After a tumultuous day of rumours regarding the O’Brien and Toffolo transfers to Nottingham Forest yesterday, it now seems likely that these moves are back on again. So after talking about what Forest fans can expect from Lewis O’Brien yesterday, it seems logical to do the same today about Harry Toffolo.
The goings on yesterday may give some Forest fans that Toffolo is a bit of a diva, given the leaks in the press suggested it was Toffolo’s personal demands that nearly derailed both his and O’Brien’s transfers, but I’d say that Toffolo is one of the most professional and decent footballers I’ve ever come across. Perhaps this is a low bar to clear given the low moral standard of the average footballer but Harry Toffolo has always been nothing but a true gentlemen and model professional in his time at Huddersfield Town even during the time when he has been in open conflict with the club over his contract it has never had an impact on his demeanor or performance on the pitch.
What are Harry Toffolo’s strengths?
As his statistics from last season suggest, Harry Toffolo is a very modern type of full back, who likes to get forward, overlap his winger and contribute in attack. He got six goals and eight assists last season which are ridiculous figures for a full back to contribute, particularly given he was played in his less preferred role of wingback for the majority of the season.
Many of his goals for Huddersfield Town came last season when we attacked down the opposite flank and he gambled on late runs into the box and arrived at just the right moment. So you can attribute his goal scoring to both good anticipation to get on the end of chances but also excellent fitness to be willing to make those runs into the box, knowing most the time the ball won’t come to you and you’ll have to run all the way back to the left back area to get into position. So his positioning and fitness are big factors in those goals and assists.
I wouldn’t say he’s amazing at crossing the ball but he is good at a particular type of square ball that often leads to assists. Rather than cross he will often cut the ball back along the floor to the edge of the box for a midfielder to get a shot away from range. This has been something I think we’ve worked on as a specific tactic as our main striker, Danny Ward, pushes back the first line of defence to make space for the next wave of attackers to be the real goal threat and that’s where we target our balls.
Another of Toffolo’s strengths is his ability to link up with the attacking players around him, which works well with the fact he’s coming as a package deal with Lewis O’Brien. The pair have an almost telepathic understanding on the pitch, which is most likely helped by their off the pitch friendship (though that friendship was no doubt pushed to the limit yesterday while O’Brien sat at the City Ground hearing that Toffolo was refusing to hold up his end of the deal!).
What are Harry Toffolo’s weaknesses?
I’ve seen quite a lot of criticism of Harry Toffolo’s defending lately and I think that might actually have been overstated. I suppose it probably falls within the weaknesses section rather than the strengths but he’s not a bad defender it’s just he stands out more as an attacker rather than a defender. There have been a couple of games where Toffolo has had a stinker and a winger has turned him inside out but those have been literally a handful of games in the 99 games he’s played for us. The vast majority of the time he’s been very steady and has even dropped into central defence and done a decent job on a few occasions to cover injuries late in games.
The limitation we experienced with Toffolo last season was that he doesn’t do as well when he plays in a system where he has the whole flank to himself. He’ll do a job and won’t let you down but he definitely plays his best football as a fullback with a winger in front of him and a midfielder nearby to play quick one-two passes with. When we played three at the back I thought he would thrive because he allowed him to bomb forward more but lack of winger to interact with meant he struggled to get forward as easily and he had to relearn how to play his position. We switched to four at the back late in the season and we suddenly saw the best of him again and that’s when he went on his scoring run.
My final weakness for Toffolo isn’t really a weakness at all but really an observation, so I’ll cover it in the next subheading…
Is Harry Toffolo good enough for the Premier League?
When Huddersfield Town were promoted to the Premier League we bought Scott Malone from Fulham because he was one of the Championship’s best left backs the season we were promoted, in much the same way Harry Toffolo was one of the best left backs in the Championship last season. The problem we had with him wasi he just wasn’t good enough for the step up from the Championship to the Premier League.
Yesterday I started quite confidently that Lewis O’Brien is ready to play in the top flight, and I think most people that watched him last year would agree that he is. I’m not quite so sure about Toffolo. He could be. He’s such a dedicated and hard working professional that he could make the step up but it is also possible that the Championship might be the right level for him and he may struggle to cope with the world’s best wingers coming at him week after week (if he can get a game in the first place).
The good thing about Harry Toffolo is that his character is superb, so he’ll not complain if he isn’t in the team and he’ll work hard in training to try and get his chance. But I think the standard of the Premier League is so much higher than the Championship that he may be in for a shock.
I remember the look on Scott Malone’s face when he was getting left for dead in his first few games for Town, he looked like he’d seen a ghost. In fairness, he also somehow managed to kick a football into his own face while he played for Town, so he was a bit more of a comedy player than Harry Toffolo but he has since gone on to be a steady Championship performer again, so it was just a matter of him going back to the right level.
Who is getting the best out of this transfer?
It’s not clear exactly how much money Town have seen for the Harry Toffolo part of this deal, it sounds like it might have been minimal. But with him entering into the last year of his contract and with no sign of an extension being signed it was clear we had to sell him to get something rather than let him go for nothing next summer. It’s a shame to see him go but we’ve got Ruffels in as a decent replacement and we it’s only right we let him go test himself at a higher level.
Like with O’Brien, it feels like Forest are the ones getting the best out of this deal, getting a player at a good age for a knock down fee, particularly because of Toffolo’s age. I know Forest fans reading this won’t like me saying this but I suspect they’ve signed Toffolo with half an eye on their potential relegation. Toffolo might not be a Premier League player but he’s an awesome Championship player. So they might have got him on a four-year deal thinking he’ll be OK for backup this year and can be their main left back the season after when they’re in the Championship. If they unexpectedly stay up then he can be loaned out. Seems like smart but slightly cynical business to me.
I think Toffolo has done well out of this transfer. As I’ve said above, I’m not sure he’s a Premier League player, so he’s done well to find a club that is willing to take him on. Also, judging from the shenanigans that went on yesterday, he’s got himself a decent sized contract too which means it won’t matter whether he plays or not. So fair play to him!
As a Forest fan I don’t take offence, realistically every promoted team has to be prepared for the spectre of a quick return to the championship. Thanks for your honest review of the players and all the best for next season.
Thanks Baz, good luck for the season ahead.
I really think you are way underplaying his defensive weaknesses massively at full back (noting though never he let us down when filled in at CB). Often he would struggle to stop a tap running – though everything else spot on.