Understanding the box-to-box midfielder

In an age when the opposition nearly always wants to play through the thirds with fluidity, every team needs a ball-winner in front of their defence.

As a coach, you know you have struck gold when you come across a young player with the instinct to put themselves in the right place at the right moment.

And if you blend that with bravery, a good engine and a sense of timing in the tackle, you might just have the next N’Golo Kante - or Claude Makelele, for older readers (!) - on your hands.

But winning the ball in the centre of the park is not solely the preserve of the holding player, or anchorman.

The best box-to-box midfielders, or midfield generals, break up play by stepping in to pinch the ball off an unsuspecting opponent, before driving on and creating an opportunity at the other end of the field.

Think Steven Gerrard at his best, or modern Premier League heroes like Manchester City’s Rodri, who is in the division’s top 30 for both tackles per game and assists made.

Brighton’s highly prized Moises Caicedo and Fulham’s energetic Joao Palhinha are other examples of those who both end and then start attacks.

The elite teams like to control possession and the tempo of their attacks, meaning their opposition need players with the ability to sense danger, press and intercept the ball.

"Rodri is in the Premier League’s top 30 for both tackles per game and assists made..."

Holding midfielders are content with doing that industrious water-carrier role, tackling or intercepting and then giving the ball to their  more creative team-mates.

But midfield generals will take up the baton themselves, meaning they need the technical and physical skills for both defending and attacking.