Edu's Transfer Targets: Summer Holidays 2021

[Football Manager]

He plays LCM and LW for Lyon, never played as a 10.

Unclear to me what you think an AM is, but i'd say a player which does very little defending and a lot of attacking is probably more of an AM than anything else.

Houssem Aouar Stats, Goals, Records, Assists, Cups and more | FBref.com

Check out the latest domestic and international stats, match logs, goals, height, weight and more for Houssem Aouar playing for Olympique Lyonnais, Algeria men's national team and AS Roma in the Ligue 1, Coupe de la Ligue and Champions League

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Traditionally, we had our wide midfielders tucking in to occupy the half space. Pires, Ljungberg, Rosicky, Hleb, Nasri, Arshavin....most of these players have the quality of a number 10. They are creative, good passer, can operate in tight area, and they are skillful on the ball.

So if you talk about the type of players they are, they are more like a 10, but they are being played as wide midfielders. It was because that we have these creative players, creating magic in the half spaces, we were able to create beautiful chances after beautiful chances.

Nowadays, to occupy the half space with creative players, tucking in wide midfielders is only one way to do it. To push up a creative free 8 into the same half space is another way to create the same effect.

HairSpray’s observation of Aouar playing as a LW and LCM is not incorrect. But the space he occupy is the same that a 10 would occupy. As a LW he tucks inside to the half space, as a LCM he pushes up to the half space. And not to forget why he is being played like that, he has the skill set and the playing style of a 10. So dashsnow is not wrong either.

Here are some notes comparing the differences of a modern free 8 and the traditional box to box:

The free 8 role is about having a talented attacking player occupying the half space, in a possession based team. And they are given a job to also run back, to help maintaining the team’s defensive shape, when the team is in the defensive phase. So they run a lot.

A tradition box to box are untalented defensive players (big/hard/strong/good tackler, but not good on the ball, zero football skills), doing defensive work in a defensive counter attack team. And they are given a job to also run up to help the attack, when the team is in the counter attacking phase. So they run a lot.

Both positions run up and down the pitch a lot, they both require good stamina. But the type of player required are completely different.

@HairSprayGooners @dashsnow17

 

[dashsnow17]

Surprisingly, I actually agree with @HairSprayGooners not too sure about Aouar tbh.

If we can get him on a cut price deal then fair enough but you can’t justify spending 35m+ on him as he doesn’t seem consistent enough and that’s the last sort of profile we need at our club.

Difference between not wanting Aouar for contextual reasons i.e his personality or consistency, and what hairspray was saying, that he's somehow not the right profile of player, when he clearly is.

 

[bingobob]

Gonna say those all important 3 words.

Trust the process. Nobody knows who will end up where. So many players linked most of them will be b/s, some maybe not and there are probably some agents of players we speak to that nobody heard about.

Let's just be patient and see where the cards fall. A few players we've been rumoured to are at the Euros, Xhaka is at the Euros and the rest of the footballing world is taking a long deserved break. Patience, please.

 

[HairSprayGooners]

Difference between not wanting Aouar for contextual reasons i.e his personality or consistency, and what hairspray was saying, that he's somehow not the right profile of player, when he clearly is.

He's nowhere near actual CAM's with his creativity.

 

[Football Manager]

Bring on the Amine Ghouri links now Ødegaard has gone quiet... I'm ready.

Please!!!

 

[dashsnow17]

Maddison, Ødegaard etc. Aouar doesn't play number 10 in a 4231, its really easy to understand.

You realise those players have played in other positions, right. Ødegaard played in a 4-3-3 at Sociedad, he played on the wing too. You have this idea that there are only Özil-like 10s who can only play one way in one formation. Heck even Özil played different positions, he didn't play 4-2-3-1 his whole career.

Also there's absolutely nothing to suggest anything about what formation the coach wants to play, no one knows jack sh*t. 'Seemingly moving away from 4-3-3'...you've literally just plucked that out of your arse.

There are reasons to not want Aouar, but 'he really isn't an AM' is not one of them.

 

[Yousif Arsenal]

not big updates apart from Fekir being not target currently. i think we'll get a number 10 who can play on wings.

