London… the destination for many a footballer in this modern age. Whether it’s the profile of the club you are moving to, the location or the array of new and shiny things to keep you entertained, there really is something for everyone. Where better to look for this Pre-season article, in which I hope to give you a little bit more information than the standard player profiles. Come the first FPL deadline every bit of knowledge could be key come May. Whether you utilise it now or in the future could be the difference of winning 24 cans of Lervig Three Bean stout or winning the contains of the empty box they have vacated.

I could have picked any midfielders to write about from the 40 odd listed from the London clubs. But there are reasons I chose the players that you will see here today. They could have outstanding seasons for their clubs and in turn in FPL. They all have a point to prove, albeit a very different point. This coupled with the numbers and how they play could make for a very interesting season.

Dele

“We’ve got Alli, Dele Alli, I just don’t think you understand, He’s better than Ozil and only cost 5 mill, we’ve got Dele Alliiiiii”. I love him, if he wasn’t at my club I wouldn’t but that is what makes it great. This is a midfielder who has it all. He can pass, run, shoot, he has technique, he has the stature. He even has that aggression and arrogance on the pitch that you cannot coach. For me, on his day he is unplayable. The partnership he has at Spurs with Kane and Son works wonders; we just need to see more from him. He looks sidelined for the first week, but is looking to be ok for the City game.

Let’s take a quick look at each of his three previous seasons and what made him stand out in them.

15/16 which was his breakthrough year at Spurs saw him used in mainly two positions. One of an attacking three behind Kane or in central midfield alongside Dier. If Poch was trying to find out his best position then look no further than 10 goals and 9 assists. In these goals included THE goal against Palace which showcased a bit of everything that made Alli great. He had a knack of turning up late in the box and developed a partnership with one of our own that was helping both their games.

23.01.16 – Heatmap from a 3-1 win at Palace, goal and assist. You can see with this and throughout the season he is still finding his best position. Drifting in from that left to the more central areas. Chasing the ball rather than waiting for it in an attacking position. To be expected of a player so young and with so much energy.

16/17 was probably his standout season so far, this coincided with him playing off Kane as more as a second striker. They both thrived and this shows in their numbers. Alli getting 18 goals and 7 assists, and Kane 29 goals and 7 assists. 61 goal contributions for a Spurs side that finished 2nd and scored a total of 86 goals, which was the highest in the league.

28.12.16-Heatmap from a 4-1 at Southampton where he got 2 goals. Playing off that left and working in tandem with Kane to create havoc. This season his positioning seemed more central even when starting on the left. With Dele dovetailing often with Kane to form a front two

17/18 Alli played a more conservative role up front and midfield. Two separate ankle injuries to Kane also changed Spurs’ formation with Son leading the line. The different skill set up front changed the dynamic and he adapted. He still managed a respectable 9 goals and 10 assists. I think this type of season after the high numbers was always going to happen.

31.01.18 – Heatmap from a 2-0 win over UTD where as you can see he is all over the pitch. Not due to personnel but due the job he had to do. He had no shots on target only completed 3 out of his 7 dribbles. He as fully focused on doing his job for the team. Pressing high on the opposition’s half hoping to exploit any mistakes.

18/19 things seemed to go against him. First of all, he missed 20 games and only played 1882 minutes in the league. A big drop in numbers for the attacking midfielder or should I say Jack of all midfield trades. During his minutes last year, he was deployed in several midfield positions. This was due to other injuries and the already light midfield area and no signings since Lucas in 2018. This meant he was regularly deployed in positions in which he can play but which do harm his attacking output. With Spurs also changing this year and often playing two up top with Kane and one from Lucas or Son.

03.04.19 – Heatmap from a 2-0 over palace. You can see his heat is mainly on the left, but again he is all around the pitch. In this game he started in CM with Rose as a winger. Always giving him the option of going past him. He spent more in that left CM spot as you can see helping out the left side as much as he could. This game just started with him and Sissoko in CM as we were so short. This obviously stops his forward movement being as progressive as he would want. But here the team shape came first.

Conclusion.?

So what do you see when you see Alli? I See an attacking midfielder with 42 goals and 32 assists in 131 games in the premier league. He has all the natural attributes to get to those numbers again providing that he stays fit and nails down a position.

The only real reservation I have at the minute is the composition of our midfield. Eriksen still here and GLC not signed (at the time of writing) could mean his favoured position is not available. Pre-Season has given us no real indication, with most of our players only playing 45 mins in each game.

Priced at 8.5m in FPL with only Mahrez and Pogba for company in that bracket. He needs to be one you can take a chance to gamble on and if he hits then you look great and roll with it. Hopefully he gets fit and gets a place in that midfield.

He has a potentiallyto start in the tricky GW2 at City. After that he has troubled Newcastle at home and the defensive mess that is Arsenal away. He loves a London Derby! Then Spurs do not play a top side until Liverpool in GW10.

