Caglar Soyuncu

Located on the western edge of the Black Forest, SC Freiburg have won the hearts of many football fans. With a lack of funding in comparison to the likes of Schalke, Bayer Leverkusen and even VfB Stuttgart, Freiburg have spent just one season in the 2. Bundesliga since 2009.

With an emphasis on youth development, Christian Streich has helped establish the club at the highest level, coaching the team in two Europa League campaigns which is a huge feat for a 220,000-populous city that hosts SC Freiburg in a 24,000-seater stadium.

The Freiburg side that held Borussia Dortmund to a 2-2 draw this season had an average age of just 25,3 while perhaps what’s more impressive is the fact Streich fielded just three foreigners.

One of those players is Caglar Söyüncü, who looks like the next potential star ready for a big money move with Premier League club Arsenal interested. With a rumoured €30 million fee, let’s look to see if the Turkey international is worth that.

Coverage

One trait that Söyüncü possesses is pace which is becoming important as a central defender, especially if you’re playing in a back three just as Freiburg have done for most of the 2017/18 campaign.

With Arsenal yet to announce Arsene Wenger’s successor, it’s unclear as to how they will set up next season. Something that was tried and tested this season was a three-man defence which didn’t work as well as hoped.

However, Söyüncü is equally adept at playing on the left or right of a back three, which allows him to play a cover role due to his pace, as we see below.

There’s been situations this season where Söyüncü has been prone to a mistake when under pressure, but here we see that he’s recognised the situation, with Bayern Munich have a man over after Freiburg’s LWB had pushed forward.