I think we're suffering from the playoff final defeat in a similar way Tottenham suffered from their Champions League final defeat. Losing Watkins and Benrahma was always going to hurt us and we're simply less fluid than what we know we can play because our attack is weaker.
Mbeumo is almost always going to cut in onto his left foot and compared to last season, he doesn't look like he has the belief to go past players. He's not the type of player to grab the game by the scruff of its neck either. On the other wing, we look hopeless compared to last season for obvious reasons. Benrahma was simply one of those rare talents to grace our club and Canos is half the player he used to be. Pass the ball to Canos or Mbeumo and we currently don't have confidence that they'll retain possession or try to get in behind the opposition defence. So our attack is, basically, Toney, who is getting less supply than Watkins did.
We need a winger who will make the opposition scared. The kind that defenders will either have to back off so we can retain possession, or they have to double up on which will make space in other areas of the pitch.
Trying to be positive, we are defensively pretty solid, especially with Pontus back. Norgaard's return will make a big difference to the solidity of the team too. But if we are to seriously challenge, we need a winger with pace who isn't going to give the ball away far too easily. Those types of players don't come easily either.
And certainly, we need a large squad this season, so retaining players in the January transfer window will be essential.
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