After selling Emi Buendia, it was inevitable that the next attacking player who was signed would be classified as “the Buendia replacement”. However, anyone who has watched Werder Bremen or Kosovo play will know that Milot Rashica is a very different player to Emi Buendia.
Buenida’s role for Norwich saw him as the prime creator of Norwich’s attacks. Operating as a nominal right winger, Buendia would drop into deep central positions to have as much influence on the game as possible. His through passes for Pukki to run onto became a signature move of Norwich’s attack and since coming into the side no player has created more chances, or racked up more assists that him.
For Bremen Rashica plays almost an opposite role, often starting centrally in a 3–5–2 or 3–4–2–1 formation he will look to move into wide areas to collect the ball and attack the box with direct runs. Rashica would also find himself deployed on the left wing if Bremen set up in a more defensive 5–4–1 formation.
In the 20/21 season Bremen played mostly as a counter attacking side, averaging around 45% of possession and looking to hit opponents on the counter, Rashica’s pace was used in combination with target man style strikers like Davie Selke, Niclas Füllkrug or Josh Sargent. Below is a simple example of how Rashica (№7) will start in a central position but move wide, before coming back inside, to attack a flick on from a deeper lying forward.
It is these types of movement, that even though Rashica was started in a central role in the majority of his games in 2020/21, his heat map shows he was largely receiving the ball left flank. It is this inside-to-outside movement that causes defenses problems and also makes use of his pace, which is his strongest asset.
Rashica is usually the man at the end of the build up taking the shot, not like Buendia who in the Premier League was shot shy and focused on setting up others. These differing roles can be seen in the radar graphs of each player. Emi excels in the areas around creating chances and getting the ball into the box; Rashica shows up strongly around getting shots away and getting himself into the box.
So, where will Rashcia fit in for Norwich?
With experience playing in all 4 of the attacking positions Rashica offers a huge amount of versatility to Norwich. Buendia leaving means there is a gap to fill on the right hand side of attack and the obvious solution seems to be that, although a very different type of player, Rashica could neatly go into that position and operate like a traditional winger on the right-hand side. After all it was playing this role at Vitesse Arnhem that first brought him attention of clubs around Europe. However, the problems Placheta had during the Championship season of playing as a winger in a Farke team, which looks to build-up through the middle of the pitch, shows that they may be a waste of Rashica’s talents.
I think it is feasible that we may see Rashica deployed as a second striker for Norwich, with the 4–2–3–1 becoming a 4–2–2–2 on the counter. This would allow both Cantwell and Dowell to come into the centre of the pitch where they are both most dangerous and presents good through ball opportunities for either Rashica or Pukki to run onto. This is a system that Tuchel, a large influence on Daniel Farke, deployed at times for PSG. Whether the 4–2–3–1/4–2–2–2 is the right system for the other Norwich newcomer Billy Gilmour is another issue though.
There is also the option to have Rashica out on the left hand side of the attacking three behind Pukki, with licence to come inside onto his stronger right foot. This is the role he takes mostly with Kosovo and one he has also performed for Bremen. Rashica would certainly add an element of directness to the Norwich attack that has been lacking since Hernandez in the 18/19 season. With Norwich more likely to be on the back foot in the upcoming season, having a player like Raschia who can offer a threat on the counter, as well as being able to pick the ball up and carry it up the pitch could be invaluable.
It’s clear that Rashica is an exciting signing for Norwich and he has the talent to offer significantly to the attack and potentially take some of the goalscoring burden off Pukki. However, the departure of Buendia means the man who supplied the passes into the danger areas has left and who will take over this role is still unclear. Rashica potentially represents a change in plan for Norwich, it may be that a more like-for-like replacement for Buendia comes in at some point during the window but being able to find someone that can immediately do what Emi did is likely to be impossible with Norwich’s budget and creative solutions will be needed.
