With the WSL season having reached its conclusion, transfer rumours have begun to circle, with many clubs looking to rebuild over the summer. One player linked with a move to the English women’s top flight is Toni Duggan, the England striker who has spent the last four years in Spain’s Primera Division, firstly with Barcelona Femeni and now with Atletico Madrid Femenino. The former Everton Women and Manchester City Women player has been linked with returns to both sides, whilst Manchester United Women, Arsenal Women and newly-promoted Leicester City Women are also reportedly interested.
In this tactical analysis, we will look in greater depth at Duggan’s game, focusing on her movement, versatility and spatial awareness, seeing how she fits into those five teams’ tactics. Throughout the scout report, we will give reasons as to which club she should join and why.
Firstly, it is always worth looking at a player’s heat map, as it gives us a clearer picture of the areas of the pitch they tend to frequent.
It is clear from this that she plays mainly on the left of the attack, getting balls into the box and creating opportunities for her teammates. However, it is also worth noting that she operates in her own half at times, helping Atletico Madrid in their transitional play from the back to the front. This gives us a number of ideas to focus on in more detail in this analysis.
Spatial awareness
The first area we will look at is her spatial awareness. This is a key part of any forward’s game, because they need to get into the right areas to help the team to maximise their opportunities.
