Mohamed Mohamed is back with another scouting epic, this time assessing a range of midfielders in England’s fertile second tier
The Championship occupies a fascinating place within the football landscape. While it is the 2nd division of English football, it is the most well known 2nd division in Europe. The 46 game season length gives it more of a marathon feel compared to other leagues, inevitably leads to many twists and turns. Physicality is a major theme of matches in the division. The playoffs is maybe the most riveting television that European football can offer, producing some of the most captivating moments in recent memory.
Part of the lore of the Championship is it’s been home to loads of young talents who later went on to achieve stardom in the big five leagues. Gareth Bale had his first season as a pro with Southampton as a marauding left-back in 2006-07. Jack Grealish was one of the most exciting players in the division during the late 2010s as Aston Villa were trying to make it back to the Premier League. Jude Bellingham was freakishly good as a 16 year old in the league, and has gone from strength to strength as he now stars for Real Madrid.
That similar trend extends to midfielders as well. You’ll find several young CMs who got their feet wet in the Championship. Adam Lallana was a key figure in Southampton’s return to the Premier League following their promotion in 2012. We’ve already talked about the heights that Jude Bellingham has reached. Adam Wharton made the jump to Crystal Palace and when healthy, he’s been an above average Premier League player.
One of the cool things about the division is the diversity of young midfielders, the analysis of which will be the purpose of this exercise. We’ll be looking at some of the most intriguing young midfielders in the Championship right now, and how different each player interprets the position. As like last time when examining Ligue 2 prospects, the players in this piece will be in their age 23 and younger season, as designated by FBref.
Jobe Bellingham (19 years old, Sunderland)
Being the younger brother of one of the better players in football right now would be tough enough to navigate on its own. It’s heightened even more when you’re following a similar path to him, which will inevitably bring up the comparisons. Just like with Jude Bellingham, Jobe Bellingham has started his career as a teenage phenom in his own right, holding his own in the Championship since getting minutes during his age 16 season.
Bellingham’s off-ball work might be the most interesting part of his game so far. He’s always active in trying to stretch the opposition within the left channel, including situations when there’ll be choreographed runs into the left zone of the box for cut-back opportunities. Something cool that Bellingham will do is he’ll move against the grain of an opponent’s cover shadow to receive and find it easier to receive and set up his next move. Combine that with occasional forays into the box with second striker like runs, and you find an intriguing off-ball skill-set.
On the ball, Bellingham’s abilities are more mixed. As a receiver between the lines, his size can play a part in him being a bit clunky. The first touch can be heavy and eliminate potential forward actions (pass, carry), forcing possession backwards. He’s better when he allows the ball to roll past him and uses the momentum to get the advantage. There are also moments where he is able to turn away from pressure and make the type of high level plays you’re accustomed to seeing from the very best at his position. The chance he creates vs Oxford is the type of moment which shows his tantalizing potential.
Bellingham is not tasked with a ton of playmaking and progressive passing responsibilities, shown in some of his data. Among midfielders in the Championship this season, FBref has him in the 38th percentile for shot-creation actions, 55th in expected assisted goals, and 62nd in key passes. Being in the 33rd percentile for live-ball passes also is proof that he’s more of a periphery figure, although that is influenced to some extent by Sunderland being under 47% in possession. There are times where he could perhaps be more daring in looking for higher value passes instead of recycling possession, including passes into the left side of the box to set up secondary chances.
Defensively, Bellingham’s size and athleticism allows him to help in providing ample ground coverage. When defending opposition buildup, he’ll try to deny time and space on the opposition’s deepest midfielder, and can quickly deny space and time. Defending in Sunderland’s 4-4-2 zonal setup puts considerable responsibility on his plate to read sequences correctly and have proper body orientation, which he does a pretty good job with. He’s also got good instinct for being able to time his gambles on the blindside of a nearby receiver in Sunderland’s own third, which plays a part in why he’s in the 81st percentile of defensive 3rd tackles among CMs in the division according to FBref.
Bellingham is still young enough as a 19 year old that he can continue exploring the studio space some more with his skills, before eventually having to become more specialized either staying as part of the double pivot or moving further forward. Given his age and performance, there aren’t a ton of prospects currently with a more promising future than Jobe Bellingham.
Hayden Hackney (22 years old, Middlesbrough)
One of the major things that the biggest clubs in Europe are looking for from midfielders is being able to handle pressure. Ideally, it would be through both incisive passing and escaping individually through quick bursts off the dribble. With less space and time available at the highest level of play, evading incoming pressure as a dual threat is of the utmost importance. This is the biggest sales pitch when it comes to Hayden Hackney, arguably the crown jewel on Middlesbrough’s squad right now. TransferLab has been super high on his ball progression, which has him among the best midfielders in the league.
Watch him play, and it’s not hard to see the upside he has in possession as the type of conductor who can help connect sequences in central midfield. It feels like he’s always in control, no matter how much defensive pressure he’s up against. He’s constantly gesturing to receive ground passes to feet, even in traffic, and is one of those midfielders where the passes are consistently weighted nicely. Part of what makes him stand out are those moments where he can quicken the tempo during seemingly slow circulation of the ball, including sprinkling in some home-run attempts in behind.
Resourceful is probably an appropriate word to describe Hackney as a dribbler and carrier. He’s not an explosive athlete with an electric first step, but having the wherewithal to change tempo to keep the opponent on their heels can help alleviate athletic concerns. Something that helps him is he’s aggressive at attacking space to provoke the opposition, and with good decision making on the move, it makes him a threat in these situations.
