Martin Fernandez – Liverpool Montevideo’s Prodigious Anchor Man
The sprawling South American City of Montevideo has long been one of the hotbeds of Uruguayan talent with its cluster of professional sides and the country’s reinforced focus on youth. Uruguay are also producing high-level deep-lying midfield operators with Federico Valverde and Rodrigo Bentancur as 19-year-old, Martin Fernandez and his 17-year-old teammate, Fabricio Diaz are emerging talents for Liverpool Montevideo in Uruguay’s top division. Fernandez is a lumbering and physically developed midfielder who made his debut at 17-years-old, comfortable sitting at the base of midfield, regaining possession and controlling the game as he has the potential to develop into a high-level midfielder.
The 19-year-old is a deep-lying midfielder with the ability to turn out of pressure while he has gained the experience to take calculated risk at the base of midfield, knowing when to play one-touch passes back to his centre-backs and move into space or receive the ball and turn out of a challenge to drill a pass in between the lines. Fernandez thrives at making himself available to receive possession as he will make timed movements into space when his centre-backs are playing wider to receive possession and work passes forward in between the central lines while he is normally tasked with dropping in between the centre-backs to receive possession from the goalkeeper and centre-backs to construct attacking play from deep.
He will normally work passing combinations with fellow teenager and Liverpool youth product Gonzalo Perez as the young centre-back will work passes into him, allowing him to lay-off for Perez to thread passes in between the lines. The 19-year-old midfielder is innate at adding continuity to Liverpool’s approach play in the opposition half as he has the vision and weight of pass to thread balls through tight defensive lines while playing simple passes to allow his teammates to move into space and receive possession. It will be intriguing to see if he is deployed as an anchor man or as a box-to-box midfielder as he possesses a turn of pace that allows him to burst past opposition defenders and into the opposition half as he can use his big body and six-foot frame allow him to nudge past defenders.
He can seem isolated at the base of midfield as he will move into space to receive back-passes as his teammates will chose other options instead of working the ball to him, greatly limiting his impact on the game. His ability to receive the ball, turn and switch the point of attack would be crucial in adding some urgency to attacks as when he plays in a box-to-box role, this allows him to move into space in the opposition half to receive possession and have more involvement in attacks. However, the defensive solidity that he brings with his ability in regaining possession from opposition goal-kicks in aerial duels as well as lunging with his long legs to intercept passes gives his side some balance. Although, in pressing situations, he is liable to push too high and leave spaces in between him and his centre-backs as this issue could be due to his manager rather than the player himself. In terms of his potential without possession, the 19-year-old will regularly drop in between the centre-backs in the defensive phase to cover for them, as he can move into the wider areas to regain possession in 1v1s or utilize his clean tackling ability to quell opposition counters.
Away to River Plate Montevideo, his defence solidity was on show as he was playing touch tight to his marker and caught in a 2v1 situation in between the lines as the ball was played to the opposition player occupying the space next to him for the youngster to lunge and intercept the pass to regain possession. He then received a pass from a fullback on the half-turn to drive the ball and attract markers before threading a pass for Hernan Figueredo in between the lines. The 19-year-old Uruguayan showed his ability to keep things ticking in the opposition half by receiving the ball with his right foot to work a pass in between the lines to Figueredo in between the lines. Fernandez then received possession in the six-space to make a one-touch pass to a teammate in between the lines who played a back-pass to the right-sided centre-back for the ball to be played to the right flank as the 19-year-old anchor man found a pocket of space amongst three opposition attackers to receive possession from the right back, controlling the ball on the half-turn with his right foot to attract opposition pressure into the centre before playing a pass to the right winger to instigate an attacking move on the flank.
In the final stages of the game, he received possession on the in-step of his right foot to beat one marker before guiding the ball past a second opposition attacker to lay-off to a teammate and show his calm under pressure. Against, Uruguayan giants, Nacional, he continued to show poise when receiving possession under pressure while he dropped into the defensive line to make important challenges on Sebastian Rodriguez and Gonzalo Bergessio. However, the 19-year-old will need to improve his long-range passes as he can send long chipped balls wayward to concede possession as specialises in quick one-touch short passing interchanges or threading balls in between the central lines. He also worked wall-passing combinations with Perez to allow the young centre-back to push forward while he received possession in the opposition half to work incisive passes to create opportunities.
In the Copa Sudamericana second round first-leg, away to Sport Huancayo, he adapted well to playing against tougher opposition. He began the game by working a through ball to Agustin Ocampo who played a one-two with striker, Juan Ramirez to send a shot wide from inside the box. He consistently regained possession for his side while looking to play the ball forward while he moved out of the six-space in certain situations with his 17-year-old partner, Diaz filling his role. Fernandez was instrumental in passing through tight spaces and passing under pressure as he had one moment of genius when he received possession with three men charging towards him to calmly turn out of pressure and thread a pass through the lines to Diaz.
When Sport Huancayo travelled to Uruguay for the second-leg, Fernandez continued to be instrumental in creating opportunites when he chipped the ball into the box with his weaker left foot for a teammate to play a lay-off to Figueredo who worked a pass for Fabricio Diaz to beat his man and drive to by-line to cross across the face of goal as nobody from his side made a run to finish the opportunity. The 19-year-old pushed up to regain possession to thread a pass through to Ocampo for the attacker to thread a pass for Ramirez to finish as the striker was whistled for offside.
At home to Cerro Largo, he showed his ability on the half-turn when an opposition goal-kick was headed into his path by his centre-back as he feinted as if he was working a back-pass to his centre-back to swivel past his marker and play a pass forward. He then received a pass on the half-turn to work a one-touch pass to his teammate in the central pockets. Away to Plaza Colonia, he showed improvement in his one-touch passing that facilitates receiving the ball under pressure. The youngster then received a pass from Diaz to execute a 360-degree spin before working a pass back for his midfield partner to attempt a chip in behind. He was tasked with dropping in between the centre-backs to play switch balls to his right-back as in one situation, his side lost possession in the build-up phase for Fernandez to make a crucial intervention. The 19-year-old then weaved past two attackers to thread a ball through to Diaz as he seemed to coast in the game as he lost possession for his side to concede a goal in a game where his side led 2-0 and Plaza Colonia came back to secure a point with a man down.
In the future, it will be interesting to see Fernandez in a side which looks to create intricate passing combinations in build-up play using the six-space as a conduit as he would thrive with increased responsibility in possession. He can go missing in some games as his role at Liverpool is to regain possession and work passes to Figueredo who is the creative hub of the side with his experience, vision and technique as Fernandez cannot be utilized for larger amounts of games. He has the press resistance, the physical tools and the ability on the half-turn to become a high-level anchor man in Europe as he will be a cheaper, younger option at a crucial position. He will need to impose himself more on games as well as improving his long-range passing as it will be interesting for him to develop at a higher level where a more tactically progressive manager will work with him on his positioning and instincts in the pressing phase.
Fernandez will play in the Uruguayan Primera Clausura with his side as he will gain more experience but middle-rung European clubs or La Liga and Segunda Liga sides should be targeting him due to the lack of a language barrier expediting his adjustment period. He will also be a cost-effective option for Major League Soccer clubs as developing in the United States like other young Uruguayan talents before making a move to Europe could be pivotal for him. He only turns 20 in May next year as a full season of Uruguayan Primera League action has been beneficial for his development as he will be part of a highly talented Uruguayan side at the U20 South American Championships where he could gain the attention of scouts.
