Denis Cheryshev and Gonçalo Guedes take a left turn

One more season, Valencia started the course with the position in the left band moderately defined with a proper name: Gonçalo Guedes. The Portuguese disputed the first three LaLiga games as a starter in that location, however Javi Gracia did not take long to realize that something did not work. Gonçalo was not as incisive as I expected, he did not show signs of feeling completely comfortable and Gayà had to multiply himself defensively.

The Navarrese was testing alternatives, among them Álex Blanco or the double winger with Lato, however, as Cheryshev He was physically fine after returning from his umpteenth injury and handed him the keys to his left side. The Russian has played the last two games against important rivals such as Getafe and Real Madrid setting very good performances both in attack and defense, all after a summer in which the club that tried to sell you at all costs.

Certainly Denis Cheryshev he never considered leaving the club, but as soon as he started working with Javi Gracia his will to continue was greater. After the first sessions, the international understood that his skills matched perfectly with what the Navarrese was looking for and he could find a niche in the team. The numbers don't lie, Gracia values ​​the brilliance of his wingers but also demands defensive work. Yunus's consecutive starts are no coincidence, since he is the winger that recovers the most balls on average (3.88 per game), and Cheryshev is a veteran of convincing coaches from work, hence the three recoveries per game That adds up despite the fact that until the last two appointments his role had always been of revulsive when the team was losing.

But also Gayà is more Gayà when he shares a band with the Russian. The tactical disposition of the team that changes when a footballer with a longer defensive tour like Denis guarantees to cover the captain's back and allow him to surprise from the side. In fact, Pedreguer's has played his best matches against Real Sociedad – with Álex Blanco and Lato gave an assist-, and against Real Madrid –with Cheryshev, caused two penalties And it was decisive. Last year Celades already understood that for the youth squad to shine he needed a hard-working extreme and that is why Soler placed the left wing for so long.

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While Guedes, the most expensive footballer in Valencian history, has seen leading the way between obligation and his own will. Javi Gracia decided such a change with him during the stop of the month of October after in his last game in the band against Betis he did not last an hour on the field and had friction with Gayà when defending. From that date, in training the Portuguese has participated as second striker, a location where he scores the most goals (five in ten games), his influence on the game is greater (He touched 28 balls in his last game on the wing, 42 against Villarreal) and he does not have the obligation to go down to defend as much as on the side. But everything beautiful has a toll to pay and that is that in the middle point also opposes the ownership Kang-in Lee who has starred in the last two games from the beginning and has left the Portuguese without playing for a single minute.

Guedes is not ruled out for the left lane and in the coaching staff they value it as an option but more for matches against rivals who lock themselves up or at specific moments. In any case, between the two they have given a turn to the left wing that can be fully materialized if: Cheryshev progressively shows more imbalance – he has barely completed two dribbles in more than 200 minutes– and Guedes pours gasoline on his flashes to make them regular.