Emboldened by the riches of the current TV deal, Premier League clubs are once again spending big this summer.
Manchester City have splashed over £200m on shaping their squad in Pep Guardiola’s image, Manchester United’s move for Chelsea’s Nemanja Matić takes their spending beyond the £150m mark, and the champions have added Antonio Rüdiger, Tiemoué Bakayoko and Álvaro Morata as they gear up for a title defence in 2017/18.
But aside from the big-spenders, whose exuberance has warped the notion of value in the market, there have been some very astute purchases made by teams lower down the table who are working with a slightly more restrictive budgets. Swansea City’s £11m signing of Roque Mesa stands at the top of that pile.
The 28-year-old Spanish midfielder has been one of La Liga’s standout players outside of the division’s established elite in recent years, so picking him up for a relatively small fee represents fantastic business on the part of the Swans.
The diminutive playmaker’s intelligence and technical quality at the base of midfield was one of the key factors behind Las Palmas’ promotion to, and consolidation in, the Spanish top tier. Mesa has the quality and nous to take the Swansea midfield to the next level, and he’s a perfect fit for the conductor role in Paul Clement’s progressive 4-3-3 system.
What instantly catches the eye when watching the Spaniard is his textbook passing technique and intelligent use of the ball. Retaining possession is a key tenet of the pivot’s role in a 4-3-3 setup, particularly when operating within a system which looks to work the ball through midfield to exploit space in the channels, as is the case at the Liberty Stadium.
Mesa attempted an average of 70.8 passes per 90 minutes in La Liga last term, completing a staggering 91.4 per cent of them. The volume of his passes demonstrates his willingness to get on the ball and take responsibility for constructing his side’s attacking moves, while his accuracy shows he’s disciplined and controlled in his distribution.
No Swansea player averaged a pass completion rate of 90 per cent or more in the Premier League in 2016/17, and none of Clement’s charges broke the 60-passes-per-90 barrier. By way of comparison, Jack Cork, who shared the midfield anchoring duties with veteran Leon Britton in south Wales last term, made 51.8 passes per 90 at an accuracy of 83.5 per cent.
Of course, comparing the statistics of players in different sides within different leagues is never a fair juxtaposition. This is especially true when you consider Las Palmas averaged 57 per cent possession per game last season and Swansea 48 per cent, although it's true that Mesa was one of the main reasons why the Canary Islanders saw so much of the ball.
As part of a side who are used to having less possession than their opponents, Mesa’s skill set will become even more valuable. His ability to take the ball under pressure and play through the press, always identifying a colleague in space and looking to break the lines with vertical passes when possible, will be a major weapon for the Swans. Far from a sideways, risk-averse passer, Mesa is capable of being incisive and inventive when the time is right.
Here we see the Spaniard receive the ball on the edge of the opponent’s penalty area from a short corner in a game against Eibar. Rather than aim for goal or play a short, simple pass to a colleague in close proximity, he spots the run of a team-mate breaking into the box on the right.
With a delicate, lofted pass, he picks out the runner, pulling the Eibar defence out of shape and creating the possibility for a high-percentage cut-back.
The ability to work the ball into space out wide will be doubly beneficial for Swansea, who, with a towering presence such as Fernando Llorente in the centre-forward position, will be keen to manufacture such situations as often as possible.
In addition to all his qualities in possession, Mesa is also disciplined and positionally aware without the ball. The former Tenerife B-teamer has the useful knack of stationing himself in front of the back four as opposition attacks progress, using astute anticipation to sweep up and intercept.
Despite his small stature – he stands at just 5ft 7in – Mesa is adept at using his upper-body strength to steal a favourable position in relation to the ball, which enables him to win possession cleanly. He averaged 1.5 successful tackles per 90 last season and was dribbled past just once per outing. By way of comparison, Cork made 2.4 tackles per 90 but was dribbled past 1.8 times on average.
In the above image, taken from Las Palmas’ trip to Barcelona last term, Mesa (circled white) is stationed on the edge of the penalty area when he realises that Luis Suárez has found a pocket of space inside the box and is about to receive the ball from Neymar.
Acting quickly, he makes up the distance to the Uruguayan striker and uses his strength to usher the Barça man off the ball, which ends up rolling harmlessly through to the goalkeeper.
It’s not only in defensive situations that Mesa’s ability to utilise sound body positioning comes to the fore, either. Here, against Real Madrid, he’s contesting a falling ball with Luka Modrić, keeping the Croatian at bay as he plucks the goalkeeper’s clearance out of the sky.
From there, Mesa switches to creative mode, spotting a midfield runner and picking him out with a perfectly weighted chipped pass, bypassing the Madrid midfield in one move.
Aside from his vast technical skills, Mesa’s leadership is already shining through with his new club in pre-season; the 28-year-old has been seen offering encouragement and guidance to his team-mates, as well as constantly communicating with them throughout matches.
Swansea have not only managed to make the low-key signing of the summer with their acquisition of the Telde-born playmaker, but they have also added a player capable of dramatically improving their prospects for the season ahead. Rather than simply setting their sights on survival, Mesa could have the Swans aspiring to climb a little higher up the Premier League ladder.
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