Mythbusting: Xavi Simons 🇳🇱

"Why hasn't anyone signed Xavi Simons! He's amazing!"

Here's a thread on why I think Xavi Simons hasn't been signed yet. In short:
🔴His weaknesses make him an awkward positional fit
👀But I still really love him! Profile 📖

No history?

These threads are meant to be digestible, and they've recently been hitting 15,000 characters (sorry). So, in this section, we're not going to delve too much about Simons' background, and just about how he's been used at RB Leipzig.

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Now, the 22-year-old did get an injury last season, so the following words reflect his position over the last two seasons.

RB Leipzig, under Marco Rose (in charge for the majority of Simons' time), have switched between a 4-4-2 and a 3-4-3 system.

Either way, Leipzig want to attack quickly, mainly through short passes, so Simons often leads fast breaks, driving with the ball through the middle. A context that can be replicated at many teams.

But, let's talk about more settled possession 🧐

The former system, the 4-4-2, is definitely the one Simons has played the most football in. He has started as a LM, but really, a LAM. He has a free role to drift across the pitch, both horizontally and vertically.

For example, during early build-up, you might see Simons:
▪️Receive out wide around the halfway line, with a full-back right behind him
▪️ Drift behind the opposition midfield, looking to eventually receive the ball between the lines
▪️ Drop deep, almost like a double pivot, playing a one-two with his centre-back and looking to race into the space he just created behind him
▪️ Or, drifting all the way over to the right! (This is rarer though)

In general, I think you can describe Simons as a ball-to-feet player. He wants to be driving towards defenders, making the final pass or taking a shot from outside of the box. A true number 10, in a way! 🔟

That said, he can do this in wide areas. He's not uncomfortable on the touchline. Wouldn't describe him as a winger though, for reasons we'll get into...

The final point on his profile I'll mention, is that at Leipzig, he's obviously expected to work hard off the ball. At around 5ft7, he isn't the strongest player, so he tends to focus on pressing full-backs.

Basically: behaves like a midfielder in possession, but defends like a winger.

That should be enough preparation to dive into the deep end of the positives!

Mythbusting: Carlos Baleba 🇨🇲

Sooner or later, there's bound to be a bid lodged for Brighton's latest No 6 off their conveyor belt of talent. But, how well do you actually know Baleba?

Here's some detail on what's great about him, and how ready he is for the elite level ✍️ History + Profile 📖

Baleba is still a relative newcomer to senior football. He was snatched from Lille before even making 7 Ligue 1 starts two years ago!

He doubled that in his first season at Brighton under Roberto De Zerbi, but it was only last season where the 21-year-old became a full starter.

It's worth saying, that Brighton have changed approach both with and without the ball a lot this season under Fabian Hurzeler. Baleba has been part of a double pivot, played as a lone No 6, and even filled in as a CB...

Still, there has been some clear changes compared to RDZ. For example:
▪️ Brighton made around 50 touches less p90 in their own defensive third last season, showing a weaker emphasis on building out from the back.
▪️On top of that, they attempted more long passes.

This makes sense, as Hurzeler has wanted to access 4v4 scenarios more directly than RDZ, often bypassing midfield to do so.

These are pretty significant stylistic changes, and as a result, Baleba's output across the two seasons has changed.

▪️ He's gone from 66 touches p90 to 57, receiving the ball 10x less p90
▪️ A larger proportion of those touches are coming in the final third, and he's getting on the ball less often in the def third
▪️ Despite this, his progressive passes have increased
▪️ As have his progressive carries

On those latter two points, it's worth talking about how Baleba receives the ball ahead of a full nuanced breakdown.

You might think that it's No 6's job to drop in front of the defenders, receive the ball, and move it forward. Be that through turning their marker, or evading them to get into a good position to receive the ball from a CB.

Conversely, we sometimes consider midfielders who do not do that as 'bad' in football discourse. I still remember Fred/McTominay getting slammed for their lack of movement behind opposition pressers.

