Uran Bislimi.

@geo_tsar: 🚨🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 #WatfordFC has made significant progress in negotiations with #Lugano to sign Uran Bislimi❗️

🇨🇭The Swiss midfielder has reached a verbal agreement with the English club for a four-year contract and is awaiting the approval of the transfer ⏳

Reportedly, Watford are keen on signing Bislimi - a 26 year-old midfielder playing in the top flight of Swiss football for Lugano. I want to touch on multiple things before I get to the player himself and my small breakdown of him.

Firstly. When recruiting into the Championship, you have to look at the style of the league and what works. Midfielders that tend to do well here are either excellent ball players, or duel monsters. You can’t get away with being just physically or athletically gifted, you need an outlier to be consistently good and compete at the top of the league. Or, in some cases, have an extremely lucky season where god is on your side. If you look at the standout midfielders last season in the division - Imran Louza, Aiden Morris, Hayden Hackney, Matt Grimes, Casper Jander, Azor Matusiwa, Camiel Neghli; I can go on. These are all players who are either top of the range playmakers or their engine/ball winning ability sets them apart, or both. Don’t be fooled by thinking guys like Grimes and Louza aren’t athletic, they absolutely are - they take contact and ride challenges better than most when pressed. People confuse power with athleticism too much - Luka Modric is an extremely athletic player for example. Back to Championship modified though, being just fine is fine, but you’ll struggle to make an impact - I don’t think people realise how much quality is needed in this league to be good. The Championship is better than a lot of nations top leagues. For example; Hearts nearly won the SPL last season and they’ve recently signed a player from Forest Green and a player from York; neither of them are anywhere near good enough to be a competitor right now in the Championship.

Secondly, and arguably more importantly - does he fit any of the roles that Dionisi likes to use? GianLuca Nani mentioned in the club podcast that part of the reason they hired the 46-year old Italian was because he uses a 433/4231 system and the job he did at Sassuolo and Empoli was a big factor in their decision making process - while Dionisi wasn’t the first choice for the club (Niels Frederiksen), or the second choice (García Pimienta) - they do have a similar way of playing system and characteristically - whether that was calculated or pure coincidence we’ll never know. At Sassuolo, Dionisi said he wanted to carry on what De Zerbi had done previously but make them slightly more direct but still dominate the ball. They weren’t hellbent on playing through the middle - but played to Scamacca’s strengths of going quickly into him and playing off from there. In his first seasons at the club - I Neroverdi averaged 55.3% possession, while at Empoli he averaged 54.6% possession where he won Serie B. That two year window was the best his teams have played and that’s what I want to focus on - mainly Sassuolo though as that’s where he used wingers, something at Empoli he didn’t have.

In the 21/22 season - Dionisi used two players as starters every time they were fit and then had three rotational options depending on the match.

• Maxime Lopez

• Davide Frattesi

Two rotational:

• Matheus Henrique

• Hamed Traoré

All three roles were defined too:

Defensive midfielder: The main protagonist. Most touches, most passes of the team, the one they look to.

Central midfielder: Harmoniser. Supports the main melody (cast = midfielders) and compliments the two of them. Basic passer, more off the ball work to why he’s in the team.

Attacking midfielder: Floater. Has the freedom to roam about the pitch and get involved heavily in the play, especially linking wide players and the 9. Rotates with the central midfielder too - fluidity.

Out of possession:

• Front five (3 attackers + 2 midfielders) go man to man

• Lone defensive midfielder pushes up but focusing on the ball

• Back four narrow

Again focusing on the midfield specifically as that’s where the Swiss midfielder could come in - Dionisi puts more emphasis on funnelling the ball into central areas for the midfielders to win the ball back. The CM and AM need to have energy off the ball and be able to cover ground quickly. The DM needs to be switched on and alert to runners whilst also knowing when to close the distances ahead of him.

Uran Bislimi.

Bislimi has been used in various roles for Lugano. As a holder, more advanced or a wider number 10. I watched five 90-minute games of his this season to get a gauge of what he is and his instincts in what he likes to do in those roles - and then compare it to how Dionisi likes to use his midfield and see if he fits into that.

Mobility/Awareness

To be blunt with you - he lacks both big time. Regularly ball watches in deeper zones, doesn’t commit in duels, and doesn’t use his body upper or lower when in duels either. Mobility wise he plays in one tempo - a fairly slow midfielder who doesn’t have the athleticism required to play up n down. Averages around 42% win rate in his career in a less physical league - adjust that to Championship and he’d be more than likely bottom for midfielders. On the ball watching, he’s just not a defensive player, he’s not comfortable being the (defensive) midfielder. He does that thing which loads do where he stands still and turns when the ball is moving around him.

DM receiving location actions.

He’s not alert enough in these moments. The bulk of it highlighted vs St Gallen in a league match. His timing is either late or he can only run in the direction his body is facing, he can’t open his body up to receive naturally. Scanning wise, there’s a difference between scanning > play and scanning > to see if the opposition are close. I’ll get onto that in his passing.

Passing.

What stands out with his passing is he’s very combination led. Over 5-10 yards he likes those cute passes, give n go’s. But he also likes to slow the tempo down by taking a lot of touches. The way he passes the ball is consistent in weight - he won’t punch it through the lines, if anything it’ll be under-hit; his strength isn’t to be progressive in this way. He drifts wide, mainly on the left side, and looks to combine with the winger/fullback. What I mentioned earlier regarding his scanning - he does it to get information of the opposition to see where they are rather than to see what his next move will be - because in space instead of taking the more risky approach, he’ll turn back and play it to the centre back. He’s very right footed too - he’ll play short passes around players with the outside of his boot rather than use his left. He treats the ball like it’s a vase and he can’t drop it otherwise it’ll smash.

With all the information and context around said player - there’s three roles up for grabs. Does he fit and is he ideal with any of them?

Main protagonist: Lots of touches and passes, very progressive and pass first player, naturally intense, can play at multiple angles, is switched on to runners and can cover grass quickly on the turnover. No

Harmoniser: Complimentary midfielder, mainly in the side for out of possession work, ability to go up n down, combine play quickly, nimble in their movement. No

Floater: Will also have a lot of touches, but the more creative type in the final third. Will sometimes drop deep to receive from the full back, will push up in the press and look to win the ball back quickly but also play quickly too. No

Conclusion: Bislimi to my eye isn’t Championship coded and doesn’t fit in what my interpretation of what a good Dionisi team looks like. The Swiss midfielder can only play at one pace, which is fairly slow. He’s a good combination player and nice footballer that would work well in a side that will have a lot of the ball but won’t be in a fast paced league - he doesn’t have enough gears in his mobility or athleticism and is weak in duels. He doesn’t fit English football and he doesn’t fit this Dionisi team in my opinion.