In the modern game, the fullback positions are becoming more and more important. Gone are the days when this was a position in which to place players that maybe did not have the quality on the ball to play elsewhere. In today’s game with the prevalence of counter-pressing, there tends to be space in the wide areas and this is where the fullbacks can be key components to the attacking game model of a team. Nowhere is this more the case than at Liverpool where Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson are two of the key players for Jurgen Klopp’s side when it comes to progressing the ball. With the German coach preferring a less creative and more functional midfield three, we often see the onus falling on the fullbacks to connect the team together and find ways to move the ball into the feet of the front three. While TAA and Robertson are perhaps the best fullback pairing in football today we have to acknowledge that football is a squad game and there is not a lot of depth at the left-back position. At right-back, the academy graduate Nico Williams has shown flashes of promise that suggest that he would be comfortable if asked to fill in if TAA was injured or in need of a rest. On the opposite side, however, there is no ready-made cover in place. James Milner can still fill in at left-back but his time as a first-team player is finite.
The purpose of this piece then is to use data to identify a left-back who can act as cover for Robertson with a view to perhaps replacing him in the next few seasons we will then provide a tactical analysis of the players that we identify. As such we have filtered our data to only include players under the age of 24 that are playing in leagues that either have a high standard of competition or that have a track record of producing talented footballers. Given the importance of the fullbacks to the way that Liverpool play, we will concentrate on how these prospective fullbacks play in possession of the ball.
The initial data check
The first check that we made was on each player’s progressive passes and progressive runs per 90 minutes. These are obviously key metrics given the fact that the Liverpool fullbacks almost act as playmakers for their side. When running data in this manner it is always interesting to note whether it passes the eye test in that there are players within the matrix that make sense. We can see that Andy Robertson figures prominently at the top right of the scatter graph. We have then identified five players who based on some prior knowledge would represent interesting options for the recruitment team at Anfield. The first of those would mean Liverpool going back to a familiar source for players with the 21-year-old Ghanian left-back Gideon Mensah being on loan at Zulte Waregem from Red Bull Salzburg. Next, we move the English Championship with the Wigan Athletic fullback Antonee Robinson performing well in terms of progressive runs especially. Next comes an Ecuadorian left-back who has been in the Watford system for some time now. Pervis Estupinan is now 22-years-old and a full Ecuador international. He is currently on loan at Osasuna in La Liga and has been impressing this term in Spain. Liverpool have in recent seasons displayed a tendency to recruit from teams who get relegated to the Championship and unless we see a huge improvement from Norwich City then Jamal Lewis could be the next in line to make that move to Anfield instead of to the Championship. Finally, we go to Italy and Serie A and to Cagliari where Luca Pellegrini is impressing on loan from Juventus.
Next, we will take a closer look at how effective these fullbacks are when in possession of the ball.
