What Reading Need For Next Season: Midfield

Alex thinks the Royals could do with additional deeper-lying and advanced midfield options.

Football’s a funny old game really, isn’t it? This time last year, we were upset at the relegation to League One, the first time we had been in such a seemingly lowly division for 20-odd years. And now, here we are, relieved to have been able to even stay in it.

However, stay in it we have managed to do, and now we need to start thinking ahead to next year and building on our strong finish. New owners are hopefully on their way soon, but it’s business as usual from a transfer perspective: we need to keep the wallet closed and operate in strict financial conditions with the wages that we can offer.

Having already looked at the defence, in this article attention turns to the midfield.

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Midfield: The synopsis

I’ve broken the midfield down into two parts: defensive midfield and attacking midfield. In our 4-2-3-1 system this would be one of the two players who form part of the “2” for the defensive midfield and the central player in the “3” of the attack. For the 4-1-4-1, defensive midfield would be the “1” between the lines and attacking midfield would be one of the central players in the last line of “4”.

I didn’t include wingers here, as they are more part of the attack than the midfield, while our attacking midfielders often will drop back and support the central midfield in the 4-2-3-1 and naturally form part of the central midfield pairing in the 4-1-4-1.

Effectively, from what I can see, we need a true defensive midfielder to ease the pressure on Michael Craig and the defensive burdens on Charlie Savage and Lewis Wing in particular, and we really need someone who can provide a secondary option for Harvey Knibbs. We seem pretty well covered for central midfielders who operate as an “8”, so I don’t see any need to recruit for this particular midfield role.

Defensive midfield

A curious role here. Technically, we only really have one defined defensive midfielder who plays as a true “6” and that’s Michael Craig. But he’s a bit rough around the edges and understandably so for a 20-year-old who’s only just broken through to senior football.

Wing and Savage have done well in this role but I see them more as “deep-lying 8s” than true defensive “6s”, as evidenced in their success as a double pivot in the 4-2-3-1 system where defensive responsibility can be shared.

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Maybe we still need ourselves our own N’Golo Kante. Jack Senga-Ngoyi seems the most likely from the academy who can make this step up. He’s a defensive midfielder by nature, has experience playing first-team senior football in a physical league (Ayr United, Scottish Championship) and is a regular for Noel Hunt’s side. As well as this, he offers something we don’t necessarily have an abundance of in midfield: height. He’s a physical presence at 6´2”. Savage, Craig, Ben Elliott and Tivonge Rushesha are all 6´0” or under.

Speaking of Rushesha, he’s also an option. I think he’s probably more of an 8, with energy to burn, and is likely to be more useful a bit further up the pitch. However, it’s worth noting that he is already on the edges of the first team so is likely to be in the minds of the coaching staff as they plan for how to utilise him next season - if his contract is extended.

Joe Powell

Looking further afield, Joe Powell of Burton Albion strikes me as an option. Firstly, his contract expires this summer, which is always good news. Secondly, with Burton just surviving relegation by the skin of their teeth, a move to Reading could be seen as a step up. Lastly, he’s 25, League One-ready, and has recorded some encouraging stats among his five goals and two assists from defensive midfield.

Per game he averages 1.5 tackles, 0.9 interceptions, 2.1 clearances and 1.3 key passes. His pass-success rate of 69.1% is… worrying, but perhaps this is reflective of the playing style of the team and playing long balls a lot. Or perhaps a factor here is that he has been deployed further forward in Burton’s system, which will make it difficult to play successful balls. Surely worth a closer look?

Herbie Kane

Someone we recently got a look at is Herbie Kane, currently of Barnsley. The former Liverpool youth academy product has spent four years at Barnsley and was also a key performer for the side in the Championship, prior to their relegation. Despite all this experience, he is still only 25.

He started this season strong for Barnsley but seems to have gone off the boil somewhat, which could suggest that he is open to moving elsewhere, with his contract due to run out at the end of this season. Key attributes that Kane has recorded this season include nine goals, five assists, an 80.1% pass success rate, 1.2 tackles per game and 1.6 key passes per game.

Alex Robertson

It often seems that teams which are able to recruit from the Manchester City academy, whether it be on loan or permanent transfer, tend to do well. They have quite an academy there, so let’s jump on that bandwagon with Alex Robertson, who has been representing Portsmouth on loan this season, but is currently sidelined with an injury.

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Robertson has weighed in with four assists and one goal in 21 appearances this season for Portsmouth, and other encouraging per-game statistics are: 1.1 aerials won, 1.7 shots, 1.3 key passes, 1.2 dribbles, 1.2 tackles and an 82.3% pass success rate. With room to grow and further his development, Reading could be an ideal club him to achieve his potential.

