Sam Cosgrove 2019/20 – scout report

This season, Aberdeen have had a very fruitful campaign in the Scottish Premiership. Derek McInnes has guided his side up to fourth in the table and pushing for a top-three finish. The Dons are just one point behind Motherwell in third and vying for a Europa League spot before the league was postponed. McInnes and his team will certainly want to finish the eight games remaining as they will look to try and claim a European competition status and build from this seasons disappointing exit from the Europa League qualification round.

Spearheading Aberdeen’s good season and push for a top-three finish was 23-year-old striker Sam Cosgrove. The English striker was spotted by McInnes and his staff as he played for Carlisle United reserves where the Aberdeen manager believed he had the attributes and potential to fill the void left by the departure of Adam Rooney. The Dons signed the striker in 2018 where he exceeded expectations in his first full season in Scotland scoring 21 goals in all competitions.

Cosgrove has continued his impressive goal-scoring run this season where he has netted 23 goals in all competitions. The strikers performances have alerted and sparked the interest of many English clubs, namely from the Championship who are keen to prise the Dons forward away from Pittodrie turf. In this tactical analysis in the form of a scout report, we will examine how Sam Cosgrove has become a key player for Aberdeen. The report will also outline key attributes that make the 23-year-old such a prolific scorer this season.

Attacking tendencies

The Beverley-born striker is Aberdeen’s leading goal scorer with 11 goals and ranks 6th highest in the league. The former Carlisle United player is an old-school number nine, standing at 188cm tall, he is big and physical and is a handful for opposition defenders where he tends to bully them with his large dominating physique.

Cosgrove uses these physical attributes to his advantage where he is a real aerial threat in the box. The Dons forward competes in 14.36 aerial duels p/90 with a 49% success rate, making him one of the best players in the air in the league. As a result of his aerial superiority, he causes problems in the oppositions box and scores a lot of headed goals. The English striker thrives when crosses are floated into the box for him to attack in the air.

However, he does not rely on just on his height and strength, he picks up clever positions inside the box where his teammates can pick him out with a cross, while his positioning also increases his chances of scoring.

Cosgrove is not static and will look to come from a central position and before his teammate sets himself and looks up to deliver the cross the Dons forward will peel back to the far post. When the ball is delivered, the forward from this position has more time to anticipate the flight of the ball and generate a significant run-up to attack the ball in the air.

This positioning was evident when he scored against Celtic in December, as Aberdeen had progressed the ball on the right wing into a crossing position. Sensing the ball will be crossed in, Cosgrove moves from his starting position (red circle) and peels to the back post but keeps a separation from Celtic’s defensive line.

As the ball is crossed in, he moves into the space between Kristoffer Ajer and Jeremie Frimpong and in this position, he is able to anticipate the flight of the ball and by maintaining separation from the Celtic defenders, he is able to generate a good run and leap to attack the ball and head it past a helpless Fraser Foster in goal.

Although his a