Jayson Molumby

Molumby made his name as the kind of midfielder who wins the ball back through sheer energy and refuses to let an opponent settle. That competitiveness remains the foundation of everything he does. What has changed is what happens once he actually has possession, because he now looks to drive the team forward with a pass rather than simply shifting the ball on to a teammate.

That shift from stopping attacks to starting them has made him a considerably more rounded central midfielder than the one who first arrived. The tension in his game is balancing those two instincts within the same ninety minutes. A midfielder chasing a forward pass is not always in position for the tackle that stops a counter attack. Watching which version shows up, the shepherd or the destroyer, often tells you how a match is going.