It still seems touch and go as to whether we will, in the end, clinch the signing of Sporting Lisbon midfield general William Cavalho. If he does sign for us, there could be severe implications for our current midfield four of Mark Noble, Cheikhou Kouyate, Pedro Obiang and Edimilson Fernandes. And then of course there’s the new boy on the block, Declan Rice. Rice, it should be pointed out, is a centre back who is doing a sterling job as a defensive midfielder, but given our performance yesterday, perhaps a move back to central defence might happen sooner rather than later. But I digress.
If you pay £30 million pounds for a player and he’s your record signing it’s a fair bet he becomes the first name on the team sheet. But assuming we continue to play in a 4-2-3-1 formation, two other players could become very unhappy indeed. Given Pedro Obiang’s performances last season, when he was probably our second best and most consistent player (behind Michail Antonio) he could reasonably expect to be a first choice pick this season. He’s also been rewarded with a new five year contract. However, his performance against Manchester United saw him relegated to the bench yesterday.
Edimilson Fernandes has proved to be an excellent signing. He is certainly one for the future and last season it was clear that Slaven Bilic saw him supplanting Mark Noble sometime this season. Trouble is, Cavalho might well be the one to do that.
Then there’s Kouyate, who has been an absolute star since he joined us from Anderlecht. He’s a man mountain and has the added advantage of also being able to play in central defence. He can also score goals and tends to venture forward more than Noble or Obiang.
So if you had to pick a first choice defensive midfield two from Cavalho, Kouyate, Obiang, Noble and Fernandes, who would you pick?
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Surely it would have to be Cavalho and Kouyate. I suspect there will be some away games where we play a defensive midfield three. Even then, I wonder how many of us would pick Mark Noble ahead of Obiang or even Fernandes.
It’s an awful thing to write, isn’t it? But it seems to me that Mark Noble’s days as an automatic first pick might be drawing to a close. Perhaps his main role this season will be to try to change the course of a match from the bench. But here’s the thing: Isn’t Fernandes more likely to be able to do that?