How the Eliasson acquisition shapes Almeida’s plans

The acquisition of Sweden right midfielder Niklas Eliasson will certainly put an end to the alchemy that Matias Almeida has had to indulge in down the right flank, handing over the role of winger to Nordin Amrabad and – for one in the match against Volos – to Mijat Gacinovic. He had tried during preparation and with Lazaro Rota and Levi Garcia but he wasn’t happy with what he saw.

Eliasson, a player already in action as he trained regularly with Nîmes and played with them in their first two games in France’s second division, is also not a footballer who has served in that role many times in his career. with three central defenders.

In addition, he has played mainly on the left flank in the last two years (57 games instead of 13 on the right flank). He is of course an authentic extreme compared to those who have played on the wing in the official matches so far.

With his acquisition, it somewhat clears the landscape in terms of how Almeida will calculate the players on the roster from now on. As long as the formation he has implemented so far (3-1-4-1-1) remains the basic formation, Eliasson will play on the right flank, Jonsson will return to the “cutter” role and Gacinovic will take on the role he deserves , as a central midfielder instead of one from Simanski or Mandalu. Amrabad is benched as a substitute, who counts primarily on the central attacking positions and secondarily on the wings.

With this addition, it becomes clear that Levia Garcia is mainly counted for leading the attack or to play alongside Araujo in it, as happened with Volos in the game. Sometimes also as a “backup” from Eliasson, but not for that specific formation, but when the coach chooses “4-3-3” or “4-2-3-1”.

In short, the Trinidad and Tobago winger is moving into a supporting role – unless preferred by Mandalo – and things will be further complicated for him with the acquisition of an additional striker who is also in the works.

If the coach chooses a four-man defence, then Rota will be at right-back and one of Mohammadi or Hadjisafi will take over at left wing, as the coach is unlikely to limit Zuber to a full-back role. The question of adequate solutions on the right-hand side certainly arises here, since Rota is the only classic full-back in the team after the departure of Clement Michelin.

Currently, AEK is focused on acquiring a striker, while a right-back and an additional stopper are still under consideration. It gives the impression that Almeida didn’t urgently follow through with such proposals in his form, but what coach really wouldn’t want better quality solutions than the existing ones if that’s possible?