 

[dashsnow17]

De Paul is a better option for a similar price. Aouar's stock has gone down, he's a link player, a guy you sign when your team is pretty much finished. A guy that City would sign now for him to come in every now and then.

De Paul plays RCM for Argentina, so not an option i'm afraid. NOT an out and out AM.

 

[avenellroad]

Traditionally, we had our wide midfielders tucking in to occupy the half space. Pires, Ljungberg, Rosicky, Hleb, Nasri, Arshavin....most of these players have the quality of a number 10. They are creative, good passer, can operate in tight area, and they are skillful on the ball.

So if you talk about the type of players they are, they are more like a 10, but they are being played as wide midfielders. It was because that we have these creative players, creating magic in the half spaces, we were able to create beautiful chances after beautiful chances.

Nowadays, to occupy the half space with creative players, tucking in wide midfielders is only one way to do it. To push up a creative free 8 into the same half space is another way to create the same effect.

HairSpray’s observation of Aouar playing as a LW and LCM is not incorrect. But the space he occupy is the same that a 10 would occupy. As a LW he tucks inside to the half space, as a LCM he pushes up to the half space. And not to forget why he is being played like that, he has the skill set and the playing style of a 10. So dashsnow is not wrong either.

Here are some notes comparing the differences of a modern free 8 and the traditional box to box:

The free 8 role is about having a talented attacking player occupying the half space, in a possession based team. And they are given a job to also run back, to help maintaining the team’s defensive shape, when the team is in the defensive phase. So they run a lot.

A tradition box to box are untalented defensive players (big/hard/strong/good tackler, but not good on the ball, zero football skills), doing defensive work in a defensive counter attack team. And they are given a job to also run up to help the attack, when the team is in the counter attacking phase. So they run a lot.

Both positions run up and down the pitch a lot, they both require good stamina. But the type of player required are completely different.

@HairSprayGooners @dashsnow17

By your definition you would call Roy Keane (arguably best midfielder in Premier League history), Vieira or Steven Gerrard untalented?

 

[dashsnow17]

He's nowhere near actual CAM's with his creativity.

Provide some evidence for that.

 

[HairSprayGooners]

Provide some evidence for that.

3 assists last season.
Nowhere near the creative numbers as guys like Pereira, Nkunku etc.

 

[HairSprayGooners]

De Paul plays RCM for Argentina, so not an option i'm afraid. NOT an out and out AM.

Wouldn't be my first option no. Agreed.

 

[Football Manager]

By your definition you would call Roy Keane (arguably best midfielder in Premier League history), Vieira, Lampard, Ramsey or Steven Gerrard untalented?

Vieira was good on the ball, intelligent player and a good passer. @avenellroad

 

[dashsnow17]

1 assist last season.
Nowhere near the creative numbers as guys like Pereira, Nkunku etc.

What source are you using for that 1 assist fact?

 

[bingobob]

By your definition you would call Roy Keane (arguably best midfielder in Premier League history), Vieira or Steven Gerrard untalented?

Think people forget just how good Roy Keane was. An absolute smashing footballer.

 

[TimoJens]

What source are you using for that 1 assist fact?

He had 4 assists (+ 8 goals) last season.

 

[dashsnow17]

He had 4 assists last season.

I know, i'm just waiting for hairspray's source.

 

[HairSprayGooners]

What source are you using for that 1 assist fact?

TransferMarkt didn't load properly, 3 assists in Ligue 1 last season apologies. Still, he also had the same number the season before. Far from impressive along with lower tier creative stats in general.

 

[Football Manager]

TransferMarkt didn't load properly, 3 assists in Ligue 1 last season apologies. Still, he also had the same number the season before. Far from impressive along with lower tier creative stats in general.

Forget your useless stats and just watch this. Any of the other “alternatives” can compare to the talent of this?
Tell me that creating space, creating through passes, creating possession, creating attacking threat by dribbling, creating one touch passes, aren’t creativity.

Stats? Assist? How about pre-assist? Pre-pre assist? Pre-pre-pre assist? You won’t get stats like that. But they are important.

The creativity in the build up process is what we are lacking. @HairSprayGooners

 

[TimoJens]

3 assists last season.
Nowhere near the creative numbers as guys like Pereira, Nkunku etc.

Even after this edit you are wrong. He had 4 assists.