

Now, once he's past the challenge, Lukeba can start progressing the ball forward. This is something he can do in three ways:
▪️Passing
▪️Carrying
▪️Off-ball runs

Let's start with the first.

Lukeba ranks pretty high for progressive passes per 90. I do think a lot of this will be down to Lukeba playing pretty easy passes out wide, from LCB -> LWB.

However, there's a lack of hesitation with his passing. If he spots a player in a central position, he'll execute the pass very quickly.

Again, it helps a lot that he's so agile, as he's often able to disguise his intention and surprise opponents with the pass he picks out.

The technique he shows is pretty solid too at short-range (we'll come back to long-range later...😬).

Anyway, his passes are usually flat, hit hard, and accurate. He's also capable of hitting passes off his right foot, meaning the angles he can pass from are pretty wide 👍

Then, there's the ball carrying.

As you can probably guess as this is the positives section, Lukeba is a comfortable dribbler. He can move like a left-back at times, and he's great at recognising open space in which to carry in to. Sounds simple, but a lot of CBs just hang back.

I just love how, when playing in a back three, Lukeba will position himself forward in a very aggressive position.

He makes sure that when he's receiving a pass, he's close enough to the opponents block to bait them to jump out and try and press him. He's able to sit so close to it due to his comfort on the ball, and he takes full advantage of this confidence.

The same goes for *after* he plays a pass, as Lukeba is confident in making runs beyond the receiver. Think Inter Milan WCB, a Bastoni. He adds so much dynamism to RB Leipzig's attacking play, it's the dream quality in a WCB.

Okay so, he's good on the ball. What else?

Well the intelligence Lukeba shows on the ball often extends to his defending 🧠

First of all, Lukeba is a very aggressive, switched-on counter-presser. The moment he believes his team are about to lose possession, he charges forward ready to intercept a pass.

Of course, this could be exploited. He's vacating space behind him a lot, and this was something I immediately noted down as a potential weakness 🔻

But after watching Lukeba defend a LOT, I rarely found him committing an error in this regard. If he thinks pressing isn't worth it, he'll retreat. Not to say he won't commit errors in future, just didn't find it to be a noticeable issue on a frequent basis.

He's also a pretty solid defender in a block too. I.e, he keeps his eyes locked between the ball and the player he's marking. Doesn't lose sight of them.

When passes are played in behind, he's quick to read them and recover the ball ahead of the opponent.

I did think, at times, he would allow opponents to get goalside of him when the ball was in another part of the pitch. So, perhaps there's a goal Leipzig will concede at some point where the opponents are able to pump it in behind before Lukeba reacts.

Then again, he could always just beat them to that ball in behind. Something he does quite often, as he is very quick defender 🏃‍♂️

We already spoke about the explosiveness - how quickly Lukeba accelerates - but his top speed also sees him keep up with Bundesliga wingers pretty easily. It helps him defend wide channels very well.

So all in all: Lukeba is a fast, agile defender who's also a pretty good passer, relatively great dribbler, who shows intelligence with and without the ball.

What's missing?

Read 5 tweets

Alex

@AlexanderBrkr

Mar 31

Mythbusting: Alex Baena 🇪🇸

I spent some time watching one of La Liga's most exciting players! If you're searching for a TLDR:

At first, I was pretty disappointed. But, then I found my way back onboard the hype train....

History + Profile 📖

Baena is a 23-year-old 'left winger' who plays for Villarreal. Except, he's not really a left-winger. It's really crucial to get an understanding here.

See, despite playing there in a 4-4-2 system, on paper, Baena is more of a central midfielder. In fact, in the 2022-23 season, the Spaniard was used as a LCM in a 4-3-3.

Since Marcelino took charge in November 2023 though, Baena has been used in quite a weird way.

He does often receive the ball on the left touchline. Particularly in deeper build-up, and when Villarreal have pinned the opposition back in the final third.

In the phases between those though, such as when Villarreal have built into midfield, Baena tends to drift far inside. To maintain width, Cardona, Villarreal's LB, will push forward into that space.

But, as Villarreal move further forward though, Baena will swing back out to the left.

He plays a pretty crucial role here, in the way his side create chances. With Thierno Barry upfront (6ft6 ST), Baena specialises in crosses from the corner of the box, looped to the back post for a runner.

Still, this positional shifting obviously makes Baena's statistical output pretty hard to gauge - some would say pretty useless.

What matters though, of course, is his output in goals and assists. And, over the last two seasons in La Liga, he's contributed to 8 goals and a huge 21 assists.

Now, big flashing sign here:

❗️Baena takes set-pieces. He's good at them, but does weaken the value of the output a tad ❗️

But that's getting away from the point; how do we analyse Baena? As a winger? A midfielder?

I'm going to conduct my points from the perspective that Baena *can* play in midfield.

I'm comfortable saying this at the outset, and justifying it below.

Positives 🟢

Damn I didn't realise how long this section was until I proofread it. Strap in.

The easiest place to start here, is Baena's passing.

