How to train this youngster?

[CharlieTZR]

Hello all,

I have quite a dilemma on how to train a player. He's the best product of my academy so I hope to make it a long term captain or get a lot of money on him.

However, there are some setbacks. First is his height which doesn't suite his CD position. I know, Cannavaro was even shorter but I don't know if worth the risk. Jumping and Heading seems OK but I think he can be easily outplayed by a taller jumper. Also his Acc/Pace isn't great either. Also the trait Getting Forward Whenever Possible is strange for a CD (come with it into academy). 

I thought to convert him in a DM/defensive CM but his passing, vision, first touch, dribbling are way too low to have a significant change.

What do you think, should I risk with him as CD or try to convert him into a midfielder like an ANC / HB or even defensive CM/BWM ?

Edited December 14, 2021 by CharlieTZR

[yellowforever]

I think you can go a lot of directions with him, but personally with that Teamwork/Work Rate/Determination I'd be training him for a midfield position.

He is also only 16 so I can see him growing and his Jumping Reach going up as a result, those physicals will likely improve a lot.

[CharlieTZR]

2 minutes ago, yellowforever said:

I think you can go a lot of directions with him, but personally with that Teamwork/Work Rate/Determination I'd be training him for a midfield position.

He is also only 16 so I can see him growing and his Jumping Reach going up as a result, those physicals will likely improve a lot.

I thought at that but I am not sure how much his midfielder skills will improve. Also I have another youngster with the same profile for DM/CM. 

[CharlieTZR]

Also a thing that confuses me is his train, Gets Forward Whenever Possible. I tried to remove it but none of the coaches advises this and it can be tricky, I never successfully managed to remove a native trait from a player. 

Looking at skills and especially mentals he can be a very aggressive stopper if I were to retain his CD position. However, checking CD roles here it looks like that only attacking libero have this trait as non-contrasting with the role..so with that it doesn't fit anywhere and his libero rating is 3 x silver stars so bad. Also my tactics does not fit a libero, I play 4 defenders tactics.

This trait is also contrasting with more defensive DMs (BWM, HB, ANC, simple DM) and generally any defend duty. It may work with SV (a) but his technical skills do not recommend him for this role and as far as I know it is unlikely to develop that much (please correct me if I am wrong). In CM strata B2B or Mezzala have this trait as non-contrasting and again, given his skills I don't see him developing in a technical player.

It also worth nothing that I have an 1.80 cm CD , 1 year older than this one, converted into a DM/CM with long range passes , not great technical skills but better in this regard so I am also afraid of an overlap.

So my options are so far:

- ignore the height and pair him with a tall CD and develop him as an aggressive ; downside is I have another good prospect at CD who's also short but have long range passing trait and it fits him better defending deep and not as midfielder ; I will have to cope with Gets Further Forward trait and have in front a midfielder to cover (maybe a DLP) ; not sure how to approach his ; maybe an underlap TI?  ; also my pick is for stopper since in this role will step up earlier and with a successful tackle he may start an counter or contribute to a counter attack. 

- retrain him as a DM/CM considering his teamwork/work rate/determination ; downside is that his tech skills are bad and the individual trait Gets further forward does not fit many CM/DM roles; 

- retrain him as a FB/WB considering his speed/acc will probably improve, his crossing isn't bad and it can work as a defensive FB with sitting narrow; downside is that is rather a marginal role and will not put to work his best mentals

So what would you pick? Any other suggestions? 

 

Edited December 15, 2021 by CharlieTZR

[Sharkn20]

He looks like a pretty good FB-De // FB-Su // DM-De // BWM-De to me. Definitely not a CB, but a pretty decent defensive asset nonetheless. 

In my experience tackling doesn't grow much, so if he reaches 14 you can get great value for him.

Don't worry about the trait until you start playing him in your team after plenty of development.

Edited December 15, 2021 by Sharkn20

[lfds89]

HB or BWM seem to be the most suitable since they make use of his bravery, teamwork and work rate

[DarJ]

He's still 16 so his jumping reach and strength will increase with training if you want him to be a CB and if it doesn't improve fast enough he can always play as a DM

[Prepper_Jack]

Pressing Forward could be a fun option. (De) at first, but then can grow into (At) with work into finishing. The extreme teamwork and work rate specifically fit into that role. Dives into tackles would be nice as a complement. Get further forward questionable.

Edited December 16, 2021 by Prepper_Jack