4 Under-the-Radar Full-Backs Premier League Clubs Must Consider This Summer
Heading into the summer transfer window, almost every Premier League team should be on the lookout for potential full-back acquisitions. With the notable exception of two or three well-endowed clubs, the lack of quality in this position across the board is clear and must be addressed.
The fresh influx of money in the Premier League will, no doubt, assist managers in need of filling problematic positions, but it will also drive up prices across the continent.
Full-back is a key position in modern football—players in these positions represent key tactical cogs in their teams’ systems, particularly when it comes to possession-oriented football—and if you want players with the kind of quality Jose Gaya or Ricardo Rodriguez boast, you’re going to have to pay through the nose.
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But there are always bargains to be found—TV cash inbound or not. We’ve picked out four under-the-radar full-backs that Premier League clubs must consider, and the likelihood is they’ll be on the cheaper side, too.
Cristiano Biraghi, LB, Internazionale (on loan at Granada)
Cristiano Biraghi played the 2015-16 season on loan at Granada as the first-choice left-back, making 32 La Liga appearances for a combination of Jose Ramon Sandoval and Jose Gonzalez. Only one player (Andres Fernandez, the goalkeeper) made more starts than the Italian in the league.
He’s an intriguing player due to the fact that he is, in essence, a defence-first full-back: Rather than mastering the attacking side of the game first then working on the other parts—as many in 2016 do (see: Hector Bellerin)—he has learned to shut down his flank, then push on and try to influence play higher up.
Granada fought a relegation battle right up until the penultimate weekend of the season, coming under a lot of defensive pressure as a result. They shipped 69 goals in La Liga—the fourth-most in the division—but Biraghi still emerges from the campaign with credit; his flank was not the problem.
Per WhoScored.com, he was dribbled past just 0.7 times per 90 minutes, while also managing 2.5 tackles per 90. Opposing teams tended to gravitate over to the other flank and try to work Miguel Lopes at right-back, correctly identifying him as a softer target.
Like Sead Kolasinac of Schalke, Biraghi is a thick-set full-back who, if in possession of a few more inches in height, could pass for a centre-back on first glance. When he attacks, he barrels forward with power; when tracking and tackling, he is uncompromising—a trait that may need to be reined in just a tad over the next two years.
If Internazionale cannot offer him a future, Premier League clubs should see him as a very affordable, Erik Pieters-esque option on the market.
Adam Masina, Bologna
Bologna house a number of impressive young talents—particularly in the central-midfield area—but it’s full-back Adam Masina who is arguably the most interesting of the lot. At 6’2”, he towers over colleagues who play the same position; like Jonas Hector of FC Cologne, his height is extremely atypical of his role on the pitch.
Two skills truly stand out when watching Masina: his ability to fish the ball away from opposing players’ control with his long, loping legs, and his excellence in tracking runners to the back post and ensuring no space is left in behind. These are essentially two raw defensive attributes, and it’s surprising that he’s managed to master these when, three years ago, he was playing up front for Bologna’s youth team.
Masina goes to ground willingly, backing himself to win possession or knock it out of a dribbler’s path. His tendency to do this means he can get it wrong, and it can lead to cards (eight yellow, one red in 2015-16 Serie A play), but he times it right far more often than not.
Moving up the pitch, he utilises his power and strength to run down the throat of his markers, then mixes in a few stepovers or feints to try to create angles. He’s far from brilliant at it, but it would also be incorrect to label him as a brute-force, straight-line runner with no variation. His whipped crosses can leave centre-backs in a muddle, too.
Masina’s height and size mean he is a force in the air, and from set pieces, he essentially acts as a valuable third central defender—just like Branislav Ivanovic does for Chelsea. He climbs high and puts his head in where it hurts, getting good distance on headed clearances.
His blend of size and awareness would allow him to settle and succeed in the Premier League with immediate effect. He also has the tools to play on the left of a back three, though that's not something Bologna have tried to date.
Roberto Rosales, Malaga
Roberto Rosales is coming off the back of an excellent season with Malaga. Los Boquerones may have sputtered and stuttered offensively at times—as is the norm under Javi Gracia—but defensively they were predictably sound (joint-fourth-best goals-conceded record in La Liga with 35), and this Venezuelan flyer was a big part of that.
Rosales is an aggressive, attacking right-back who makes good forward runs and supports attacks well from deep, bringing width to Malaga’s play and offering a reliable passing option in possession. That aggression transcends into his defensive play, too, as he tears through tackles and works voraciously to close off his flank.
He plays at a high tempo, maintains a positive stance and is willing to step in and meet a winger one-on-one. He’s quite difficult to get around, as he has a knack for anticipating movements and blocking them off, and if you do knock it past him, he’s got so much speed in reserve.
Gracia’s overly defensive outlook makes it hard for Malaga’s forward players to shine (they don’t commit forward en masse and rely on very precise series of play off Charles to create chances), but for defenders, it’s a true shop window. It’s no coincidence that it’s the likes of Ignacio Camacho (DM), Carlos Kameni (GK) and Sergi Darder (CM) who are coveted and sold for the best prices, rather than Juanpi or Ricardo Horta.
Rosales was the best performer on Malaga’s defensive line in 2015-16 and stands by far the most likely to be cherry-picked this summer. Premier League clubs who want a quick, all-round right-sider who can contribute in every third should look no further than this 27-year-old.
Sime Vrsaljko, Sassuolo
Sime Vrsaljko is by far the most attacking of the four featured on this list. Unlike the other three, who are either defence-first or rather balanced in their outlook, this man’s prime strengths lie very clearly in his offensive third play. That he wears No. 11 on his back is indicative of his prerogative.
Capable of playing on either flank—a trait the Croatia national team take full advantage of when trying to find room for him and Darijo Srna—Vrsaljko can be seen breaking his neck to overlap on the flank for Sassuolo on a weekly basis. He’s one of the most exciting, high-energy emerging full-backs on the planet.
His crossing has taken on a sharper edge this season, with four league assists to his name (the joint-second-highest among full-backs in Serie A). Whether he’s digging them out or whipping them in, byline or from deep, they’re regularly dropped into dangerous pockets of space and often cause chaos even if they don’t find a man.
His positional game is aggressive. Where Rosales is firm in the challenge, Vrsaljko pushes high, meets markers very early and doesn’t hesitate to bomb forward to give a passing option. When unleashed to full capacity, his movements are Dani Alves-esque in the way he uses the right flank.
He's also comfortable moving inside or outside (overlapping or underlapping). His deployment on the left side for Croatia on occasion has allowed him to get a feel for mirrored actions.
An ability to play on both flanks (though he is thoroughly right-footed) will be of great interest to every Premier League club, and while his defending needs looking at, clubs as high up as Liverpool could easily find room for the Croatian creator.
That he, as an attacking full-back, stands the odd man out on this list of four perhaps speaks of a rapidly inversing trend in football.
