Country: USA
Player:Saliba
We have to put it in perspective here. He turned 18 in September. When you look at his body type he is quite chunky for his age. He can ride tackles and hold off players on the dribble. We are talking about someone who is far from being physically developed.
He doesn't have blistering pace but he has elite acceleration and he is no slouch. When running with the ball he has it close to his feet and he is a left footed wide player who knows how to play on the left. That is quite rare. I like how he wasn't discouraged and kept going at his man.
I know people think he can be an elite full back but I don't see it. I think the future is to play Tierney and Saka on the left and Bellerin and Pepe on the right. That way you problem solve. You can invert both full backs or you can invert either side at any one time as both wingers can hold the touchline. Personally I'd invert the left and bring Pepe inside pushing Bellerin outside.
Tierney is also very good on the ball and has the ability to spin the ball out to Saka. It negates the need for Xhaka and we can reconfigure the midfield and front line.
Agreed