Sideways Sammy

After a big impact in his first year at the club and then a nasty injury, Tatsuhiro Sakamoto has now settled into a role at Coventry City of a valuable attacking contributor but not quite a leading star. Not every player can be a star and Sakamoto’s ability to produce a reliable level of performance is a valuable quality for this Coventry City side. Sakamoto’s consistency has been especially valuable during his time at the club, where he’s been pretty much the only viable option on the right wing, but with Brandon Thomas-Asante now putting him under pressure for a starting place, the Japanese winger is now under pressure to add more of an end product to his game.

Tatushiro Sakamoto’s most reliable quality is his ability to commit defenders with his close dribbling ability and create space for himself by twisting inside and outside. Along with his prodigious work-rate off-the-ball, that has provided a threatening dynamic down the right wing with Milan van Ewijk bombing up from full-back on his outside. The frustration with Sakamoto is that he can slow attacks down as his approach relies on attacking opposing defenders rather than space, which can buy teams time to get in position while the winger looks to stand a full-back up. Developing a more decisive, direct streak to his game is a key area of improvement for Tatsuhiro Sakamoto.

Whether or not Sakamoto adds that, he still has immense value to the team with that ability to commit defenders, his defensive work-rate and the quality of his crossing. It may be a case that the manager takes a ‘horses for courses’ approach on the right wing, with Sakamoto playing in games where the team wants to take a slower approach towards goal and Brandon Thomas-Asante the more direct option. While it’s clear by now that Tatsuhiro Sakamoto isn’t going to step up to the quality of undroppable consistent match-winner, he is someone who facilitates match-winning in other players. He is a player most would be happy to play another 75 league games for the club, and beyond.