Mark-Anthony Kaye is a 25-year-old central midfielder who plays for Los Angeles FC in Major League Soccer. Kaye has had a testing path to the top division of American soccer after spending many years in the USL Championship.
The Canadian international played for the Wilmington Hammerheads, Toronto II, and most recently Louisville City before he got his chance to breakthrough at the top level. On February 5th, 2018, Kaye signed with LAFC marking his debut season in the MLS. He has earned 14 caps for the Canadian national team and has featured in multiple Gold Cups for his country.
The six-foot, one-inch tall central midfielder is a dominant figure on the pitch who utilises his size and height to his advantage. Kaye is very much a box-to-box midfielder who is capable on both sides of the ball. These attributes lead to him starring at the left of the midfield three for LAFC. Bob Bradley, LAFC’s manager, favours Kaye in most matches. Last season, he started 27 matches out of 32 appearances in the MLS, making him a steady and consistent player for LAFC.
This tactical analysis and scout report will break down Kaye’s strengths and weaknesses in the electric LAFC team.
Box-to-Box
What makes Kaye such a fantastic player in the MLS is his ability to get box-to-box. The Canadian is stationed on the left-hand side of a midfield three, allowing him to have a lot of freedom on the pitch. While the defensive midfielder, Eduard Atuesta holds, Kaye can take up positions higher up and affect the game with the passing ability that he possesses. This position is similar to that of Paul Pogba while he was at Juventus, where he had much more freedom than while under Jose Mourinho’s management at Manchester United.
As seen in the heat map below, Kaye is a presence while on both sides of the ball. This is a major advantage and a key reason why the 25-year-old is such a key player to incorporate into Bradley’s tactics. He has attacking and defensive capabilities. Furthermore, due to his immense size and physicality, it adds an extra layer to Kaye’s differentiators. It is rarer to find a player so tall but also so creative like Kaye.
While truly embracing his box-to-box role, Kaye constantly finds himself in and around the top of the box to be the main pivot for the midfield. LAFC has an attacking tactical setup, with Carlos Vela and Brian Rodriguez stationed out wide due to their ability to cut inside and score goals. This allows Kaye much more time and space at the top of the box as one would expect.
In the analysis below, an example of the spatial awareness and positioning of Kaye takes affect. Rodriguez is on the ball out wide and this time, Vela has come into the middle of the pitch. Kaye drifts into the centre of the pitch just ahead of the oppositions 18-yard box. In this case, Kaye becomes an auxiliary central-attacking midfielder. Bradley likes using this tactic because he knows Kaye has both the creativity to play a key pass and the energy to get back in transition. These attributes make a strong box-to-box midfielder. After Rodriguez plays the ball to Kaye, he drives into the box and tees up Diego Rossi for a shot. These moments occur frequently for Kaye as the tactics of LAFC allow for spacing to open up for the Canadian.