Armani Little

Finally, Armani Little, with a stylish name for quite a stylish player. Currently playing for mid-table AFC Wimbledon in League Two, the 27-year-old is recording some good defensive stats in the league and looks like he could be a solid squad option to provide a solid base in midfield and experience to the side.

His defensive stats per game for the season read as 2.2 tackles, 1.3 interceptions, 0.9 interceptions and 1.3 aerials won. From an attacking standpoint, he has provided four goals and four assists this season and registered per game 1.1 key passes, 1.4 shots and a pass success rate of 73.5%.

Teaming up with Ruben Sellés and former AFC Wimbledon coach James Oliver Pearce could see Little further develop his game as he approaches his peak years.

Proposed options

Internal: Jack Senga-Ngoyi (academy) and Tivonge Rushesha (academy).

External: Joe Powell (Burton Albion – free), Herbie Kane (Barnsley – free), Alex Robertson (Manchester City – free) and Armani Little (AFC Wimbledon – free)

Attacking midfielder

By which I mean a “number 10”, and by which I really mean “someone to give Harvey Knibbs time to put his feet up and have a cuppa”. Knibbs is really the one person in the team that we don’t seem to have any natural like-for-like replacements for, other than perhaps Azeez’ place on the right wing.

Knibbs has a real engine on him and never stops running, has a great understanding linking the midfield and attack together, the fluidity to drift wide to support the wingers, and has an eye for goal contributions. Not only this, he is a defensive lynchpin for the side, with the number of tackles and interceptions he makes higher up the pitch, allowing for quick turnovers and transitions to catch teams out of shape and on the break.

One of these things would be tricky enough to replace, but finding a player who embodies all of this as a direct replacement is no mean feat. Perhaps if we had another striker option, Sam Smith could drop deeper as a 10 or maybe if Ben Elliott continues his run of form, he has a decent shout of stepping up to cover Knibbs. The same could be said of Savage, who certainly has the work rate to match Knibbs, but isn’t necessarily seen as a real attacking outlet, set pieces aside.

Maybe one internal option is Charlie Wellens, from the under-21s. He nominally operates in a number 10 role for the academy side and contributed five goals and one assist in the regular league season, and is able to drop a bit deeper into midfield (like Knibbs) or float out wide (like Knibbs). His previous education at Manchester United with Charlie Savage could also be a budding relationship on the field.

I’ve also mentioned Rushesha as, much like Knibbs, he has energy to burn. I’d like to see more of what he is able to do in an attacking role as he seems to operate more as a 6 or a deeper-lying 8, but still only 21, he has time to develop his game still – if retained.

Marc Leonard

Looking outside the club, one name stands out as an option for us: Marc Leonard, currently on loan at Northampton Town from Brighton & Hove Albion. He can play anywhere in midfield and has registered five goals and six assists this season, predominately playing as an 8. However, he also has great defensive attributes, making 2.6 tackles and 1.3 interceptions per game. His passing game is excellent too, with an 81.8% accuracy, and a range of passing styles dependent on where he is on the pitch.

A loan signing of this quality could really be a game-changer for us and, at 22, young with League One experience, he will blend in well with the rest of the squad and also contribute across other areas of the midfield to allow for squad rotation and injury cover, given how many games our first-teamers can be expected to play next season.

George Maris

Elsewhere, looking at League Two, George Maris of Mansfield Town has recorded some really good performances this season with Mansfield securing automatic promotion to League One. However, he has a contract expiring this summer and could be keen on stepping up to a bigger club, such as Reading, for the prime years of his career.

Photo by Joe Giddens/PA Images via Getty Images

Maris has had a good season in front of goal, providing 11 goals and six assists for the team. Some other really good attacking statistics that stand out are his 83.5% pass-success rate and his 1.4 key passes and 1.7 shots per game. Defensively, he’s not contributed a huge amount for the side but still racks up 1.7 tackles and 0.7 aerial duels won per game. Perhaps with the right coaching, these figures can be improved.

Callum O’Hare

Lastly, and looking up the leagues now, Callum O’Hare of Coventry City stands out as a potentially good signing. Only 25 years old, he has featured pretty regularly for Coventry this season but not in every game. This could explain his slightly lower goal contributions - compared to the other two names - of 10 goals and three assists.

However, his passing is excellent, at an 86% success rate and 1.2 key passes made per game, along with 0.7 dribbles per game, which demonstrates he is also quite a mobile player. He is another one that will need to demonstrate a little more improvement in his defensive game, but 1.1 tackles per match is a decent foundation upon which to build.

Proposed options

Internal: Sam Smith (role change), Tivonge Rushesha (academy) and Charlie Wellens (academy)

External: Marc Leonard (Brighton – loan), George Maris (Mansfield – free) and Callum O’Hare (Coventry City – free)