Now, I may just be speaking for myself here, but that's certainly the way I tended to view things. Which meant, until Jon Mackenzie banged my head a bit, I was underwhelmed by Baleba - because he is not dropping in a way you'd expect.

Think of it like this:

We think of No 6s being the 'second' man. CB passes to DM -> DM moves the ball forward to the third man.

Well, Baleba wants to be the third man.

So, when there's a marker infront of him, he'll hold position. The idea being...
1⃣ CB has the ball
2⃣ Guy in front of Baleba presses CB
3⃣ CB moves it out to LB
4⃣ LB passes inside to Baleba
5⃣ Baleba is now in a ton of space, free of his marker, and he can carry/pass forward

This is very nerdy stuff, especially for the history + profile section, but I wanted to get this context in early. It's hugely important to keep in mind, as we dive into the following sections.

Mythbusting: Alejandro Garnacho 🇦🇷

I think there's quite a negative perception of Garnacho online, not just for off-field stuff, but for his actual ability.

However, when watching him across his time at United, I actually really liked what I saw...mostly 👀 History + Profile 📖

I'm not sure you need a full dive into Garnacho's history, as we've seen it in the Premier League in front of our eyes.
▪️He broke in to Manchester United's first team under Erik ten Hag
▪️ He played a bit-part role in the Dutchman's first season, making 19 league apps (mostly as a sub)
▪️That went up to 36 in 2023-24, including 30 starts, as Garnacho became an important player
▪️ He put up fewer starts, 23, in 2024-25

Perhaps this will go down badly, but I'd like to take a different look through this time, from the perspective of: just how hard has it been to perform in this Man Utd team? 🤔

So, what you need to know about him profile wise for now, is:
🔹 Garnacho prefers playing on the LW, cutting in on his right, but is still pretty good on his left
🔹 He's fast, agile, thrives in transition
🔹 Good at linking up for one-twos
🔹He's not particularly strong, and can get bulldozed with his back to goal
🔹Finally, he thrives with an overlapping FB, because he tends to drive inside (not cut), leaving space for the overlap. He tends to weight the passes to them pretty well.

I know he hasn't played these passes as much recently, but this is DEFINITELY a positive thing seen in earlier footage, I'll die on that hill.

Anyway, let's take another look then, at the past two seasons in Manchester 🔴

2023-24:

This is Man Utd's worst season in the Premier League era, so already, not the best place to bring in talent.

Garnacho does get platformed in a decent way, as he's able to cut in on the LW, his preferred position.

However, Man Utd have a problem: their RW position. Antony isn't playing well, Amad doesn't get brought in until near the end of the season, which means that Garnacho ends up getting shifted to the right.

This isn't the end of the world, and to his testement, Garnacho does perform pretty well on this side. However, it's still unnatural for him, he wants to cut in on his right but is having to do so on his left instead.

That's not the only issue though, because when Garnacho does get minutes back on the left, he's not supported particularly well from his FB.

This is because, in Tyrell Malacia and Luke Shaw, Man Utd basically didn't have a left-back from August 2023 until January 2025, when they signed Patrick Dorgu.

So, remember me saying Garnacho's showed positive signs of linking up with an overlapping FB?

Well, this was quite often the result in this time:
▪️ Garnacho receives the ball out wide, drives through space into the middle
▪️He lures the opposition RB inside towards him, and there's a gap left
▪️ Man Utd's LB makes a run, inbetween the boundaries of the edge of the box and the goal
▪️Garnacho plays a pass between the RB and RCB, into the path of this LB
▪️ It's a well-weighted pass, it's a great opportunity for them to play a cross or cut the ball back
▪️ Unfortunately, this isn't Luke Shaw, it's Diogo Dalot playing on the wrong side. He tries to cross on his left foot, it's bad, and it goes out for a goal kick.

That wasn't a theoretical situation, this was something I noted down on more than one occasion in 2023-24 and the beginning of 2024-25.

Speaking of which...

