‘He’s almost a luxury player’ – Inside track on Rotherham winger linked with Pompey
POMPEY have this week been linked with a move for Rotherham winger Kieran Sadlier in the January transfer window.
We spoke to New York Talk podcast presenter Matthew Lax, who gave us an insight into a player who has been linked with other League One sides Charlton and Bolton, as well as the Blues.
Lax said: ‘He’s pretty versatile to be fair to him.
‘When we signed
Kieran Sadlier in the Championship, we were basically playing 4-4-2 and we signed him as a right winger and he did alright.
‘(Rotherham boss) Paul Warne then changed to a 3-5-2 and then he didn’t fit it.
‘He’s not a wing-back so couldn’t play there and we had a very solid central midfield three, so he was only left playing in the number 10 role behind the two attackers.
‘The right is his natural position and he’s definitely a right-footer.
‘Technically he’s one of the best players we’ve got; he’s got everything with both feet, his set-piece ability is fantastic and if you put him on the left he would definitely be able to do a job.
‘He wouldn’t be able to fit in as a left wing back, he’s just too attacking.
‘He’s definitely a winger because he hasn’t got that defensive mindset.
‘When he’s playing wing-back he’s constantly trying to pass his man that he’s supposed to be marking onto somebody else.
‘He’s definitely a winger because he hasn’t got that defensive mind in his head.
‘It’s a tough one with Sadlier because he’s a nice guy and technically a very, very good player, but he’s missing a lot to his game.
‘He basically has zero pace, when he loses the ball there is minimal effort to win it back and that is the problem if he would play as a wing-back because he doesn’t have that drive to get back to being defensive.
‘Could he be a long-term replacement for (Ronan) Curtis or (Marcus) Harness?
‘No, I’m not sure. I don’t think he’s the right man to do that.
‘He definitely doesn’t bring much defensive quality and that’s why I think a more basic 4-4-2 would suit him, because he has a full-back to support him.
‘He’s almost a luxury player.
‘You need somebody else with him to counteract what he doesn’t bring you, but there’s that odd occasion that he can bring a lot to the team.’