Recalled early: analysing why Graham Potter cannot wait to have Jakub Moder in his squad

Brighton & Hove Albion have made some very interesting purchases in recent years. Their recruitment team works diligently at scouting emerging player markets and picking out the best of the bunch. This is on top of finding bargains within more well-known leagues, such as the acquisition of Joël Veltman from Ajax for £900k.

One such player purchase was Jakub Moder of Lech Poznań in October 2020 for a fee in the region of £6m. A quick view of his statistics can tell us a lot about him as a player, and how well he has been performing for the Kolejorz over the last calendar year, and this analysis will explore what makes the 21-year-old so good.

The 6’2” Pole is a man of many talents. He possesses an excellent weak foot, can play just as well in a defensive-midfield role or in a box-to-box midfield role, and put simply, he can defend, progress possession, and contribute to goals all in equal measure. This scout report details how his role and value differentiates in each position, and where he will fit in Brighton’s tactics.

In this tactical analysis, we will cover why Graham Potter recalled Moder early, his role in and out of possession, and how well he will suit Brighton’s setup.

Player profile

Moder broke into Dariusz Żuraw’s team in the 2019/20 season, and it is not hard to see how. He has become a talismanic figure for the club, and one can only imagine so for the Polish national side in the future, for whom he has made six appearances for already. He is a player who wants to take the game into his own hands, somewhat egotistically, and this can be witnessed in his ambitious long-range efforts. As much as he is fiendishly active on the defensive half of his game, it is his attacking contributions which make him distinctive.

Usually deployed as a double-pivot in a 4-2-3-1, Moder is a remarkably well-rounded player who has been relied upon in several key moments by his team. Namely, when the game is tied and they need one his thunder-stricken efforts to fly into the top corner, which is becoming somewhat of a trademark for the 21-year-old. Seemingly only score the spectacular, similar to Rúben Neves at Wolves. For a midfielder, he has an excellent shooting output, one which is only underpinned by his precise shooting technique.

Moder is a player who actively participates in possession with his marvellous technique, instead of letting the game pass him by. He is quite something to watch in a game, he is long-legged but remains silky smooth on the ball and nothing about his style of play come across as awkward. This lays the groundwork for his strong, but not yet outstanding passing and dribbling abilities. For such a tall player (6’2”) as well, he is a deceitfully high-class dribbler, but not yet mobile or wise enough to be labelled ‘press-resistant’.

Moder’s player profile, created by the wonderful Sathish Prasad (@SatishPrasadVT on Twitter).

Moder’s role in Żuraw’s system (and how it will help him fit at Brighton)

Under Dariusz Żuraw in the Ekstraklasa, Moder is positioned as the left-sided central midfielder in a 4-2-3-1 formation, although, he is typically registered as a defensive-midfielder given his starting position. Interestingly, he spends a higher proportion of his time as the right-sided central midfielder, which is supported by his heatmap in his player profile. Given he is a right-footer, it makes sense that he drifts in between both positions.