I hope this gives you a little bit more information on Alli as we move ever closer to the new season. He has a huge point to prove to himself as he thrives to be one of the best players on the pitch and for once he could have some proper competition for his spot. One thing I am sure of we are more than likely to have a Spurs midfield asset in our squads at some point, hope this is a case for it being him.

Ceballos

Arsenals new Loan ranger is a young Spaniard who at 22 has already played for one of the World’s best clubs. Has won the Champions League, World Club Cup and the Spanish Super Cup with them. And won the Under 19’s European Championships and has just come back as an U21 European Championship winner. Already you can see what kind of player Arsenal have secured here.

Now one thing Ceballos does not have for me to wax lyrical about in this article are numbers. Well he does have numbers but they are very limited. So here they are. He has 12 professional club goals and 11 assists and a mighty 29 yellow cards. Now that part is over, we can look at what type of player he is and where he will hopefully fit into Emery’s system.

Ceballos works well as a central midfielder in a two or being the left sided one in a three. He also plays well as a Number 10, he has been shunted out left on a few occasions but his skill set does not suit playing fully in the wide areas. He doesn’t naturally scream goal scoring midfielder but given the fact Arsenal have more of the grafting midfielders he could be given that licence to get a bit further forward.

So what does his skillset bring to the Woolwich then? Imagine a Modric type, he retains possession, carries the ball in the final third, moves through midfield with that elegant Andalusian touch. Take ons are not really part of Ceballos’ attacking arsenal, and he doesn’t possess that raw pace and acceleration to get past a player that way. He beats people with his intelligence and technical ability. He attacks space and uses his physicality to hold off while picking his pass.

Lets have a quick look at some of his previous years and see what the heatmaps tell us.

19.04.16 – Heatmap from 1-0 over Las Palmas

Ceballos played left of a an attacking midfield 3. Drifting in to central areas but predominantly wide left. During this match he used passing and not dribbling to aid his team mates and create two big chances. One of which was converted for the only goal of the game. This is peak early Dani, starting on that left and staying there mostly to influence proceedings.



3.3.17 – Heatmap from a 3-2 loss vs Sociedad

Played in the central 2 of a narrow 4 behind a lone forward. His position is all over if you look at it. Deep centrally to wide right. He was doing all kinds of jobs here. Helping his right back out with Canales to stemming the passing of Illarramendi in central areas. He managed one assist, 79% pass completion. As he was mainly central, he also completed 5 out of his 5 attempted dribbles.

26.10.17 = Heatmap from a 2-0 vs Fuenlabrada

Now here we have Evolution. It might only be for Real’s B team in the Copa Del Rey but he plays in a midfield pair and look at that map. Mainly left sided but its intense and he looks to get into those dangerous positions now. 106 passes 92% accuracy, 3 out of 3 dribbles completed. Mans upping his game.

22.06.19 – Heatmap from Spain U21 5-0 vs Poland U21

Oh my. In this match Ceballos started as a Number 10, scored one and made one. 104 passes with 92% accuracy, challenged for balls, completed 6 out of 7 dribbles. Just did everything well. Some might say with this young Spanish side that it would be easy. He played 5 games, scored 2 goals and 2 assists in the tournament. An integral part of that winning side.

Conclusion.?

So what do we have in Ceballos, we have a technically proficient midfielder with a great passing range, passing numbers and accuracy. I really like what I have seen from him and am really envious of what a talent Arsenal have for a year. He can do things in that side that no one else can. If he is allowed to probe forward while they have two sitting midfielders, I fear for whoever is facing the trio of Auba, Laca and Pepe.

My worry with him and might be not that much of a worry, is that he could start in the midfield two say behind Ozil. Now he can still get about and do damage from here but it would limit his appeal somewhat. He has a point to prove to Real and himself I guess, hopefully his gap year out of the Champions League might do him some good. Once he is gone from Arsenal the only way is up.

From an FPL point of view he is 5.5m which for a top 6 club is not bad value, IF he holds down a starting role. He doesn’t look like he will get you goals but could quite easily get you assists from the rapid front three. His passing is guaranteed to be at the higher end for Arsenals midfielders. And he is very capable from a dead ball.

Your other 5.5 midfielders that you can really look at are Moutinho at Wolves, maybe Gray at Leicester and Armstrong at Southampton. The field is pretty sparse apart from them.

They start with Newcastle away and then Burnley. As an opening pair of FPL fixtures you cannot ask for something that resembles that. GW3/4 with Liverpool away and Spurs at home could prove as hard as the opening proved easy. Follow that up with Watford away and Villa at home and I can see him starting 4 out of those 6 fixtures. Is this enough for my 4th choice midfielder? maybe, maybe not.

I hope this enlightens you in regards to the rental Diamond in Arsenals ranks for 19/20. Writing this has not made my GW1 decisions any easier but has secured in my mind he could be the best 5.5 midfielder.

