Dirty Details
Name: Ellyes Skhiri
Nationality: French Citizenship, Tunisian International (32 caps)
Current Club: FC Koln
Age: 25 (Birthday: May 10)
Physical Stats: 1.85m, 69 kg
Transfermarkt Value: $7.15M, contract ends 2023
Position: Central Midfielder/Defensive Midfield Anchor
Strengths: Stamina, Vision, Decisions, Aerial, Tackling
Weaknesses: Pace
To Be Determined: Contribution to Attack, Playing in a Double Pivot
Today’s scouting report comes from the Bundesliga, analyzing FC Koln’s steady defensive midfielder Ellyes Skhiri. This is Skhiri’s second season with the German outfit, and he’s quickly established himself as a crucial part of its midfield starting in 95% of Koln’s matches this year. Currently sitting 14th in the league – 4 points from safety – Koln’s ability to stay in the Bundesliga will much more be do to their stingy defense (35 goals conceded in 21 matches) rather than their anemic offense who has only strung together 20 Bundesliga goals this year.
Skhiri has a lot to do with the Koln defense, acting as the gatekeeper of the back three, his positioning and constant work rate help to dismantle opponent attacks before they can begin. In the two matches I watched of Skhiri against Bielefield and archrival Monchengladbach, Skhiri moved all over the defensive pitch – from flank to flank – constantly moving and always seeming to be in the right place due to strong anticipation. I liken him to a shark, he just needs to be moving – he never stands still. And while his pace isn’t anything special, his anticipation, desire, and tackling ability makeup for what he lacks in footspeed.
While he is most at home lying deeper in the defense, shouting and pointing out defensive assignments like an all-pro linebacker, he is comfortable getting forward and contributing to a press when the time is right. The preceding images demonstrate how comfortable he is moving all around the pitch, and the numbers back it up. He consistently leads his matches in kilometers covered, and he currently sits 1st in the Bundesliga in distance covered at 246km (13km more than the second ranked player!) More than anything, that was the stat that really drew me to Skhiri. De Roon, Freuler, and Pessina are required to cover so much ground in the middle of the pitch that marathon stamina is practically required for a Gasperini midfield, and to me Skhiri would have zero problem with the physical demands of the position.
In addition to his outstanding stamina, he has an air of aggression to him that you want from a destroyer type midfielder. While he’s not overly aggressive and doesn’t dive into tackles two-footed and throw elbows, his aggression is calculated and well-timed.
He’s adept at man-marking when needed, and as previously noted his tackles are rare but seem to be high percentage chances.
While his game revolves around defense, he is not allergic to contributing in offense, especially set pieces. He found himself at the right place twice against Dortmund earlier this year to clean up the loose ends on corners, and in the match I watched against Bielefield he skied nicely on a header to force a great save by the keeper that was pawed away directly to a Koln teammate for a goal.
While passing isn’t his primary duty he can string passes together when needed. Normally he is used as an outlet to recycle possession, either making lateral or backwards high percentage passes (often one-time touches) to maintain the possession. But every so often he can strike a killer through ball, which he did against Bielefield to set up Elvis Rexhecaj (another interesting to player to watch) for an easy finish.
Recently Atalanta’s midfield depth has been tested quite rigorously. And while they’ve held up well to the challenge, a reinforcement for de Roon and Freuler would still be ideal. Pessina can cover the pivot, but Gasperini still prefers him up front (and only uses him deeper if needed). Pasalic, Malinokvsyi, and Kovalenko are comfortable playing further forward, really leaving de Roon and Freuler isolated without too much backup. I still hope Gasperini looks for midfield depth this summer, and after watching 150+ minutes of Skhiri, I would love to see La Dea take a flyer on a player that – in my opinion – would gel with the squad quite quickly. He’s got the stamina, vision, decision making, and aerial ability to be a perfect rotation piece with de Roon, and with a valuation less than $10M he would be quite an economical addition. If you can, I’d highly recommend watching him play. He won’t wow you in a match, but he’s dependable. Yet he will throw a piece of flair your way if you’re not careful! Thanks for reading, and Forza La Dea!
