Footy_metrics

There's obvious caveats with this (played only ~700 minutes, not all from midfield), but point still partly stands

I'm not saying he was/would've been a world-beater for us, but I always felt his ability to consistently get at the end of chances was a bit overlooked

Even before the Sem Steijn links, I found a certain interesting player who ranks 3rd in non-penalty xG and 2nd in open play touches in the penalty area this season (per 90 minutes) among all midfielders I've collected (>2000 players)

That player? Ondřej Lingr

Overall, I'm very curious how Van Persie will set up the midfield, especially when everyone is back fit. I think we have quite a lot of quality players in midfield, but I'm still not fully convinced it's rightly balanced, if that makes sense

I think Milambo could potentially develop well into that role, as he's shown at times already, but he has been run into the ground this season. He shouldn't have to play almost every game in the future, as he was earlier this season

Especially with Giménez gone, we are lacking some presence and dominance in the opponent's box imo. Although Ueda played really well against FC Twente, he's not that dominant in the box compared to Giménez. A proper box-crashing midfielder could also benefit our striker

Seen a lot of 'Sem Steijn to Feyenoord' discourse these last few days, which makes sense given he played and scored against us

He'll probably be too expensive for my liking, but I do agree with the overall consensus that we lack that kind of player a bit

First proper minutes for Targhalline yesterday, and I thought he immediately showed what he's capable of. Orchestrating, always showing for the ball, and trying to accelerate play where possible. Was also happily surprised by his duelling yesterday

Decent start!

Let me know if you encounter problems, then I can maybe look for another solution next time I do something like this

Apologies for the delay, but here is the detailed thread on Oussama Targhalline, finally

I had some trouble with implementing the clips on Bluesky, which doesn't work perfectly yet. Seems like it's not working for some of those clips now, for me at least

If you've made it this far, thanks a lot for reading!

Let me know what you think of this format, and especially the video clips as this is the first time I've tried something like this

As a pure Wieffer successor as a lone pivot, he needs some work in the duelling and defensive department. But all in all, I think he can actually work really well in Hwang's current role, with someone physical (Moder) next to him

In conclusion: I'm happily surprised by the maturity Targhalline is showing. He's very secure on the ball and doesn't tend to lose it in dangerous positions. Off the ball, he also has a very good feeling of cutting off passing lanes, and sensing when to press

The awareness of movement behind him, especially when defending in his own half, is something he needs to improve imo, especially if he is to be a lone holding midfielder long-term

🔴Awareness of runs in-behind

Another reason why I think Targhalline is definitely not a lone '6' (yet), is his defensive awareness. As mentioned before, he's an intelligent presser when it comes to forward pressing, but he does then largely disregard the opponents behind him

He is pretty decent in aerial duels, though. His timing and anticipation for aerial duels is generally pretty good. It's mainly the ground duelling that is an issue for me

He likes to position himself well to intercept passes, which he's pretty good at, but he seems to not like to get into direct duels. That might also be because he doesn't have the duelling strength to win the majority of those ground duels

🔴Engagement in duels

I've often seen Targhalline compared to Wieffer, but that's not very logical imo. Targhalline doesn't have that duelling power and defensive security Wieffer gave us. He generally doesn't engage in ground duels a lot.

However, I don't see this as much of an issue either when he plays in a team where the build-up qualities of his teammates are at a higher level

🟠Drops very deep to collect the ball

Targhalline tends to drop very deep to receive the ball. When the build-up isn't working, he tends to position himself next to the centre-backs, outside the opponent's block. I personally don't like that as that often doesn't have much value

🟠Weak foot usage

Targhalline very rarely uses his left foot. In his case this isn't as much of an issue because a) his weak-foot ability is pretty decent when utilized, and b) he has the agility and dribbling to create all kinds of passing angles, even just with his right foot

targhalline_transition This is "targhalline_transition" by Footy_metrics on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.

We've seen we as a team have had some issues with transition moments this season. Targhalline shows he is sharp in transitions, stopping potentially dangerous counter-attacks from opponents, and also starting them for his own team at times

vimeo.com/1058726122?s...

targhalline_pressing This is "targhalline_pressing" by Footy_metrics on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.

🟢Pressing & ground covering

Targhalline is generally a good presser. He's deceptively quick, which means he can catch out opponents when they think they have more time than Targhalline actually gives him

vimeo.com/1058725785?s...

targhalline_interceptions This is "targhalline_interceptions" by Footy_metrics on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.

🟢Interceptions

Out of possession, he shows signs of an intelligent player as well. He's frequently looking around to position himself for interceptions, and he's generally very good at intercepting passes and recovering possession in that way

vimeo.com/1058724832?s...

targhalline_movement This is "targhalline_movement" by Footy_metrics on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.

Also further up the pitch, Targhalline shows his intelligence in terms of off-ball movement. He picks up smart positions to help out his teammates, and can also contribute with well-timed runs in-behind, albeit not that often

vimeo.com/1058725046?s...

🟢Movement

Another crucial aspect for a pivot in build-up is movement to receive from the first line. Targhalline shows this in abundance. He never hides, always wants to receive the ball, and will always move around to get away from opponents to be able to receive

targhalline_carrying This is "targhalline_carrying" by Footy_metrics on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.

🟢Dribbling & carrying

Apart from dribbling as a press resistant first receiver, Targhalline is also a progressive carrier from midfield. He often tries to accelarate play by carrying the ball up the pitch, and also tries taking opponents on

vimeo.com/1058724691?s...

targhalline_playmaking This is "targhalline_playmaking" by Footy_metrics on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.

🟢Composure, dribbling & ball retention

The main aspects that make a quality pivot in build-up: being secure on the ball, never fazed by opponents pressing, and having the dribbling technique to turn away from pressure

Targhalline has all those qualities

vimeo.com/1058725229?s...

targhalline_technique This is "targhalline_technique" by Footy_metrics on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.

🟢Technique

First thing that stands out with Targhalline is his technique. His first touch is excellent, very good close control, and good ball striking technique, which is shown mainly in his long passes. The technical foundations are clearly there

vimeo.com/1058728627/8...

Oussama Targhalline

🟢Technique
🟢Composure on the ball
🟢Dribbling & carrying
🟢Ball retention
🟢Movement
🟢Intelligent pressing & interceptions
🟢Ground covering
🟠Weak foot usage
🟠Drops very deep to collect the ball
🔴Engagement in duels
🔴Awareness of runs in-behind

Two weeks ago, Feyenoord signed Moroccan midfielder Oussama Targhalline from Le Havre AC, and we were already able to see glimpses of his qualities against NAC yesterday. But what kind of player is Targhalline, and most importantly, what does he add to Feyenoord?

[Big thread]