Scouting Frank Onyeka

Brentford FC First-Team

In the midst of gaining promotion to the Premier League, Brentford FC have acquired untold riches. We’ll say a few hundred million, or thereabouts, which easily pays back the owner's personal investment leaving lots of spare change to throw at shiny new players. 

On closer inspection, however, is this a squad that requires subtle additions rather than deep structural change, particularly in midfield? @DavidAnderson_1 takes a look for @BeesTactical

Since officially merging scouting departments in 2020, Brentford FC and Midtjylland are naturally expected to have a greater deal of crossover. 

Frank Onyeka is the latest player poised to make a move to a Top 5 League and this brief analysis reports on the player’s recent season’s, his strengths and weaknesses, and what may have brought him to the attention of Premier League club Brentford FC. 

Current team - FC MIDTJYLLAND (FCM) 

Position - CM

Age - 23

Nationality - Nigerian

Height - 6ft

Preferred Foot - Right 

Current Team / Current Stable

Despite being pipped by a single point to a consecutive Superliga title on the final day of the season, FCM now boast four consecutive years of not finishing outside of the top two.

Onyeka contributed to two league titles during this time and by steadily increasing his on-field minutes has further established himself as a key squad member since a first-team bow back in 2017.

What systems has he recently played in? 

In recent years, Midtjylland has been set up in 4-2-3-1 and 4-3-3 shapes having largely moved away from what became recognizable 3-4-3 or 3-4-1-2 systems.

Most of the central midfield minutes were filled by Cajuste (21), Evander (23) and Onyeka (23) during 20/21, and the three complemented each other well. Be it pairing up as a sitting double pivot with a midfielder advanced out of possession or a flatter midfield three building possession through rotations inside and out, the vertical and lateral movement of Onyeka heavily contributes to this both structured and fluid midfield three system functioning well. 

In Possession

As one of the midfield “8s”, Onyeka operated box-to-box fulfilling all manner of roles. (Basically everything apart from donning GK gloves) Starting out with his competencies vertically, he helps get the ball forward by dropping his position to be the deepest midfielder getting close to centre backs. 

Passing from Onyeka is a mix of circulating the ball in the middle third area and probing forwards after carrying the ball with which for such a player bridging midfield and attack he is surprisingly efficient. If we were reviewing a lesser player his 85% accuracy on the ball would get more attention. Don't expect to see huge amounts of passes into the box, Onyeka tends to leave that up to the wide forwards. Think of the pass before the dangerous shot creating pass. 

Passes received throws up interesting reading, where he is happy to move out wide vacating the central spaces to accept the ball or alternatively position himself in the final third in closer proximity to Kaba. Showing for the ball to feet centrally is his main game either back to goal or square of play. 

Onyeka was top 3 for winning fouls in Superliga season 20/21 and it’s done by short bursts of speed and getting between opponent and ball through clever body positioning. The player has a standout strong lower body and gluteus maximus area. Onyeka got back.

This short clip from last season’s UCL shows Onyeka confidently receiving a ball from a cushioned header, controlling and turning away from an on rushing player ready to take the hit from another player he is expecting contact from. Foul won, Midtylland can reset and start again. In the second part we see him in the defensive phase harrying and then stepping in front of Dioga Jota waiting for contact from the forward before winning a foul and preventing a dangerous situation developing further on the edge of his box. Job done, reset, reposition players further up field and move away from the box. 

https://theathletic.com/2660837/2021/06/22/yaya-toure-why-bums-are-so-important-in-football/

The back and lower areas of the body are so important in England as they are required to hold off players and take hits from challenges to then allow a player to move the game on by passing or dribbling. 

As Toure discusses, improving strength levels in the legs and rear helped him get better at taking the heavy bites and pressures that separate English football from that on the continent. 

Below we see Onyeka expertly holding off Liverpool’s Gigi Wynaldum and eventually winning a foul receiving a short pass down the line. 

Able to receive the ball well back to goal, his ability to hold onto the ball and stay firm or go down under heavy pressure is why he’s so successful at doing a Jack Grielish. It’s a big tick in the signal box for a player wanting to be successful in the Premier League. 

Out of Possession

As expected, FCM are both comfortable pressing the ball high up the field with one to hurry or more coordinated with two or three or sitting lower in a compact space oriented 4-3-3. Onyeka is central to these moves, supporting behind the frontline or moving laterally to support wide forwards or full backs blocking off progress down the wings. 

His positioning and efforts to either break out and press behind Kaba or maintain a triangle shaped midfield which is tough to play through is a big factor behind Midtjlland becoming one of the toughest Superligs teams to play against. Individual players like Onyeka are often seen sacrificing themselves to contribute to a collective team effort. 

Committed to making restarts from goal kicks or teams attempting short build up close to their own goal difficult, FCM are trying to dangle the single option of going long. 

We regularly see three forwards split across the front line preventing easy short passes from the opponents deepest line into midfield. Onyeka sits behind this offensive line ready to spring towards a loose ball or connect with a player looking to receive the ball in midfield. 