2024-25:

This is Man Utd's worst season in the Premier League era, so already, not the best place to platform talent.

Of course, the defining feature of last campaign was the managerial change from Erik ten Hag to Ruben Amorim.

Now, Amorim's issues have been VERY well documented. We've also already covered the LB problem - Dalot still goes on to play around 1.7k minutes at LB/LWB in 2024-25.

However, perhaps something you haven't thought about is how Garnacho got shifted around, again.

Let's focus back on the early part of my profile. He's someone who likes to connect with teammates in one-twos, then run into space.

That works as a winger, because you often have a LCM and a ST to connect with, as well as a LB overlapping.

As a No 10 in a 3-4-3 however, you effectively shift into one of the more advanced positions on the pitch. This means, for Garnacho:
▪️ He's now receiving with his back to goal
▪️ He's duelling with CBs rather than RBs
▪️ He's often got limited forward passing options
▪️There's often less space for him to exploit

It may not *seem* like a huge change, especially as he likes to drift inside anyway. But, the starting position means a lot here. It's not surprising that as the season went on, Amorim started allowing Garnacho to take up wider positions in this role, with the LWB often coming inside.

Still, EVEN if you think this is rubbish and he shouldn't be defended in this way due to the context of the team...He's contributed to 48 goals and assists in 148 appearances for Man Utd.

How much higher might that tally have been if he:
A). Consistently played on the left
B). Consistently had a top LB overlapping
C). Consistently played in the same system

Also, a reminder: he's still 20 years old. There are definitely negatives to discuss, but let's continue the positivity...

Mythbusting: Nick Woltemade 🇩🇪

It was only a matter of time until Nick Woltemade started getting links across Europe. He's a unique striker, with a ton of qualities, a few weaknesses, and some myths to bust... History + Profile 📖

Woltemade is a 23-year-old German ST, and a product of Werder Bremen's youth setup. He only transferred to Stuttgart last summer!

Going back further than the move to Seb Hoeness' side, it's quite interesting to see how Woltemade struggled to make an impact at the seemingly lesser club in Werder 🟩

Werder went down to the Bundesliga 2. in 2021, and since being promoted in 2022, they've finished 13th, 9th, and 8th this season.

You'd think that Woltemade's path to Stuttgart, a side that had just qualified for the Champions League in May 2024, would have been earned off the back of excellent goalscoring form.

However, after being loaned to SV Elversberg in 2022-23, a third-tier side at the time, Woltemade managed just 2 goals in 30 Bundesliga apps 😅

Of course, most of these weren't starts. But it wasn't glowing form, which is also surprising, considering Woltemade's profile and Werder's playstyle.

Now, if you're unaware, Woltemade is *massive*. He's a whopping 198cm tall, around 6ft 6/7.

Werder meanwhile, attempted the fifth-most long balls in the Bundesliga last season. They're a counter-attacking side that like to play quite direct. Why didn't Woltemade the giant work out there?

I have a theory we'll come back to...👀

Anyway, since moving to Stuttgart, Woltemade has made a pretty seismic impact.

Not necessarily in terms of goals (although, 10 non-penalty goals in 17 league starts/28 apps is still very impressive); but impact on how Sebastian Hoeness' side have played.

In 2023-24, they were a team that looked to bait opponents forward before trying to cut through them with short passes, and go forward. Think De Zerbi.

This season, they have retained this objective - it's clearly a strong principle for Hoeness.

However, rather than always playing short passes, Woltemade has added another dimension to their ball progression, enabling them to go long at times.

Still, it's important to point out early on that Woltemade isn't really a target man!

Yes he is huge, yes he can dominate physically, but what he really likes doing is getting on the ball. He'll often drop quite far off centre-backs, and even out to the left wing, to turn and run at defenders.

And I mean run - we'll get into it, (spoiler alert, in the positives section), but Woltemade ranks HIGH for dribbles/carries.

