Tony Pulis has been confirmed as the new Wednesday boss, so we took a look at what could potentially be his ‘ideal’ XI based on the way that he set up in his most recent games.
In his final season at Middlesbrough, he varied mainly between 3-5-2, 3-4-2-1 and 4-3-2-1 over the course of the campaign, also using 5-4-1 or 5-3-2 on a couple of occasions.
If it’s 3-5-2, this is potentially what it could look like…
9. RWB - Izzy Brown
Brown is more known for his work down the middle, but as previously mentioned, Pulis did use central midfielders across the midfield at Boro - especially in the second half of the season. Brown has height and excellent set piece delivery. Photo: Stu Forster
10. CF - Callum Paterson
Paterson is a big, strong lad and can play the target man role well. He's slightly bigger than Ashley Westwood - who played a lot in Pulis' Boro spell - and has got a goal or two in him as well. Photo: Steve Ellis
11. CF - Jordan Rhodes
Pulis could be tempted to bring Rhodes back in given his Championship experience and historical goalscoring record in the league. He may see him as a bit of a Britt Assambalonga, who doesn't do much except score. Assambalonga was top scorer in Pulis' final season at Boro but didn't get a single assist in any competition. Photo: Stu Forster