Premier league experience should not be considered for Chelsea targets

Player attributes and traits

Often, managers use this with player instructions. Most systems and tactics work based on certain attributes of players. You cannot build up through long balls if you don’t have good long passers on your team. You cannot play out from the back if you don’t have players who can pass the ball under pressure. You cannot play a high line if you don’t have centerbacks who read the game very well.

Mateo Kovacic, for example, is perfect for Chelsea and Tuchel’s system because of his dribbling. This dribbling isn’t on request by Tuchel, but the system has been constructed in a way that Kovacic can dribble as often as he does and it would help the team, not hurt it. Romelu Lukaku at Inter Milan was so successful because not only did Antonio Conte specially train him to play with his back to goal and receive all kinds of passes under pressure, but Conte also made Inter build up in a way that allowed the flanks (the right flanks especially) to be vacated for Lukaku to run into and through that channel, driving toward goal. Every system needs players with certain attributes and tendencies.

At the highest level, coaches and managers integrate players into their plans. They rarely get players they still need to coach. Pep Guardiola would not buy a player and then teach him to pass or dribble. Coaches often take players with a certain type of attribute, and integrate them into game plans and tactics. Players are going to be the ones to carry out the game plans and those game plans would be difficult to execute if players didn’t have the attributes suited to the role. Wingers have to be fast, Centerbacks have to be tall and good in the air, centerbacks have to be good passers, full backs have to be decent crossers of the ball. Midfielders have to be good passers, etc.