This is showcased in what I'd describe as his general responsibilities on the pitch:
▪️ Be ready to receive long balls
▪️ Lay off passes to surrounding team mates
▪️ Spray passes to runners out wide
▪️ Navigate tight spaces and carry the ball forward
▪️ Drop off defenders in the final third to link play, and create chances
▪️ Get into the box for shooting chances
▪️ Press high, usually pressing the CB then moving on to the FB

To really leave you with this impression, here's two maps from @mygameplan of Woltemade over the past season.

First are his successful ball receipts, which show how Woltemade consistently likes to drop into wide areas, rather than stick to the middle like a target man.

Second is dribbles attempted, which again shows that he's often taking players on in wide areas, where you might expect a winger to do so. (🟠 unsuccessful, rest are successful in some form)

So, now we have a better understanding of what type of striker Woltemade is, what's actually good about him?

Mythbusting: Angelo Stiller 🇩🇪

Stuttgart's #6 has just turned 24-years-old, and has long been hyped as one of the top midfielders in the Bundesliga. It's likely we'll see some links to some very big clubs soon.

But does Stiller bring enough to the table? Let's see 🤔 History + Profile 📖

As a reminder, this section serves as a brief overview of Stiller's career so far, and then a description of the role he has been used in.

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I wasn't watching much of Angelo Stiller before he moved to Stuttgart. I doubt many of you were, and it might be tempting to think he's been there most of his career, but that's not actually the case.

Stiller came through at Bayern Munich's academy, but was let go by Hansi Flick because according to one report, he wasn't "fast enough" to compete in midfield.

After moving to Hoffenheim on a free in July 2021, Stiller enjoyed a decent first Bundesliga season 🔵

He started 18 league games, and made 26 appearances in total. Funnily enough, his manager at the time was Sebastian Hoeness 👀

Stiller played in a double pivot, but also some games as a LCM in a three-man midfield.

However, at the end of the 2021-22 season, Hoeness left the club.

He got injured during pre-season, and spoke about how this disrupted his integration into the new coach's plans. He couldn't break into a midfield that, by his words, was already playing well.

To be fair, it might have been down to playstyle too. Hoffenheim weren't as ball-dominant as Stuttgart have been with Stiller.

Either way, aged 21, Stiller managed just 700 Bundesliga minutes in 2022-23.

Luckily though, Sebastian Hoeness came to the rescue at Stuttgart ⚪️

Under him, Stiller has predominantly played as the left-sided midfielder in a double pivot. The team is geared towards baiting opponents to press forward, and looking to play through them. Very much like Roberto De Zerbi.

Now, this season has been a tiny bit different.

Nick Woltemade, a giant who will get his own thread at some point, has added a new dimension to Stuttgart's play. He allows them to be more direct, and relatively successful with long passes. So, reliance on short passes has decreased.

Still(er), the responsibilities haven't changed drastically:
▪️Offer a passing option to CBs, often receiving with his back to goal under serious pressure
▪️ Drop into the back line when further forward to orchestrate play
▪️ Be prepared to push forward to support attacks
▪️ Deliver crosses towards the back post from both corners of the box (mainly left side from open play)
▪️ Be ready to engage in the counter-press
▪️ Be ready to engage in high press
▪️Cover the left channel as LW/LB looks to press high
▪️Take set pieces

In terms of profile, Stiller is around 6ft tall, but quite light. He's essentially a deep-lying playmaker.

And, he's been a huge success, making 13 assists over the past two Bundesliga seasons (!).

A lot of that has come from set pieces, but still, on the ball, there's a ton to like.

Let's get into that.

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!

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!

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.

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...

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.

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!

Malick Fofana: Live Scout Report 👁‍🗨

In this thread, I'm going to show you the strengths, weaknesses, watch a game and give my eventual outlook for the 19-year-old Belgian winger at Lyon 🇧🇪 A new style of content all! Here's what I'm going to aim to do.