There's two aspects to this I want to cover; the technical side, and his vision/decision-making 🧠

I think what a lot of clubs will appreciate about Baena is the amount of different passes he can execute. He's capable of:
▪️Playing nice scoops over the back line, into the path of a team mate
▪️Pinging passes directly into the feet of attackers with the inside of his boot
▪️ Lacing long balls across the pitch
▪️ Playing trivelas
▪️ Curling back-post crosses in (and the amount of curl he can get is crazy)

And, he's able to do this with very little backlift. Baena can loft the ball very high into the air from a standing position. It means he doesn't need much space to execute a pass. He also makes a lot of these passes first-time, adding a real zip to Villarreal's build-up play.

There's literally only one negative note I have on where/when Baena plays a pass:

He has a habit - likely informed by the tactics of Villarreal - of playing blind, first-time passes in behind the defence or across the pitch. I hate it, it rarely works, usually results in giving up possession.

These thoughtless passes are an outlier in a gallery of gorgeous line-breaking passes, or first-time combination passes into teammates in tight spaces, and my favourite: accurate crosses 🎯

Baena will consistently get his head up in wide areas before playing a cross in. He'll wait for the cut back if need be, but won't hesitate to curl a pass round a back line for a runner.

Basically: The eye for the final ball is great, especially for such a young player.

Know what else is great, on a completely separate note? Physicality 💪

Baena is only 5ft9, and I assumed the reason that Marcelino has played Baena as a wide player was due to him being weak in duels.

That assumption was supported by three things:
🔻 Baena only wins a meagre 42% of his ground duels (this is pretty low)
🔻He only wins 45% of his aerial duels
🔻And when Villarreal defend, he's not tasked with defending central areas, but tracking players in wide areas. He's almost like a LWB, not a third midfielder

However, after a lot of careful viewing...I'm really confident that Baena has the tools necessary to play in central midfield 👍

What he lacks in height, he makes up for in bite. He's an incredibly aggressive player. While this does result in a lot of fouls, it means that he's consistently harassing opponents on the ball, using his hands and stabbing his foot in to try and win it back.

Not only that, but on the ball, he's rarely shaken by physically superior defenders. He shows great balance under pressure, both natural and technical. What I mean by that is, when he anticipates a challenge, he'll use his arms and hips to protect himself and stay stable.

Fun fact: he also has a long throw-in. He can reach the six-yard-box from the touchline! 🚀

But back to open-play stuff, it also helps that Baena is a pretty strong presser.

Again, this is down to a combination of qualities. Baena is fast, he can accelerate very quickly. He's also aggressive and shows decent defensive anticipation.

Pair these qualities together and you get someone who can
A). Close players on the ball down very quickly
B). Adapt his body position to intercept passes

So, yeah. This is why I think Baena can play in midfield. He's a top passer, and he has the physicality to do well in central areas.

Also, you really don't want him in wide areas. Let's get on to the negatives.

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Alex

@AlexanderBrkr

Mar 26

Mythbusting: Hugo Ekitike 🇫🇷

There's been a TON of hype around Ekitike - for good reason. He's one of my favourite players to watch.

That said, there is a danger of the hype getting out of control. Here are his strengths, weaknesses, and my verdict on the best team for him.

Quick one-time note:

My previous mythbusting threads have been just one, long ol' post where I discuss all of the above. People clearly like having everything in one place. But, I am going to split these into 4 tweets now, just to make it more digestible!

History + Profile 📖

Hugo Ekitike is someone I've been following since he was at Reims. There, he played in a front two often, and was an exciting yet raw ST in a counter-attacking side.

He then went to PSG, where Christophe Galtier misused him as a target man. As we'll discuss, that's not where Ekitike's strengths lie.

After a miserable first season of being lumped balls and not doing much with them, he was given one Ligue 1 appearance under Luis Enrique before going to Frankfurt on loan in the second half of 2023-24. He has since signed there permanently.

The biggest change though from PSG -> Frankfurt that I *personally* believe to be the case, is in Ekitike's physique. He looks MUCH leaner than it was in Paris.

He was never a target man, but he looks more like a winger than a striker. Like, he's sacrificed a lot of muscle for added agility. There's tons of clips of him destroying defenders with quick feet, moving like someone who is 5ft 6 not 6ft 3 🏃‍♂️

These moments have come across a season that you can broadly split into two halves:
▪️playing alongside Omar Marmoush in a front two; ▪️playing often more as a lone ST after Marmoush went to Man City.

The thing is, Ekitike has kinda played the same in both systems.

He's a ST who:
- likes to avoid contact with defenders
- makes runs in to the channels
- drop into wider areas
- and as a lone #9, often drop off defenders to receive passes + link play.

He's someone who thrives with space ahead of him, something that the Bundesliga often affords him.

On top of that, he:
- Tends to create chances by spinning down the right and crossing in
- Tends to shoot by cutting in from the left, creating space for himself, and getting a shot away
- OR, receiving a cross at the near post or from a cutback.

Now, 13 goals and 4 assists would suggest everything is going well. And, there are certainly a lot of good things we can talk about...

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