Defensively, Hackney has his shortcomings, in part due to not having the athleticism needed to have robust ground coverage. While defending zonally in a 4-4-2, he can sometimes drop back a bit too much and decrease the defensive compactness. When defending during transitions, he’s not looking to immediately counterpress or be a playmaker defensively. In addition to not being great at defending passing angles within the defensive block, there are moments where it can feel like he doesn’t put up much resistance due to athletic deficiencies.
Whether Middlesbrough do end up winning promotion to the Premier League, it’s hard to imagine that Hayden Hackney will spend another season in the Championship, having already played regular minutes in the division since his age 20 season in 2022-23. His combination of connective tissue passing and spatial wherewithal makes him a hot commodity, one who could help improve a mid-level or upper tier club within a big five league.
Rubin Colwill (22 years old, Cardiff City)
Followers of my work over the years will likely know about my fascination with players who have closer to outlier physical tools, trying to find those unicorn types who can combine athleticism and on-ball technical skill. This extends to players who play further forward, including the continuing phenomenon of the jumbo sized striker in Europe. Standing at just over 6’2 (at least from reported figures), Rubin Colwill fits the profile of a player who has a large frame.
Similar to Bellingham, Colwill uses his athleticism to make forward runs, including underlapping forays or providing an extra target for potential crossing opportunities. He occupies the box more often than Bellingham due to his advanced position, averaging 3.69 penalty box touches per 90 via FBref, putting him in the 57th percentile among players at his position. Fifteen out of his 33 shots in the league this season have been from inside the box, a proportion which could certainly be improved (although, per FBref, his average shot distance has been dropping season-on-season). Bellingham probably rates better when it comes to finding pockets of space between the lines, although both are comparable in terms of being able to get out of traffic.
Colwill’s dribbling and ball-carrying do stand out upon watching him. The numbers are good, ranking in the 47th percentile among wingers and attacking midfielders for carries into the penalty box, 60th percentile for progressive carries, and 86th in successful take-ons. He’s got good reflexes for quickly sidestepping incoming opponents in the central zones, but can look more clunky while trying to size up opponents on the wing. One of the interesting things you’ll see from him at times is once he gets inside position on the ball, he’ll seal his opponent to take him out of the play and then make a progressive carry after riding a challenge. It’s sort of similar to what you see in basketball from lead creators, which has become commonplace in that sport.
Out of possession, Colwill shows promise. Defensive event data does need to be taken with some grains of salt, but he is above average at most of the basic metrics. He does a decent job with how he angles his curved runs when defending as part of the front two. This also shows itself in being able to shade the opponent into traffic and helping regain possession. He perhaps could be better with how he pressures on the blindside of nearby opponents, leveraging his athleticism to make more plays.
I’m curious to see whether Colwill’s creative numbers hold up as the season continues, as they’re on pace to be the best of his career to this point. Despite that, I’m not sure he’s someone who should be the primary or even secondary creative force for a high level attack due to question marks with his ball reception and weighting of his passes. The good news is there are enough other skills in his repertoire that he can still be a positive contributor in his own way going forward.
Wouter Burger (23 years old, Stoke City)
Wouter Burger is an interesting contrast to someone like Hayden Hackney because their skill-sets are considerably different. While Hackney is a metronome who is at the base of many possession sequences, Burger is used a lot more sparingly. TransferLab still scores him highly over the past 12 months of play, though, in large part due to his ability to break up play in the defensive and middle third with his athletic attributes.
In possession, Burger’s responsibilities are largely basic as he’s tasked with recycling possession. When he tries to come deeper to handle buildup responsibilities, it can look a little awkward and lead to him being hurried and having to get it to nearby teammates and have them get Stoke out of trouble, including hurried long balls. This is also the case in the middle third, with there being a bit of a Bambi on ice feel due to his size at around 6’3. There’s an argument that he’s too conservative with his initial intentions on the ball, opting for safety rather than being more of a risk taker with pass selection. The throughball vs Birmingham was probably the most progressive sequence I could find from the matches I’ve watched of him.
HIGHLIGHTS | Birmingham vs. Stoke (EFL Championship 2023-24)
Off-ball movement and positioning is an area where perhaps Burger could have a greater impact. Part of it is that he could be more aggressive with how he’s positioned to help provide a passing option instead of staying on the same line as teammates. That can help create overloads in certain situations. In terms of movement, despite not being the fastest out there, he can eat up space. It also helps lessen the issues with him handling deeper buildup duties. Among midfielders in the Championship last season according to FBref, he was in the 56th percentile in progressive passes received and 60th in touches in the box. Those numbers have plummeted to 26th and 27th respectively, this season.
As shown in his TransferLab profile, the out of possession stuff is Burger’s bread and butter. His height allows him to cover ground and make plays, even if he’s not the quickest. The height also helps with handling aerial duels. In terms of tracking off-ball runs, he’s pretty good but perhaps not exceptional. At least last season, he showed himself to be proficient in making himself big to generate interceptions and blocks. That’s why he’s had several matches in 2023-24 where he generated 5 or more combined tackles and interceptions.
Since Stoke’s relegation to the Championship following the 2017-18 season, they’ve been in English football’s wilderness, providing a cautionary tale for those who think they can immediately regain PL status. Burger’s arrival in the summer of 2023 has been one of the few bright spots for the club, although if he continues to perform at a solid level even with some of the concerns in-possession, he might not be there for long.
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