Dennis Eckert 2023/24: The on-form goalscorer’s resurgence under Alexander Blessin at Union Saint-Gilloise – tactical analysis

After an excellent 2022/23 campaign, where he scored 17 goals in all competitions for Union Saint-Gilloise, Victor Boniface was sold to German Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen for a fee of just over €20 million. This left new manager Alexander Blessin with a big question: who would be the player to potentially replace the Nigerian? Three games into the new season, this question seems to have been answered, with Blessin trusting fellow German Dennis Eckert with this responsibility. 

So far, Eckert has delivered, with the 26-year-old scoring four goals in USGs first three matches of the new campaign. The German did not have the most remarkable first campaign in Belgium after joining last summer on a free transfer from FC Ingolstadt but has had a great start this time around. This tactical analysis and scout report will look at the German forwards strengths, as well as what he can provide to Alexander Blessin in his tactical setup. 

Player positioning and style of play 

The heat map above shows the positions that Dennis Eckert has taken up around the pitch since he arrived at Union Saint-Gilloise in the summer of 2022. As we can see from the graphic, the 26-year-old German is most prevalent in and around the 18-yard box, though he will also drop into midfield to be involved in link play at times. He does not get on the ball often, however, in deeper positions, with the German instead averaging just over five touches in the penalty box per 90 minutes during his career in Belgium. 

Standing at 6 0, the German forward has the most success when he is allowed to make off-the-ball runs into the penalty box, using his ability to recognise space to find areas where he will have success creating chances and also allow him to have such a large amount of touches in the box per match.