KRC Genk suffered a disappointing season in the Belgian Pro League 2019/20. Finishing down in seventh, they ended up five points adrift of European qualification, far below their expectations. Former Bundesliga manager Hannes Wolf struggled to bring success to a side who lost key players such as Mbwana Samatta, Leandro Trossard, and Sander Berge to the EPL.
Replacing the likes of Samatta was always going to be difficult, with the striker being one of the best players in the Pro League. Paul Onuachu of FC Midtjylland joined in at the start of last season and managed a respectable nine goals in 22 appearances. Yet other than Onuachu, striking options for Genk are limited. Therefore, adding a second striker was a must before the start of the 2020/21 season.
Cyriel Dessers is the striker Genk have decided to invest in to help provide the side with more goals. Dessers had a fantastic season in Holland with Heracles Almelo, scoring 15 league goals and grabbing five assists. Far smaller than Onuachu, Dessers will offer Genk a different approach, either on his own or alongside the target man as a second striker.
This tactical analysis, in the form of a recruitment analysis, will look at how Dessers could fit the tactics of Wolf. The analysis will look at the strengths of Dessers and where he may fit into Genk’s system. On the face of it, the signing of Dessers looks like a fantastic piece of business for Genk.
Tactical fit
First of all, we will compare how Heracles set up last year in comparison to Genk. At Heracles, Dessers was used as the main striker, either in a 4-4-2 system with the second striker playing just off Dessers, or in a 4-2-3-1 or 4-4-1-1. In Belgium, Genk predominantly operated with a 4-2-3-1 formation but did occasionally deploy a 4-4-2. With both Dessers and Onuachu, they could play the 4-4-2 more often in order to get both players in the side.
In terms of pressing from the front, Heracles averaged 9.75 recoveries per 90 in the final third, around 12% of their total recoveries. Genk on the other hand averaged 11.08 in the final third, at a slightly higher 14%. When we then look at the pressing intensity data, Heracles sat fifth overall with a 10.47 average per 90, while Genk were up in third with around 8.7. Dessers will therefore only see a slight increase in pressing while at Genk, and will by no means have to adjust to a completely different system. For a player who did most of his counter pressing in the final third, he should be a good fit for Genk to press even more.
Where Dessers will notice a change is in possession. Genk are, in comparison, a bigger domestic side than Heracles are in Holland, and this is reflected in the possession stats. Genk averaged 54.2% possession per 90, while Heracles were just under 50 with 49.9%. Again, these are marginal differences that probably won’t affect Dessers game too much, although he may well see more chances at Genk than he did at Heracles purely on the basis of his side having the ball a fraction more.
On
