Health warning - his goal rate is good but not as good as Adarma’s last season at Blackburn. My point is that it took us a whole season before we realised how to actually play Adam whilst Blackburn just slid Ben into Adams old role.
Has anyone got access to the latest Athletic article on what type of full back we are apparently looking for?
Might do: One word seemed to say everything. “Yes.” The Athletic had asked Ralph Hasenhuttl if he wants to sign a full-back this month. The short response is probably down to a desire to get one over the line as swiftly as possible, keeping in mind the Southampton manager has been looking to strengthen since April following Tino Livramento’s ACL injury that continues to keep him out of action. In contrast to the rest of the squad — bloated in numbers and with a growing necessity to move peripheral figures on before next Thursday’s transfer deadline — Southampton are stretched at full-back. A muscle injury to Romain Perraud earlier this month was a repercussion, Hasenhuttl thinks, of a curtailed pre-season spent nursing a groin strain and further exacerbated the need for reinforcements. Kyle Walker-Peters is now the only archetypal full-back in the squad. Winger Moussa Djenepo has been moonlighting admirably down the left, refining his positional understanding and becoming defensively sturdier. Yet for Hasenhuttl’s team to function at their best — as the peaks and troughs in his tenure would suggest — the role of a stock full-back is essential. In some cases, like Livramento and Walker-Peters, they can have a transformative impact. When Hasenhuttl was all aboard the 4-2-2-2 boat and his two No 10s were thinly veiled as “wingers”, any width was almost exclusively supplied by his full-backs. The arrival of Walker-Peters from Tottenham in the January 2020 window to play right-back led to him and left-side counterpart Ryan Bertrand becoming increasingly prominent parts of Southampton’s football when in possession. They proved the side’s most frequent and reliable outlets, with Bertrand mostly operating in the opposition’s half, forming passing triangles with those around him. Aside from James Ward-Prowse, whose number (251) is distorted by his role as their primary set-play taker, Bertrand put in the most crosses of any Southampton player (82) the following season — more than twice as many as third-placed Stuart Armstrong (40). As the maps of Southampton’s passing network below show, the left side of their defence provided the most ball progression in that 2020-21 campaign, with Bertrand and Jannik Vestergaard key cogs in build-up phases. please log in to view this image The subsequent departure of Bertrand to Leicester last summer, coupled with the acquisition of Livramento from Chelsea, altered the dynamics at full-back. First, Walker-Peters was now switched to play down the left, on the opposite side to his stronger foot. Here, he became a less crossing-centric version of Bertrand, compensating for deliveries out wide with better ball-carrying qualities. This rewired Southampton’s passing networks because Hasenhuttl now had a full-back more in the mould of Joao Cancelo at Manchester City than how Andrew Robertson plays for Liverpool. Walker-Peters would often find half pockets of space between the lines and away from the wing — sometimes in Hasenhuttl’s fabled “red zone”. This way of playing relied on team-mates using the width outside him to work, as demonstrated in the example below against Manchester City. please log in to view this image please log in to view this image Those who have worked with Walker-Peters have told The Athletic that playing on his unfavoured side like this is actually more conducive to his strengths. Previously, crossing was regarded as a blindspot in his attacking make-up. For example, playing right-back in that 2020-21 season, he attempted only 35 of them in 30 Premier League appearances. Last season, he hit 15 more in just two additional games. The switch to left-back encouraged him to use his dribbling ability in more inverted, more telling areas of the pitch. Consulting smarterscout, which gives players a series of ratings from zero to 99 relative to either how often they perform a given stylistic action or how effective they are at it compared with others playing in their position, we see an acute upturn in Walker-Peters’ attacking output after getting shunted over to left-back. Whether it was through chance or design, the decision to move the two-cap England international was a resounding success. As his 2021-22 pizza chart shows, Walker-Peters was as good as it gets in carry and dribble volume (99 out of 99) and not much worse in expected goals (xG) from ball progression (94 out of 99). please log in to view this image According to FBref.com, the 24-year-old ranks in the 96th percentile for progressive carries, averaging 7.75 dribbles per 90 minutes — in other words, only four per cent of full-backs in Europe’s top five domestic leagues drive forward with the ball more than he does. Walker-Peters also registered an average of 0.90 shots per 90 (shot volume: 92 out of 99) last season as he proved one of Southampton’s most incisive attackers. Compared with his metrics as a right-back, there was a discernible uplift across all attacking components (the categories shaded blue). Both pizza charts reflect the remit of a Hasenhuttl full-back: insistent on driving forward with the ball (receptions in the opposition box), looking after possession (ball retention ability) and being on the front foot to respond to turnovers (disrupting opposition moves and defending intensity). please log in to view this image Livramento’s impact on the opposite flank last season was tangible. As Southampton’s passing network from 2021-22 earlier in this article illustrates, the 18-year-old was on average higher and wider than Walker-Peters had been a season earlier, with a notable increase in pass value down the right side. He completed an average of 1.25 dribbles per 90, putting him in the top 18 per cent of players in his position. His productivity was emboldened by Hasenhuttl’s