Left backs aren’t cool these days. It’s up for debate if they ever really have been. Such are the tactical tweaks in modern football, and the interchangeability of positions, that a traditional outside back - the kind of player who runs up, runs down, tackles and crosses - doesn’t really exist anymore.
Everyone tucks in, plays sideways passes, crosses from deep. They are all converted midfielders or bruising center backs pushed out wide.
And so we arrive at Antonee Robinson. He is, in some ways, a throwback. Here we have an athlete, who always did all of those traditional things - those runs, crosses, duels - very well. But this year, he’s elevated himself into the elite. He’s made old fashioned look exciting and traditional look modern. Suddenly, both Fulham and America have a world-class left back at their disposal.
Fulham fans might tell you that he’s been this good for a while - or at least that he has been progressing toward it. USMNT fans who remember his failed medical at Milan in 2020, or full senior debut assist in 2018, might also make a case. But few could really claim to have seen this coming, a diligent, mid level player being mentioned alongside some of the best in his position.
Still, after an excellent start to the season, he deserves every compliment, and is good value for the big money move that many have him tipped for.