Troels Kløve is a versatile Danish midfielder who currently plays for Odense. With the player being relatively unknown in the realm of popular European football, this tactical analysis scout report will investigate the player from the Danish Superliga. Key sections will include an analysis of Kløve’s background, an appraisal of Odense’s tactics and how Kløve fits in, an objective comparison of Superliga players and finally a subjective appraisal of Kløves playing style.
Background
As mentioned, Troels Kløve is relatively unknown to the general football population. The 28-year-old has spent his whole career in Denmark thus far, completing his youth career at Horsens before making 109 first-team appearances. Kløve then moved on to Sønderjyske where he made 68 appearances over three years. In 2018, he signed for his current club Odense and has cemented his place in the team, making 54 competitive appearances in just over one season.
One point of analysis that is clear when appraising Kløve’s time at each club is his goal and assist tally. The midfielder scored 17 and assisted 11 in 109 games for Horsens, 14 goals and six assists in 68 matches followed for Sønderjyske, finally, Kløve currently has 11 goals and seven assists in 54 games for Odense. This scoring rate works out at 0.18 goals per appearance, with an assist rate of 0.1 per appearance. This is by no means ground-breaking, but, it highlights the offensive contribution that Kløve offers and provides predictive insight into his midfield roles.
2018/19 season at Odense
During his first full season at Odense, Kløve has shown his versatility by playing a number of roles. The Danish midfielder played 17 times in central midfield, 12 times as a left midfielder or left winger and single appearances in central attacking midfield, right midfield and right-back position. Whilst his versatility has led him to play in all midfield positions and even a match in defence, his tendency to play in central midfield or on the left-wing indicates he is a forward-thinking player with offensive attributes to match, as opposed to being a ball-winning midfielder or a deep-lying playmaker. Delving deeper into his heat maps, the notion of the Danish player being an offensive midfielder comes to light.
It appears that when playing the role described as central midfield, Kløve operates as the left central midfielder within a midfield three, giving him additional freedom to get forward. Kløve’s role is dependent upon the tactical system that Odense play. Odense frequently played tactical systems including a 3-4-3, 5-3-2, 3-5-2, 5-4-1. Within the 5-3-2 and 3-5-2, Kløve was deployed as the left central midfielder, tasked with supporting his two central midfield teammates, but, also pushing on into a left midfield or wing position, should the original wing-back or winger drop back or push forward. Within a 3-4-3 or 5-4-1, Kløve plays as a left-winger or left-midfielder.
In terms of a statistical appraisal of the 18/19 season, it appears that Odense operates using a balanced approach in both attack and defence. Their possession stat suggests a minor advantage in terms of average ball dominance and their press is ranked ninth. Such PPDA is lower than the league average and highlights a tendency to maintain a defensive structure rather than attempting to win the ball back immediately. In terms of construction, Odense is a passing team who like to progress and attack in various ways when they have the ball, further highlighting their balanced tactical approach. They were ranked 4th for passes per 90, 3rd for through balls per 90, 3rd for long passes per 90 and sixth for crosses per 90.
