Anthony Modeste 2021/22: The veteran forward flourishing for Koln in the Bundesliga – scout report

Anthony Modeste turns 34 this season and yet he is having one of the finest campaigns of his career. In fact, he is well on his way to matching the goal tally he managed in the most prolific season of his career, where in 2016/17 he scored 25 goals for Koln in the Bundesliga. In all competitions since that season, Modeste has managed just 27 goals. In that time he left Koln, returned to Ligue 1, where he played for Saint-Etienne, and then return once more to Koln. And yet he has had an incredibly impressive upturn in his form this season, having scored 16 in all competitions already.

This tactical analysis and scout report breaks down the key tactics Modeste employs in his role for Koln, providing analysis on just why he has been so potent in front of goal this season, as well as highlighting some of his key tendencies away from goal.

Positioning

Modeste is successful without overcomplicating what he does. In an age where it is rare to see a traditional target man, Modeste is doing exactly this, and executing it perfectly. He has a slight tendency to drift out onto the left-wing, but varies his positioning in possession by working as a pass option either directly in the centre of the pitch and in the half-spaces, as we can see from the heat map shown below. However, the most striking thing is that the sheer volume of his action comes inside the opposition area. We will delve into this in more detail in a later section of this analysis.

Modeste generally holds a high position, often in line with the last man in defence, at least initially anyway. He will then make a late adjustment after recognising the likelihood of a forward pass being played, where he can link play effectively. He is perfectly adept at holding up possession, given his 6’2” frame, and yet he can play quickly off of one-touch if he sees an opportunity to advance possession immediately.

We can see him dropping into the half-space to receive the ball in the image below, before then playing a first-time pass inside. Immediately after playing this pass he spins off and quickly pushes forward to stretch the pitch.