The first installment is around another problem position of Central Midfield. We often bemoan our lack of threat upfront & fragility in defense on those areas alone without address the real crux of our squads problem. I also viewed football as games are often won & lost in midfield, this is the engine room, the link between defense & attack, where enforcers, flair & vision come together as one.
With Soucek due to arrive (albeit should we stay up) that is the first step in the right direction to resolving our central midfield. Personally I feel that to resolve our issues we need to sign two CMs. By converting to a 3 which could utilise Fornals in a free role & make tough choices our ability to control & play in CM would greatly help the team. One of the biggest choices which could also save us lots of money in finding Diop a long term partner at CB is moving Rice alongside. Many I know will disagree but this would give us a long term partnership to build around, with ball carrying CB in Rice & a good blend of aggression & guile between them. This would leave a hole in our midfield but I believe with 2 signings (1 as cover) we would replace Rice’s influence in CM & improve the overall play too.
I would only make other changes to the CM passed on players leaving & I shall cover a couple of those in this blog.
Ibrahim Sangaré
Goals 0 Assists 1
My first pick & is a must for me is Ibrahim Sangaré. This is a player I was desperate for at the beginning of this season & as you can see from his stats he is more than a simple replacement for Rice. Whilst Rice is dribbled past less & interceptions higher Sangare is highly perficient in defensive situations with his only real weakness is his frame can count against him when having to turn quickly but with his great stride can more than compensate for this. With the addition of Soucek we have a player to marshall space in front of the defense & deal with ariel ball, Sangaré would offer a dynamic box to box type player. Sangaré game has massively developed at Toulouse from a DM to being an all-round midfielder who is a focal point of everything in midfield. Whilst he only has the single assist to his name his expected assist rate is higher than Rice, and Sangaré has really stood out in a struggle Toulouse team at the foot of Ligue 1.
In my mind, a midfield 3 of Sangaré, Soucek & Fornals could be a formidable unit that would give us the platform to start & reach goals we all want. Soucek & Sangaré provides 2 incredible athletes, who possess imposing frames, power, strength & height can marshall defensive situations whilst then being effective in the transition to attack or at set pieces. With Fornals alongside using his intelligence to link the play to the attack & pull the strings, we finally can allow the likes of Anderson, Bowen & Haller to concentrate fully on attack as Sangaré & Soucek are there to cover out of possession.
TransferMarkt Value: £8.5m
Erick Pulgar
Goals 4 Assists 3
Erick Pulgar is a player we were heavily linked with prior to his €9m move from Bologna to Fiorentina, and even though was exactly the profile we wanted the money dried up & pumped out last £8m on Ajeti. Once again WHU is linked with Pulgar and would be a very smart move from the club to go for along with Sangaré and take the place vacated by Sanchez. Personally, the addition of Pulgar would bring a new dimension at DM as not only proficient defensively also a creative outlet. Another added bonus with Pulgar is quality delivery from a dead ball situation too which we often struggle with when Snodgrass is not playing.
Pulgar doesn’t often dribble as the stats show but this is in favour getting the ball to his teammates to influence the game further up the pitch. At 26 Pulgar is a good age with him likely to be relatively inexpensive in modern terms seems like a no-brainer for me as would provide fierce competition to Soucek & Sangaré, also variation which is vastly needed. All in all signing Pulgar & Sangaré is all we need for competition & to move our CM on with any other additions being as direct replacements.
Transfermarkt Value: £11m
Flynn Downes
Goals 2 Assists 1
Flynn Downes could be a real wildcard and a player we have been rumoured to have scouted previously and supposedly a WHU fan too. Based on what Moyes has said previously about the RB model Downes would fit perfectly as only 21, and potential to develop much further under the right guidance. At his relatively young age has amassed little over 80 games too which is impressive in tough divisions.
Unfortunately I haven’t been able to see Downes myself, but statistically is a solid performer and is highly rated at Ipswich by club & fans alike. This could be an interesting deal if it could be struck & should Downes make the grade with him likely secede Noble.
TransferMarkt Value: 800k
Eberechi Eze
Goals 12 Assists 8
Eberechi Eze is my favourite player in the EFL Prior to Bowen and been brilliant to watch this year. Eze is someone I have been desperate to see step up in WHU Claret & Blue, and with the selling of Lanzini this could be a reality. Eze has played everywhere in the midfield this season & that flexibility would give us the ability to utilise multiple tactical plans. Lanzini whilst I was a massive fan of his has often flattered to deceive & not developed as was hoped after a solid 1st season. Eze due to his physique would offer a better option through the centre opposed to Lanzini with his strength and speed a great asset in breaking the lines.
Eze’s composure, creativity & vision has been this brilliant too and 20 goal contributions in 37 league appearances show how impressive he has been in a solid season for QPR as a whole. The only stumbling block could be meeting QPR demands but hopefully, a cash plus Hugill deal could be reached.
TransferMarkt Value: £8.1m
WHU: Pretty Bubbles in the Air 