Resisting Pressure and Dribbling to Success

Press resistance is pretty self explanatory as a term and is, for good reason, widely used when judging players. All players are equal, the ones that stand out today are those able to move the ball forward or evade challenges when under heavy pressure. 

Midfielders playing at top 5 league clubs are going to be very good under pressure. Not all of these midfielders are exceptional at it and won't have the power and poise to burst away at speed with the ball under control.  

Onyeka does. And for this reason, he is a difficult midfielder to come up against mainly because he enjoys physical contact. Get too tight and as already discussed he can manipulate his body to win fouls, shield or spin away. Stand off him or leave space behind he’ll run or pass beyond you. 

The fourth and fifth clips are particularly interesting. Watching video of Onyeka there are regularly moments when the opposition tries to snap in due to feeling like they are favourites to win the ball. He keeps balance when it looks like he shouldn’t and strides away. 

Also, note the varying positions he is taking when evading pressure and dribbling to punish. Being cheeky, I included a video of him evading pressure and springing an attack after close control and defending in his own box. Two take place out wide with space to run into where he looks like an out and out winger. Another is ripping through his opponents central midfield area.

Do we xPect goal threat? 

From midfield, Onyeka scored three league goals which is fairly in line with his expected totals. His goals were a mix of hitting the goal line for a tap-in after running 3/4s of the field in a counter attack starting in his own half. A first time a low striker by following up and following in a shot from a teammate being in the right position from a goalkeeper parry and a strike through a crowd from a corner that is not cleared properly. Watching all of his shots there is a small collection of easily blocked efforts from outside the box but his desire to immediately chase down the deflected ball means distance efforts do not write his story. Generally the ball is popped off or passed to players in better positions with a hint of keeping defences guessing. 

Onyeka in the League of Champions

Transferring players between clubs across borders carries risk. How can you truly know whether a player moving from La Liga - or for instance - Danish Superliga is up to the task of competing in England? La Liga has 100s of examples of players moving across the water to benchmark against, whereas Denmark is still in its infancy of players going direct to the Premier League. 

If only there was a way to watch the best club teams from around Europe face off against each other in intense mini leagues throughout the season. Home and Away?

Looking at Onyeka’s output from minutes in last season's Champions League, FBref has him performing at an eye watering level. Using Statsbomb data, Onyeka is weighing in around the top 5% in a number of off ball pressing measures. Volume is somewhat revealing but it is the success rates of pressures that jump off the page. Add in being top 1% for players midfielders making tackles and interceptions p90, we’re looking at a player operating comfortably at Top 5 league level. 

Onyeka has fully built a reputation for being a formidable counter-presser. Using his tall frame and wiry agility, he is able to call anticipation a strength and react sharply to opponents body movements following the direction of the ball to hurry the opposition into errors. 

Downsides and Summary

Caveats with Frank Onyeka must include the Superliga itself. Midtjylland are one of the most resourced teams in their division with top table talent in every position as well as strong reserves to call upon when needed. The Danes play a shorter league season due to a lower number of teams in the top flight (reduced to 12 in 20/21) and have a player-first healthy winter break. 

Midtylland touches the ball in the box more than any other team in their league, sit at the top of pressing metrics and concede the least shots. 

Superliga wealth and elite depth of the squad is concentrated to 3 teams, Brondy,  Copenhagen and Midtyyland themselves, whereas in the English top flight we are looking at 6 elite teams and a similarly high standard across the remaining 14. Midtjylland and Brentford have spent years going off at kick-off as heavy favourites, this will no longer be the case for the Bees. 

Because of the improvements in weekly opposition faced, ball retention will get harder as will the demand to take fewer chances created. Previously, Onyeka’s on ball work has been questioned mainly due to the frantic nature of his game but as mentioned fleetingly in the passes section, performances throughout the last season, particularly performing well against elite European teams, has put a lot of those worries to bed. 

Dealing with scrutiny and individual pressure has to be a factor here as the world's eyes weigh down on his matches. With the greatest respect, interest in the big Copenhagen, Midtjylland and Brondby matches is limited outside Denmark whereas Brentford vs Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham will draw big viewing numbers across every continent. (English Premier League is the most watched and written about on the planet)

Frank Onyeka and Brentford will become small fish in a pond of Mane and Salah shaped sharks, which, taking into account recent years of dominance, is itself an unusual position for both parties to find themselves. 

In summary, Onyeka is a typical modern day midfielder who will fit in well with the first team, especially with the expected long term absence of Josh Dasilva, and as coaches' preference for midfield’s construction continues to move down the route of 6, 8, & a 10/8 hybrid.

Brentford FC will already know Frank Onyeka right down to the minutiae leaving one or two question marks over whether the player is able replicate the majority of his current output while adapting to a new environment.

Producing under the extra weekly physical demands of playing consistently at Premier League standard is all this all rounder needs to answer.