Barkley

The Transfer ban that is currently imposed on London’s most vulgar club might be the best thing that has happened to one scouse midfield dynamo. When he first moved to Chelsea for what seemed then and really seems it now, a modest 15m, they thought they had someone to fill Lampard’s boots. Fast forward to 19/20 and Lampard is lauding Barkley’s great Pre-season form, as his manager.

Along with Lamela I think Barkley has really mastered the Pre-season awards for the passed few years. Play well, score some goals and look like you fit it. That is exactly what Barkley has done so far in July. 3 goals and 3 assists including a penalty (with Jorginho on the pitch) and a stunning free kick. But can he keep this up.

Barkley is a strange player to watch and write about. He has no outstanding attributes and no real negatives to his game. In the same match he can look languid and sloppy but then springs into action and looks every bit the continental midfield playmaker that he sometimes threatens to be.

His passing is generally always up there, with its accuracy. He plays on average 40 passes a game, which vary between safe passing (more in a Chelsea shirt) to probing through balls (easier to try with less pressure in an Everton shirt) but then has a 23% cross accuracy and a 29% shooting accuracy. Mixed bag is the feeling here.

Let’s see what happened to make Barkley into the player he is today.

13/14 is when Barkley first burst onto the scene. Playing as left of an attacking three behind the, then marauding Lukaku. He managed a respectable 6 goals and 4 assists as people started to notice this young talented midfielder.

14/15 was hit and miss as he sustained ligament damage and played 300 minutes less. He scored 2 goals and 3 assists and ended up playing in a central two. He did this for most of his minutes that season.

15/16 was the season where his position was really cemented and he starting forming a formidable partnership as a number 10 behind the still scoring for fun Lukaku. He scored 8 goals and registered 9 assists that year and played the most minutes in any season to date.

15.08.15 – Heatmap in a 3-0 win vs Saints. Started central behind Lukaku, one goal and one assist. Operating in that left channel of the final third. Linking up with the forward and also penetrating the defence through the middle.

16/17 was a tactical whirlwind for Barkley. He ended up playing as a right sided winger, one of two number 10’s or left centre in a midfield three. This had its pro’s and con’s, with his goal tally being 5 but his assists shot up to 11. He played the right wing role more than he didn’t in this season and added assists and awareness to his game.

04.02.17 – Heatmap in a crazy 6-3 win over Bournemouth. Started Right wing here and played all over. Helped out his right back and also in central midfield. 1 goal and 1 assist, 39 passes with 81% accuracy. Crazy game which showcased his strengths and his engine over the 90 minutes.

17/18 was a catasrophe with hamstring injuries book ending his January 18 move to Chelsea. So 18/19 he hoped to start a fresh. But he played as many minutes if not more in the cups than in the league. He did start the season in the line up playing on the left of the central three. But form and an injury in February meant he did not get as many games as possible as Sarri kept tinkering with that midfield all season.

02.02.19 – Heatmap in 5-0 win vs Huddersfield. Started central in this game and as you can see all the action in the left side of the pitch. Probing forward he got one assist, 71 passes 94% accuracy. Great overall display vs the leagues strugglers.



Conclusion.?

So with Barkley we have a midfielder that it seems can do a hell of a lot but still seemingly has limitations that maybe a full season in one role could dispel. He has a point to prove to most Chelsea supporters who feel like they have not seen the best in the 18 months they have had him. Form, Injuries as discussed earlier along with three different managers already, has not helped Barkley.

Lampard has some decisions to make in his opening few weeks. Which striker starts, does Alonso get a fresh start. But for me the midfield is the most interesting to see, he has the Jorginho/Kovacic conundrum, RLC returning, if Kante is a defensive midfielder (note: he is) and where Barkley fits in. With young and talented Mount also involved and looking good Barkley has more challengers. However, he could have an advantage with having the experience and now 25. He should be approaching his best years for club and country.

From a FPL view he is 6m, along with Chelsea youngsters CHO and Mount. New boys James, Ndombele and Trossard. The 6m bracket could be labelled punt zone.. as everyone in it could be seen as a punt. From previous mercurial players to new, no idea what to expect imports.

Chelsea need to cover the departed Hazard’s goals, with no real number one striker, fleeting cameos from their wingers and new USA golden boy Pulisic who will step up. Hopefully it can be Barkley he would be a great pick if he gets that regular run in the attacking midfield set up. Where we know he can score goals and pick a pass.

Chelsea start at Manchester UTD, another team in transition, then have the progressive Leicester. Two newcomers in Norwich and Sheffield UTD, and then two hard games in Wolves and Champions League winners at home in GW6. Not the best start, but if he hits the ground running with the 90 minutes and a goal, who knows what could be. Could Lampard get the best out of him and get those 15 goals a season that he can easily achieve.

So, there is the Blues pre season top boy, I really do believe there is still time for Barkley this season to prove the doubters wrong and cement that place in the first 11. Hopefully you have learnt a little about Barkley and what he could do this season.

Thanks again for reading.