With his technique and his volume of play, the signing of Adrien Rabiot offers Roberto De Zerbi a valuable profile in midfield. His arrival also shakes up the hierarchy within the OM squad, now very full, and where starting places will be expensive.
The arrival of Adrien Rabiot at OM offers new solutions to Roberto De Zerbi. The Italian coach, already very satisfied with the summer transfer window, had explained to his managers that he wanted, ideally, to strengthen his midfield with a technical profile and a high volume of play, qualities that fit Adrien Rabiot perfectly. The signing of the French international will therefore shake up the hierarchy in the heart of the Marseille game, where two men clearly appear as almost indisputable starters: Pierre-Émile Hojbjerg and Adrien Rabiot, when the latter has found the rhythm and is at 100%. This attractive pair in midfield will have the obvious consequence of leaving less playing time to two experienced players in the squad: Valentin Rongier and Geoffrey Kondogbia. Unless the two players are brought to play in less usual positions for them… notably in defense.
Rongier, or even Kondogbia, a solution in defense?
It’s an option that’s been on the mind of the OM coach. Since his arrival, De Zerbi has confided that he has closely followed Valentin Rongier’s performances during the season with Jorge Sampaoli, during which the Argentinian coach had positioned Rongier in a hybrid right-back position, capable of slotting into midfield. During the last home match against Nice (2-0), the former Nantes player played on the right of the defense, without however having a major role on the offensive side. But the Marseille coach’s desire to give Quentin Merlin a lot of offensive freedom, on the left side, also opens up the possibility of imagining Rongier regularly helping out as a defender, the OM right-back also having the mission of solidifying the central axis when Marseille has the ball.
Bruno Satin, agent: “For Marseille supporters, Rabiot is a war prize” – 16/09
Ismaël Koné, a more offensive profile
Geoffrey Kondogbia will also pay the price for this XXL signing in midfield. The former Atlético de Madrid player had managed to convince the Italian coach to count on him when a departure was being considered at the start of the summer. The Central African midfielder, a starter since the start of the season (with the exception of the first match, because he was suspended against Brest), has also managed to make himself appreciated for his state of mind, but that does not make him as complete a player as Rabiot, particularly in the offensive area. If needed in defense, Kondogbia is also capable of dropping back a notch. In certain phases of play, he has been instructed, since the start of the season, to solidify the central axis during certain possessions of the ball by the Marseillais.
Rabiot’s arrival will have less impact on the playing time of other players. Concerning Ismaël Koné, who has not yet really started his season because of an ankle injury that made him miss the first three OM matches, his offensive qualities allow him to apply a notch higher, and therefore to be in competition with Amine Harit, Valentin Carboni having the profile to play on one side, or in the heart of the game but, he too, closer to the attackers.
A large workforce, and less room for young people
OM’s idea is in any case to provide “RDZ” with a well-stocked midfield to deal with the vagaries of the season such as injuries or suspensions, Pablo Longoria having announced very early this summer that he wanted to double each position, in addition to the young players brought in to complete the squad. The emulation will therefore be able to be in full swing when everyone is available. This will be one of Roberto De Zerbi’s missions, in the heart of a season where there is no European Cup: to find the right balance between the desire to be competitive by producing a typical team (De Zerbi recently admitted that he would make much less turnover this season than in his previous clubs, because the schedule is less busy) and the need to keep his entire group involved. This squad rich in quantity and quality will still make the mission even more delicate for the young Olympien players, who will have to fight to make a place for themselves in the group. On Saturday evening, for OM-Nice, no young professional was present on the match sheet.
