SAKA, ANTONY AND 10 PREMIER LEAGUE STARS HEADING TO THEIR FIRST WORLD CUP
The name Jean-Michael Seri is likely to send shivers down the spine of any Fulham fan.
The Ivorian is often seen as the flagbearer for Fulham’s woeful summer of 2018 transfer window, and it’s not hard to see why.
The midfielder was poor in 2018/19 before going out on loan last term. This season he spent the first portion of the campaign with Fulham, even appearing a couple of times in the Carabao Cup, but he wasn’t even given a spot in the Whites’ 25-man squad, before being shipped out in January.
A move back to Ligue 1 seemed to be ideal for the playmaker who once impressed Barcelona during his time at Nice, but it seems as though the passing ability that once saw him compared to Xavi has continued to desert him.
Indeed, a tally of 0.3 key passes per game and a pass accuracy of just 85% represent a seven-year low for Seri, but he has flourished in another area.
It’s hard to believe it, but Seri is actually showing a bit of defensive solidity and workrate.
Indeed, while he may be putting up some of the worst passing numbers we’ve ever seen from him, Seri is quietly transforming into a tough-tackler.
He’s averaging 2.1 tackles per game, and 1.1 interceptions, and while 1.3 fouls per match is less than ideal, it shows that he’s still getting involved with these types of duels.
Interestingly, that’s a higher tackles per game tally than Fulham’s Harrison Reed, who is often lauded for his ability to win the ball back and cover every blade of grass.
In all likelihood, Seri won’t play another game for Fulham, but it is interesting to note that if he did come back he may play a very different role to the one we saw under Slavisa Jokanovic and Claudio Ranieri.