divergence from such a middle-centric fixed shape, routinely switching to a wing-back system. Naturally, this gave Livramento greater attacking scope. Even though Perraud played the fewest minutes of the trio, he completed the most crosses (69, to Livramento’s 62 and 50 by Walker-Peters). The Frenchman’s propensity to deliver from deep is both useful and indicative of Hasenhuttl collecting an assortment of full-backs with differing skill sets. It is a well-rounded, if somewhat thin, array of options to have. The Athletic has learned Perraud opted to join Southampton over rival interest from Leeds United, having been enthused by Hasenhuttl’s sales pitch. The 24-year-old favoured the Austrian over Marcelo Bielsa after talking to both of them, with Hasenhuttl outlining how Perraud’s defensive intensity would suit his preferred style of play. Bielsa was, perhaps characteristically, regarded as “stand-offish”. The way clubs scout full-backs has shifted focus in recent years. Recruitment policy is now weighted towards a player being proficient in the attacking aspects of the game, superseding the more basic aspects of defending (tackling, aerial ability and one-v-ones). First and foremost, they need to be at the requisite standard when it comes to athleticism, making passes in the final third and dribbling with both feet. The growing consensus is that a full-back probably started off as a winger, so is already adept going forward. They can then develop the defensive aspects through concentrated training, games and overall experience. They have become quasi-wingers, with the prevalence of back threes/fives across the Premier League further turning the dial up on what they can do offensively. It is a more appealing proposition for players who can contribute goal threat as well as goal prevention. The Athletic understands it remains a priority position for Southampton in the final days before the transfer deadline, along with adding a high calibre of forward. Earlier in the window, Southampton explored the possibility of signing Neco Williams of Liverpool, prior to the Wales international joining promoted Nottingham Forest. Other players shortlisted included Brandon Williams, the Manchester United full-back who spent last season on loan at Norwich City, Marcus Pedersen of Dutch club Feyenoord and Manchester City’s Issa Kabore, who has since signed for Marseille. Pertinently, all three were 21 years of age at the time of their interest and in the cases of Williams and Norway international Pedersen, had experience playing both full-back positions. This ties in with the persisting notion of Southampton placing a high value on versatility. Hasenhuttl has always emphasised the need for young players to have malleable traits, making them capable of performing in several positions. This is best exemplified in his use of full-backs. It is worth recalling that in the opening month of his first full campaign with Southampton after taking over in December 2018, he chose to play right-footed Cedric Soares at left-back rather than Bertrand. Hasenhuttl is certainly not beholden to a player operating on their favoured side or stronger foot. Arsenal’s Ainsley Maitland-Niles has interested Southampton for several windows now. The 24-year-old’s senior career to date has been built upon flexibility and adaptation. He has been used in six different positions and needed to adjust in his three loan spells across as many different leagues. Sources say trying to sign a right-back this summer has meant shopping in an increasingly “saturated market”, with several clubs needing reinforcement there and perhaps showing why Maitland-Niles is attracting interest from several Premier League clubs. His experience playing at the top level with Arsenal and then on loan to West Bromwich Albion and Roma for the second half of the past two seasons means the five-cap England international would be seen as a reliable presence in Hasenhuttl’s squad should he join Southampton, especially when there may be understandable uncertainty as to how Livramento comes back from such a lengthy absence. Southampton have also been long-term admirers of Williams but were put off by his parent club’s loan-fee demands. Although the United academy graduate is expected to stay at Old Trafford under new manager Erik ten Hag rather than be farmed out again, his characteristics do chime well with Hasenhuttl’s front-foot profile of defender, ranking in the 92nd percentile for interceptions among players in the top five leagues last season. Williams’ pizza chart from 2019-20 — the season he played the most minutes for United, providing the largest sample size to gauge his qualities — shows strong ball retention ability (81 out of 99). In what was his debut year in senior football, the left-back also displayed strong fundamentals in his defending quantity (79 out of 99) and a carry and dribble volume (95 out of 99) similar to Walker-Peters’ last season. please log in to view this image Hasenhuttl’s insistence on adding a full-back is one of the many areas the club still have to address before the transfer window shuts. But evidence shows the necessity of improving that position specifically. It is not only a case of needing “alternatives”, as Hasenhuttl would say, but enhancing how his side play.
Just checked the Championship scorers charts. Diaz has 2 goals in 6 matches. Tella has 3 in 4 matches. Should we call him back and save several million pounds?
The club are probably hoping he scores 20+ goals for Burnley, and then get Gibbs-White money for him next summer
Thanks. Very interesting. Not sure why Williams would be staying at Man United. They have two left backs ahead of him and two right backs (AWB might be moving but they were linked with Dest from Barca today). Being third choice in both positions doesn't seem like a good place to be
I’d rather he scored 20 goals for Saints, or anyone, not picky, just someone score some goals on a regular basis.
I can't help but think we will be gazumped by Nottingham Forest who seem to have infinite funds and do not need to apply FFP this year due to a promotion
