September.
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The last thing this squad needs is an ego like Connolly involved.
Why Southampton signed Gavin Bazunu: Confidence, mental strength, sweeping ability
By Jacob Tanswell and Dan Sheldon
5h ago
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At surface level, Gavin Bazunu’s loan at Rochdale was a modest success.
While he was able to encounter, sometimes endure, the abrasion of the Football League, blindspots within his game were accentuated. Individual metrics weren’t exactly eye-catching — according to FBref, he had just a 61.2 per cent save ratio and 13.8 per cent clean sheet rate — and his form gradually declined during the season. He would ultimately lose his place for the final eight matches as Rochdale were relegated from League One as then-manager Brian Barry-Murphy dropped the 18-year-old after defeat away to Portsmouth.
Ironically, however, at that time, Portsmouth were — along with Southampton — tracking Bazunu. The Athletic understands Portsmouth felt that the goalkeeper, despite crinkles and inconsistencies, would follow a similar career trajectory to Brighton and Spain’s Robert Sanchez, who was on loan at Rochdale the year prior. Sources describe Bazunu’s mindset as possibly his biggest strength — the type of attribute conducive to fast learning. This, in turn, rubber-stamped the club’s scouting reports and convinced the club to push ahead with a season-long loan deal for the 2021-22 campaign.
By the time he arrived on the south coast, Bazunu had acclimatised to first-team football. Although a loan player still in his teens, he was unafraid to speak up in front of team-mates and hold them to account. Before games, Bazunu was an advocate of detailed pre-match analysis, constantly watching clips of the opposition to understand where and when his passing angles would be if a particular scenario arose. This included identifying his three passing options when he had the ball at his feet. This encouraged quicker, more influential, decisions in his distribution while retaining preciseness.
Out of possession, meanwhile, a regular observer described Bazunu’s starting position as “another centre-back”, given his penchant for sweeping. This proved particularly effective in the early parts of the season when manager Danny Cowley was attempting to implement a more concerted team press, although he was made to dial back his front-footed nature over the course of the campaign.
The two images below demonstrate the contrast in starting positions between Bazunu and Alex McCarthy, the goalkeeper set to vie with the Irishman for the No 1 spot at Southampton. Bazunu is more adept in covering larger spaces and is generally more proactive. As The Athletic has previously reported, other new signing Mateusz Lis is likely to be sent out on loan, having signed a five-year deal at the club last week.
Average pitch positions for McCarthy and Bazunu for the 2021-22 season
We can also understand more about player’s style by looking at percentiles — a straightforward way of showing how he ranks in comparison to positional peers within the dataset. For instance, a player with an overall impact in the 70th percentile means they have a greater overall impact than 70 per cent of players in the dataset.
When analysing defensive actions outside the penalty area, McCarthy only ranks in the 2nd percentile, according to FBref, which suggests manning large spaces — especially in a team that typically adopts a high defensive line — remains a discernible weakness.
Similarly, while caveated with Southampton’s reluctance to recycle possession across the back line, McCarthy ranks in the 28th percentile for touches. This means 72 per cent of goalkeepers from the top five European Leagues have more involvement when their side has the ball. However, McCarthy is intent on hitting the ground running this pre-season. The Athletic understands the 32-year-old has been training at Staplewood throughout the summer, having missed five months of last season with injury.
Southampton’s acquisition of Bazunu is being regarded as something of a coup by staff members at Portsmouth, with Martyn Glover, the club’s head of scouting and recruitment who will join Leicester City at the end of the summer, commended for getting the deal over the line. The 20-year-old has already enjoyed success with club and country, most notably saving a Cristiano Ronaldo penalty last September.
The Dubliner is regarded as a multi-faceted keeper who encapsulates the modern-day requirements of the position. His arrival, therefore, should see Southampton’s goalkeeping department be better in keeping with the times, with a feeling internally that the right balance has now been struck with the current set of goalkeepers.
One self-inflicted issue the club had was that McCarthy, Fraser Forster and Angus Gunn all saw themselves as the No 1, which led to problems around game time and the overall dynamic within the department. Sources point out that the new group — McCarthy, Bazunu and Willy Caballero — will be more balanced in that regard. Caballero has been given a new deal to continue as the third-choice goalkeeper and will act as a mentor to Bazunu.
Under the guidance of goalkeeping coach Andrew Sparkes, who former club Manchester City were keen for Bazunu to develop under along with Ralph Hasenhuttl, there is the hope of a smooth transition into the top flight. When he first joined, Sparkes engendered immediate improvements in McCarthy and the now-departed Forster, chiefly in their distribution and anticipation when coming off their line. The buy-back opportunity for City was also something that appealed.
“Gavin will play in the Premier League,” said Cowley earlier this year. “Let me tell you now: he is world class. He will be a world-class goalkeeper.” Just 19.2 miles down the road, Portsmouth’s bitterest rivals hope their manager’s prophecies are correct.
Lenihan completes move to Boro
Another academy gradaute
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Great to see Home Farm still producing em
sorry FP
yes we have a chance but they are very tricky, they have Liel Abada , Manor Salmomon thankfully missed the cut by a few months , he’s superb for Shaktar as ye know from the games v madrid
aside from Podreganuea at Spezia they all play in Israel so it is mindful they operate at not a very high level…
FYI - their u19s are currently 1-1 into the second half v England in the euro u19 final so they have players coming thru…
classic israeli footballers tho, tricky , light windy types… we’ll beat them in tallaght but you’d want a lead going to Haifa
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Jesus that’s horrific
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Yeah sounds awful. Hope it works out ok for her after all she has been through.
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Murky murky business. I hope she finds what she needs at the end of all this, can’t imagine what she’s gone through and has yet to go through.
John Eustace gone now as assistant coach. Fucking balls…
Vinny Perth was the only one that could deal with Spock
Robbie Brady getting a one year deal at Preston
A sad state of affairs
Half of the LOI seems to be going to the English lower leagues this week
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Played 20+ games for Villa in the premier league in 19/20 season.
Now in league one, with a club with no chance of promotion. Tis a tough auld game
There must be some Irish influence at the club?
That reads like Mick McCarthy is being lined up as new manager.
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