- I've already watched Fofana, so I'm going to give you a brief overview of my thoughts
- Then, watch his performance vs St Etienne live, a game I'm yet to watch, highlighting interesting findings as I go

🧵 Nottingham Forest vs West Ham | Live tactical thread...

It's finally time to investigate Julen Lopetegui's side. I am going to be answering one question: Are there any signs of progress, or is a change of manager needed?

Let's see 🍿 Before we begin, it's worth saying that I have only watched West Ham, properly, a handful of times this year.

The game freshest in my memory was their win against Ipswich, which I covered in a thread looking mainly at McKenna's side.

🧵Chelsea vs Nottingham Forest | live tactical thread...

Yes, it's finally time! Enzo Maresca's Chelsea are up next for me. It's time to give analysis live, in a thread you can read along or bookmark for later. Will end up pinning it too 👍 So, before we begin:

🔹I, have watched Chelsea this season sparingly. I've not really done any analysis on them. The last time I did, was ahead of the season when I predicted how Enzo Maresca's tenure would go.

🧵Crystal Palace vs Leicester | live tactical thread...

It's that time again! I'm going to be using this game to investigate and discuss tactical thoughts on Oliver Glasner's Crystal Palace.

Either follow along, or bookmark for later (will pin this) 👍🏻 Yes btw the tactics board is here too, I just wanted to avoid looking too nerdy in the headline tweet as last time I got called a ginger specky virgin by 2000 people

Rightio, time to watch Newcastle vs Spurs ⚪️

I'm going to be doing live analysis as I watch the game, from a Spurs perspective. I'll do batches of tweets at a time, but I'll also pin this thread on my profile so you can keep coming back to it.

Let's begin: As a reminder, these are the lineups:

Feel free to fire questions as I go btw

My (long) thoughts on Youssouf Fofana, after his various links to Manchester United 🔴

- Solid out of possession (despite an annoying weakness)
- Excellent passing range
- Potential problems in large spaces...

Read more 🧵 Let's start with the tactical side of his game.

Fofana played in a double pivot at Monaco, usually on the right hand side (altho capable of playing on the left).

Monaco averaged 53% of the ball, and had a PPDA of 8.7 (very low, i.e, Monaco were a high-pressing team).

Played a mix of back four and back three.

My long awaited thoughts on Enzo Maresca...

I think eveyrone has an idea in the CFC fanbase of what to expect. So, I'm not going to repeat anything others have mentioned. Instead, give my opinion on the move...

If you want the TLDR: It's a net positive move for Chelsea imo👍 As I said, we all have an idea of what to expect.

Maresca's Leicester set up in a 3-2-4-1 style system, with a box midfield. Inverted RB, who sometimes pushed forward to make it a 3-1-5-1.

▪️ Scored 89 goals (2nd in league)
▪️ Created 84.9 XG (most in league)

Good, right?

I think a lot of people who appreciate Poch's Spurs have been reluctant to lay much blame at his door for Chelsea. In some senses, they're right.

He isn't a rubbish coach who doesn't offer anything.

For me though, what Poch offered was never going to work at Chelsea 😅 The reason I was so critical of the move when there were first murmurs of it, let alone the official announcement, was I watched nearly every PSG game under Poch.

It was a complex, messy period for the club. But one thing was apparent to me...

The Arthur stuff is still just interest, but are Arsenal better placed putting their eggs in the basket of Bruno Guimaraes 🤔🇧🇷 Whoever gets Bruno is getting a helluva player. This season he has been a bit rash, and awkward in transition - I think that's more down to Lyons playstyle under ultra-aggressive pressing manager Peter Bosz.

Just a quick reminder that, despite having a goal difference 27 goals better off than the next best... Ajax are currently losing a three way title race in 🇳🇱

👀👀👀👀 That's not meant as a knock on Ajax btw, but more about how surprisingly competitive the Eredivisie is this year!

🇨🇴 Luis Sinisterra has helped Feyenoord this season with 10 G/A

🇳🇱 Cody Gakpo also has 15 G/A for PSV