Players That Could Help Bottom Half PL Clubs Break Into The Top 10 Part 2

Here's part 2 of signings that bottom half Premier Leagues clubs should be looking at to push on in order to break into the top half, after the part 1 was published in haste ahead of Ben Gibson's loan move from Burnley to Norwich. Hopefully none of these players will move so soon after being written about!

Mykola Matviyenko

Signing players direct from the Ukrainian Premier League, and Shakhtar Donetsk in particular, is always a risk; the player could be a dud like Everton's Bernard, a mixed bag like Manchester United's Fred, or an absolute gem like Manchester City's Fernandinho. That's why Mykola Matviyenko might just be the riskiest signing in this list, especially given the lack of detailed stats from the Ukrainian Premier League available. However from watching his performances in the Europa League knockout stage, he's shown that he has the skills to settle in nicely in England. The 24 year old defender is versatile and can play at both centre back and left back. Standing at 6ft, the Ukrainian is big and strong and has shown to be calm on the ball when in possession. Making just 0.8 tackles per game in the Europa League knockout stage for Shakhtar, Matviyenko regularly stays on his feet when going in for a tackle and rarely dives in. Back in January, the left-footer was linked with both Arsenal and Napoli who were both looking for a solid centre back that was comfortable with the ball at their feet. Matviyenko is also decent going forward, making 0.7 key passes per game in the Europa League knockout stage similar to the likes of Wolves' Jonny and Arsenal starlet Bukayo Saka when he's started at left back.

Whilst he may be a risk, Matviyenko could be worth taking a chance on. Everton are currently in dire need of a centre back with just Michael Keane, Yerry Mina and Mason Holgate on their roster. Mina also suffered an injury hit first season with the Toffees and so having only three centre backs (including an injury prone starter) is a risk. Matviyenko could also provide left back cover for Lucas Digne, with the only current backup left back in the squad is new signing Niels Nkounkou, who is only 19 years old. Fulham should also be interested in the Ukrainian, with just two Premier League ready centre backs in Michael Hector and Alfie Mawson, with Tim Ream and Denis Odoi not truly good enough for the top flight. Crystal Palace's centre back options are all over the age of 30 and so they need some rejuvenation. Matviyenko could help youthen the Eagles' backline with the departure of Scott Dann or James Tomkins. Another club who may be interested in acquiring Matviyenko's signature could be West Ham. With Winston Reid unlikely to return from his loan in the MLS and Goncalo Cardoso still only 19 years old and yet to make a first team appearance, the Hammers have just three senior centre backs. Issa Diop experienced a massive drop off last season, and Angelo Ogbonna and Fabian Balbuena weren't particularly impressive either. Another addition in the backline for competition may see the West Ham centre backs up their game.

Suat Serdar

The past two seasons have been difficult ones for Schalke, but their shining light has been midfielder Suat Serdar. Aged just 23 years old, his influence in the middle of the park has been immeasurable. Across the 19/20 season, the 4 time capped German international missed 14 games due to injury and Schalke failed to win a single one of those matches. In the 20 games in which he did appear, however, Schalke had a win percentage of 45%. He was the Gelsenkirchen-based club's top scorer with 7 goals despite an expected goals of 3.16. This is due to his exceptional long shot, from which he scored three times with. Serdar is the all round midfielder that any team would love to have in their team. Last season in the Bundesliga, of all players to make 5 appearances or more, he made the 6th most successful tackles per game at 2.8, behind only Wilfred Ndidi and Declan Rice for midfielders in England's top flight. He also completed the 5th most successful dribbles at 2.7, better than any other central midfielder in the Premier League. Additionally, the German made 1.2 interceptions per game and 0.6 key passes per game. Clearly an all action midfielder, if your team is in need of a midfielder to compliment a notable creator then Serdar is the player to target.

Valued by Transfermarkt at £18 million, Serdar could probably be attained for no more than £25 million. West Bromwich Albion could make him their marquee signing if they choose to not sign Filip Krovinovic permanently. The German could prove to be perfect box to box option stationed next to Jake Livermore in the centre of the park and be the perfect defensive cover for the likes of Mattheus Peireira and Grady Diangana when they venture forward. Serdar could also be an option for the Brighton midfield, upgrading on the likes of Dale Stephens and Davy Propper. He could be the link between Yves Bissouma anchoring the midfield and the attacking line of Neal Maupay, Leandro Trossard, Alexis MacAllister and Pascal Gross. Serdar also blows any other central midfielder out of the water at Newcastle and would be an instant upgrade. Partnered in a double pivot with Jonjo Shelvey for his passing ability with the likes of Miguel Almiron and Allan Saint-Maximin in front of them, the Magpies would just need a striker who can actually score and they could push for the top 10.

