So before any signings were made, I had to cast my eye over the current squad. Half a dozen players stood out to me as players we were going to rely on to push our team forwards in Sweden and in Europe. Let’s start with newly appointed captain, Markus Rosenberg:
Markus is undoubtedly going to be critical. An experienced and well rounded striker, his ability to find the back of the net should win us many points. We have a few talented young strikers at the club, but Rosenberg’s pedigree sees him begin preseason as my main talisman.
Guillermo Molins, despite not being a natural leader, is still a dangerous player in his own right. Very consistent all-round stats make him a dependable threat down the right wing, and I am hopeful he will be one of my main creative forces. A keen eye for goal complements his playmaking ability, and I’m sure he will be troubling the scorers with frequency.
Simon Thern is likely to be my key creative force in the middle of the park. A centre midfield playmaker who is also comfortable on the wings or in the hole behind the striker, Simon is a valuable, versatile asset for our title-challenging side. Interest from Swiss side Basel only goes to show what a talent the 21 year old is. I was quick to tie him down to a new long term contract to prevent further approaches for his services.
Magnus Eriksson will likely be Rosenberg’s first choice strike partner this season. A diligent, hard-working team player, I can foresee him playing as a deep-lying forward, linking play between the midfield and his strike partner. I will be expecting Magnus to find the back of the next with regularity too!
Emil Forsberg is my first choice left wing, though chances are he will play as an inside forward rather than a traditional winger. Whilst his finishing ability may need some fine tuning, his other attributes are impressive, and at 22, he has plenty of room to grow. He can play anywhere across the attacking midfield strata too, and is likely to get plenty of game time.
Ricardinho is a 29 year old Brazilian left back. With wonderful all-round stats, and impressive set-piece ability, Ricardinho will be a threat down the left, as well as solid at the back. Hopefully his crosses can find his teammates, and he can net a handful of free kicks too! Ricardinho has a handful of Brazilian clubs, including Coritiba and Botafogo sniffing around, so hopefully I can hold onto him and avoid unsettling him and the squad this early in my tenure. Unfortunately I forgot to take a screenshot earlier so had to take a more recent one, about a month later, and his attributes have declined slightly