Adding to the competition for places in the wide and attacking midfield roles, Marcel Hilssner is the latest addition the squad as we prepare for the Championship. A former German youth international who has played most of his football in the 3.Liga (German third-tier), Hilssner is a left-footed player who has primarily played from the right-wing but has described himself as being capable of playing centrally – which would seemingly make him a good fit as one of the advanced midfielders in the 3-6-1 system that saw us promoted from League One.
I’m not going to pretend I’ve seen much of Hilssner play, nor am I going to read too much into selectively edited YouTube highlights. Like our other two additions from overseas thus far this summer, it is hard to gauge how performances from one country translate into another. While it would seem that it would be a step up from the German third-tier to the Championship, what’s more important is how the Hilssner as a person adapts to living in England, how well he fits into our style of play and how many opportunities he is given.
With established first-team players currently in Hilssner’s position in Callum O’Hare and Jamie Allen, he isn’t under immediate pressure to perform. While Hilssner adds some useful competition for places in those attacking positions, it’s important we have quality over quality in that area of the pitch especially. We’ll have to wait and see with Hilssner just how much of an impact he can make in the Championship.
Sideways Sammy 