Emile Smith Rowe

Despite only signing for them on loan from Arsenal in January, Emile Smith Rowe shone for Huddersfield Town in the Championship. Across 19 appearances for the Yorkshire club in the English second tier, the 20 year old got 2 goals and 2 assists, averaging 0.30 goal involvements per 90 minutes. He was first in the squad for key passes per game on 1.5, a similar figure to Manchester City stars Bernardo Silva and Raheem Sterling, despite only being at the club for 6 months. ESR also completes 1.5 dribbles per game, akin to Mo Salah, and took 1.5 shots per game like fellow young star Phil Foden. He's clearly very highly thought of by the Arsenal coaching staff as stated in the linked Athletic article at the end of this post, and is thought to be in Mikel Arteta's plans for the 20/21 season. However with the signing of Willian to give competition, along with stars such as Nicolas Pepe, Bukayo Saka, Joe Willock and Reiss Nelson, who can play anywhere along the attacking line behind the striker, Smith Rowe might not get many opportunities just yet. Even outcast Mesut Ozil appears to be returning to the squad by playing against Aston Villa in the behind closed doors friendly on Saturday. Another loan spell away from the Emirates seems on the cards for the Under 17 World Cup winner.

Had West Brom not acquired Grady Diangana permanently, Smith Rowe could have proved a more than worthy replacement, especially having nearly scuppering the Baggies' promotion push last season. However, Aston Villa fans have been crying out for attacking signings this summer, and so far the Birmingham-based club have failed to provide. Only key man Jack Grealish can boast a better key passes per game number in the squad than Smith Rowe, and Grealish is joined by John McGinn as the two players who put up better figures for dribbles per game. None of the rest of the Villa squad complete more than 0.9 successful dribbles per game. Smith Rowe, who can play on either wing or in the hole behind the striker, can be the progressor down the wing that Villa have been craving without having to sacrifice putting Grealish on the wing. At current, their wing options consist of Anwar El Ghazi, Trezeguet and Jota, who seems to have just disappeared off the face of the Earth. El Ghazi and Trezeguet are much more "goal scoring" wingers than creators like ESR and so the young attacker could be a sensible loan option for the Villans. Crystal Palace could be another potential loan destination for Smith Rowe. They've started to address their creativity issue with the signing of Eberechi Eze, who was truly outstanding for QPR last season but past signings like Max Meyer haven't worked out for the Eagles. ESR's key passes would have been the best in Palace's squad from last season, with Wilfred Zaha and Andros Townsend offering just 0.9 and 0.5 key passes per game respectively. Both Townsend and Zaha dribble more than the young English forward, but it means that ESR can just sit back and pull the strings picking out opportunities whilst letting the wingers progress the ball. Another club in dire need of creativity are Southampton. With winger options of Nathan Redmond, Moussa Djnepo and Sofiane Boufal, who all complete more dribbles than Smith Rowe, no Southampton player has a better number of key passes per 90 minutes than the 20 year old's 2.1. Half of Danny Ings' goals in the league last season failed to have an assist attributed to them, with Ings fortunately being in the right place to feed on scraps. With Smith Rowe possibly gaining valuable first team minutes in Hasenhuttl's side, Ings could get more goals and force his way in Gareth Southgate's starting XI for the Euros next summer.

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I've chosen not to write about any out and out centre forwards because, let's be honest, if you're in the bottom half of the league, its most likely because you're not getting enough goals. Clubs like Aston Villa, Crystal Palace and Newcastle could especially do with a striker but there were also too many sensible options to choose from, for example, Michy Batshuayi and Danny Welbeck. I've tried to look at how other areas of these squads could be improved and maybe they'll have an influence on the team.

Emile Smith Rowe article in The Athletic by James McNicholas: https://theathletic.co.uk/2032294/2020/09/01/arsenal-breakthrough-star-emile-smith-rowe/?article_source=search&search_query=smith%20rowe

Stats from WhoScored.com and Understat.com