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Michael Budgen's avatar

On the bright side, neither Foden or Saka are ever going to play for the ‘dopey’ Rio’s beloved Man Ure……

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Bill Ireland's avatar

Rio misses the fact that the average quality of the UCL and the EPL is pretty close, according to most attempts at objective comparisons(ELO and OPTA). It’s not like Saka is excelling in the National League, and Foden is playing in the EPL. I have never understood why no one (except for you) uses the Southgate Test for comparison. Saka is a never drop for Southgate and has been over several cycles. Southgate uses Foden, but he’s far from being a core player like Maguire(ok the Southgate Test isn’t flawless). My personal suspicion is that the metric we are missing about Saka v Foden, as well as those you use persuasively, is that Saka is a top level defensive player. I think that Arteta starts when looking at offensive players by seeing how they contribute defensively(I am convinced that’s why he moved for Havertz). Saka excels for multiple reasons including his ability to be part of a disciplined pressing scheme, as well as being able to provide defensive cover at multiple positions. Defensive skills aren’t as easily measured but there are a big difference maker for coaches and teams.

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