Ronald Koeman made his first foray into the transfer market as manager of Southampton last week by signing Serbian playmaker Dusan Tadic from Dutch side FC Twente. The 25-year-old arrives at St Mary’s on a four-year for an undisclosed fee and starts a summer of spending as the Saints boss restructures his side following the departure of Adam Lallana, Luke Shaw and Rickie Lambert:
Discussing the transfer with the Saints official website, Koeman confirmed he hopes Tadic will offer the club a replacement for Lallana and talked up the new boy’s dead-ball abilities ahead of the new campaign:
“We’re very happy that Tadic is coming in. He’s a great player. He’s 25 and he has a great future, and I think he can now reach the level that we need and a player needs to be at in the Premier League. When we lost a great player in [Adam] Lallana, we were looking for a similar player in that position, and we’ve found it…He is a technically good player – he keeps the ball and he has a fantastic left [foot] at corner kicks, free kicks and penalties. These kinds of players are very important in the team for assists and goals. As a manager you look to players who will score between ten and 15 goals.”
The History
Tadic joined the youth ranks of hometown team AIK BaÄka Topola before signing for FK Vojvodina in 2006. Handed his debut for the club as an 18-year-old, the midfielder racked up 29 goals and 17 assists over 107 league appearances before making his way to Dutch side FC Groningen in the summer of 2010.
In two seasons with the Eredivisie outfit, Tadic’s creativity served up 28 assists over 68 appearances and, with 14 goals also to his name, he moved to FC Twente for the start of the 2012/13 campaign. Once again, the Serbian lasted just two seasons at his new club but his statistics will certainly bring Fantasy managers his way – 12 goals and 15 assists in his first season was followed by 16 goals and 14 assists last time round as he led his side to an impressive third placed finish.
On the international stage, the playmaker made his debut for Serbia back in 2008 and has resultantly featured on 25 occasions for his country, finding the net five times.
The Prospects
Having lost their manager and three key players over the summer, Fantasy faith is understandably a little low in Southampton right now. Koeman has wasted little time in addressing Lallana’s departure to Liverpool, though, with the arrival of Tadic and, subsequently, Graziano Pelle, a real shot in the arm for the St Mary’s outfit – speaking to the club’s official website, the new boy admitted that the Dutchman’s installation was a key factor in his decision:
“I watched a lot of [Southampton’s] games last season and saw that the club plays really nice football which will suit me because I like to play in the same way. The manager obviously knows me from the Dutch league so, when he called me and told me his plan, it was an easy decision to make. He is a really good coach and you can always expect his teams to play well because he is leading them and because he is so good tactically. I am really excited to start playing for the club.”
A deeper examination of the 2013/14 data will buoy both Saints fans and Fantasy managers alike, though. In his final year in the Dutch flight, Tadic averaged four key passes per game, which equates to a total of 133 chances created for team-mates – 47 more than any player in the Erdivisie, 41 more than any Premier League player and just slightly less than double Lallana’s 68. It’s not just his creativity that catches the eye, though. The Serbian fired 92 attempts on goal last term – only Philippe Coutinho (94) managed more in the English top-flight, whilst Lallana, in spite of what was an excellent breakout season, mustered 70 by comparison.
Granted, the English top-flight is a definite step up in difficulty but the versatile Tadic, who can play wide left or centrally, will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of Luis Suarez and Wilfried Bony, who have both made a similar transition look seamless. The signs suggest Tadic will be at the heart of the Saints’ attacking endeavours and if, as Koeman states, he is handed set-pieces and corners (spot-kicks may be debatable with Pelle around), his Fantasy fortunes will take a significant rise in many managers’ estimations. Coming in at 6.7 in the Sky Sports Fantasy game, Tadic looks poised for considerable Fantasy attention if he is placed in the mid-priced bracket across the rest of the Fantasy games.
Looking at the opening schedules, the 2014/15 Premier League fixture list has smiled kindly on Southampton. Koeman’s men face just one of last season’s top five in the opening 12 Gameweeks – an opening day trip to Anfield – and with home games against West Brom, Newcastle, QPR, Sunderland, Stoke and Leicester supplemented by trips to the likes of West Ham, Swansea, Hull and Villa, investment in the Saints main men looks a canny tactic. If Tadic can settle quickly and bring his Eredivise form to the English top-flight, we may well have a real Fantasy prospect on our hands.
Further Reference
Dusan Tadic Transfermarkt Page
