How do we fit Malo Gusto & Reece James into the starting XI?

This is tricky, and not as simple as putting James in CDM or RCB in a 3 in my mind.

Good Morning Ladies & Gents,

Firstly I apologise for lack of article yesterday, today you will have two from me.

This is a question that I have heard multiple times in the last few weeks and one that I have started to think deeply about.

Lots and lots of people have been saying to move into CDM or RCB in a 3 and I really am not a massive fan of either of those ideas. Purely because I think it puts serious limitations on Reece and his qualities. There is no doubt in my mind he would be world class in both of those positions, just because he is an amazing footballer, but I do think it puts serious limitations on his skillset and abilities which all naturally suit a Right Back role.

The first issue I have with moving Reece inside to a defensive midfield role it means one of 2 things in our current setup, you either have to push Enzo Fernandez further forward which is far from ideal as we have seen this season it really limits his game and how he effects games OR it means removing Moises Caicedo from the side which as much as I love Reece and think he would do a great job as a DM , he wouldn’t be a better overall DM than Caicedo is/will be.

I also think being anywhere central on the pitch limits Reece’s crossing angles and what makes them so effective, although an excellent passer of the ball and miles and miles better than Trent Alexander-Arnold, their passing ranges are so different and the way they like to cross/pass is so different, so anyone trying to say Reece can do what Trent can do in terms of playing in midfield it isn’t quite that easy.

Reece loves to overlap and cross from wide anywhere within the final 3rd whereas in a DM role he would have to pull wide and cross from the middle 3rd which is a completely different angle and not something that suits his style, he is a powerful crosser of the ball who loves to hit the no mans land between defenders and goalkeeper, crossing from deep is pinpoint on to players heads and not necessarily into areas, which is what Reece loves to hit.

Reece is in the top 5% of full-backs in Europe for Touches in the final 3rd, but barely in the top 20% for touches in the middle 3rd. That would have to almost switch around for him to play in a DM role, it would naturally change as he would take up more positions in the middle 3rd, but whether he would be able to put his mark on gaes the way he does now is questionable to me, albeit I still believe he would be excellent in the role.

If you was to play him in a RCB in a 3 that limits him even further in my mind, yes we would get his excellent defensive abilities and solidity but it would almost strip back his entire attacking threat which what makes him who he is, he attacks as well as he defends and is the best Right Back on the planet when fit, why we would want to limit that is beyond me, EVEN for such a talent that is Malo Gusto.

In my opinion it limits Reece too much to “change his position” to incorporate Malo Gusto into the XI, BUT there are other ways. I understand the points about it could help his injury record etc. but that was the whole point of him having surgery was to eradicate his injury problems and nobody will know how that has gone until Reece is back playing week in week out and bombing up and down like he does.

On to Malo Gusto, this guy is immense and you will all probably know how much I rate him from the article I wrote last week on him, see it here.

I am not joking (may be being biased) when I say that I believe Malo Gusto is within the top 5/6 right backs in the premier league and we are extremely lucky to have 2 of the players on that list, he is an exceptional talent and is improving week on week.

BUT, how do we fit him in when Reece James, our captain is available???

In my opinion there are two options….

ROTATION; rotating between the two, which will obviously mean less workload for Reece and more minutes for Malo to allow him to continue to develop and improve.

LEFT BACK; Malo proved recently that he is as good on the left as he is on the right, as much as I love Ben Chilwell and what he brings to the team, if two of Chilly, Reece and Malo are starting every week then we will be in great hands.

As mentioned in my article last week it doesn’t actually matter what side of the pitch you play Malo on, he has the some influence on a game due to his unique ball manipulation, the way he receives the ball and the way he can turn and pass with either foot. He is defensively sound in both positions as again he has proved.

IF anyone says “lets stop putting round pegs into square holes” or “lets stop playing players out of position” then they clearly do not understand the abilities and strengths of Malo Gusto. I am very adamant and strong minded on this particular player and his capabilities, we would notice no difference in the performance of Malo on either side.

To me that is the only way you get both players into the same XI.

Thank you all for reading, please give me your thoughts below.

Luke Rushbrook