Andy Irving – Austria Klagenfurt’s midfield controller
Scottish people tend to have a sense of adventure as well as a curiosity of different cultures as throughout history, Scottish people have traversed the world, telling great tales and accomplishing great feats. Andy Irving is no different as the 22-year-old came through the Hearts of Midlothian academy, spending 13 years at the club as he felt his style of play would be better appreciated in other regions of Europe. From the comfortable confines of the Scottish Premiership, he made his way to the German Third Division with Turkgucu Munchen as his risk seemed to blow up in his face. Halfway through last season, the club announced that it was non-operational due to financial difficulties as Irving would learn this through social media. He then moved to Austria Klagenfurt in the Austrian Bundesliga as he has quickly developed into a high-level deep-lying playmaker.
The 22-year-old stands at a lumbering six foot two as his height is his most noticeable trait until he gets the ball at his feet, taking intelligent directional first touches and caressing deep line-breaking passes in between the lines with poise and grace. Irving’s left-foot allows him to find teammates from a variety of ranges and angles, constantly demanding possession, using his directional first touch and body to shield the ball before releasing possession with penetration. He can operate a deep-lying distributor as in between the lines, he moves into space to receive possession, threading one-touch through balls into the channels to create opportunities. The Scot is so much more effective from the deeper areas where he can see the pitch, receiving possession in the deeper areas of the opposition half as he has the vision and courage to thread through balls to runners to be a chance creator or to lob passes from the wide areas onto the heads of attackers. In tight spaces, the midfielder would hold possession, having the initiative to roll the ball in front of teammates so they can receive possession in stride and drive the ball as he can be quick and innate with his distribution, progressing play with one or two touches.
Away to WSG Tirol, a loose ball was headed into his path by an opposition midfielder in a congested area for Irving to calmly play a line-breaking pass to the nine-space with his first touch to facilitate a switch to the weak side as his distribution is essential to his team creating opportunities. Irving’s body orientation to receive possession to a take a touch to drive the ball away from a marker or play the ball with his first touch is impeccable as this allows him to hold possession before finding the right pass. The 22-year-old dropped into the six-space to receive possession, swivelling to drive the ball forward before playing a disguised pass in between two opposition midfielders to find a teammate in the ten space as he instigated another attacking interchange. Irving was positioned on the edge of the opposition box when he allowed a pass from the right flank to roll across his body, stinging the goalkeeper’s palms with an accurate shot from range. Irving possesses a wide array of tools for a defensive midfielder as he can drop into space, having the intelligence to play the ball on his first touch while he has the physique to hold possession as well as the quick feet to skip away from a marker to create a better passing angle for himself.
In a build-up situation, he moved into the right half-space to receive possession from the right sided centre-back, allowing the ball to roll across his body so he could face his marker before turning to shield the ball as he spun towards the touchline, driving the ball forward and contorting his body to thread a pass to a teammate in the 8 space as he managed to evade two defenders with this manoeuvre. In the opposition half, when the ball was positioned on the left flank, he dropped into the six-space to receive possession as once the ball was switch to the opposite flank, moving towards the flank where he received a pass that was played in front of him with a defender moving to close down the pass as Irving cleverly played a one-touch pass to the flank. Irving is a player who can move in between the lines to receive the ball in space as when he is deployed in the six-space, he makes movements in behind the opposition’s first line of pressure to find space and create good passing angles for his centre-backs.
He received possession in the eight space with his back to goal, controlling the ball with his chest before driving the ball forward with feet to spin away from his marker and generate space in order to spread a pass to the flank. Irving possesses elite awareness and savviness which meshes well with his physique as he can shield the ball, consistently uses his directional first touch to drive the ball away from opponents as he is constantly scanning when he is dropping into space as this allows him to be effective in one-touch passing situations. The Scot can also string together passing interchanges before playing penetrative balls through lines as he received a pass from the right flank in between the lines, holding possession to play the ball back to right flank, dropping into space in the right half-space as before he received possession, he turned his head to identify a teammate in the ten space, receiving the ball on the turn, allowing the ball to roll across his body before playing a deep vertical pass to the ten space.
Irving’s ability to scan and utilize the information he gathers to make innate and intelligent decisions with possession allows him to be effective in transition with his ball-carrying and distribution. He had a moment where he received possession in the eight space, scanning to identify a marker behind him as he used this information to prod the ball forward with his front foot, using his body to shield the ball before threading a pass in between the lines as he received a lay-off to skip past another defender before curling a switch ball to the opposite flank. In the six-space, he has the ability to scan and turn with possession which allows him to evade markers while buying time to play the perfect pass in between the lines as he utilized this manoeuvre, when he received possession with his back to goal, allowing the ball to roll across his body before switching the ball to the left-back, moving towards the opposite flank to act as a passing option as he made an interception after a loss of possession, skipping past an opposition midfielder and threading a pass to the opposition midfielder as he received possession once more, controlling the ball and playing an inaccurate lobbed pass into the box.
He was operating in the six-space when he stretched to receive possession, prodding the ball forward and threading a pass to the ten space. Irving occupied a position in between the lines, taking down a lobbed pass to lay-off a pass to a teammate as he made a run in between the lines to receive a lay-off, driving the ball forward to engage opposition defenders before spreading a pass to a teammate who curled a shot high and wide. Irving’s range of penetrative passing allows him to be a pivotal chance creator in the final third as well as being able to play the pass before the assist as he had a situation where the ball was on the right flank as the Scot received possession on the half-turn, playing a one-touch through ball to a teammate who squared a cross across the face of goal that an attacker was unable to tap in. The 22-year-old dropped into the six-space to receive possession, prodding the ball backwards with his directional first touch to play the ball wide. Irving would drop into the three-chain to receive possession, controlling a pass with his right foot before playing a deep pass in between the lines.
Irving would spin away from a defender before threading a pass in between the lines to a teammate who attempted to touch a pass to a runner before receiving a lay-off in a congested zone on the right flank to play a lobbed pass to a runner in behind with his weaker right foot. The 22-year-old would have a long pass from the six-space intercepted as he would move into the opposition half, marking an opposition midfielder as he showed phenomenal anticipation to regain possession playing a one-touch pass to an attacker in behind which was too heavy. He utilized his impeccable first touch to stretch his leg and control a high ball, poking a pass to a teammate in between the lines before receiving possession to play a back-pass before he made a blind-sided movement into space in between the lines, receiving possession to thread a through ball to a striker who was offside.
At home to Austria Wien, he would win an aerial duel in midfield to work the ball to a teammate before Irving would control a high ball before spreading a pass to the right flank for a deep pass into the attacking line. The Scot’s directional first touch is consistently faultless, especially in tight spaces where he can drive the ball into space to create better passing angles for himself. After a turnover in the defensive phase, he received possession in the six-space to allow the ball to roll across his body to his right foot, taking a touch before threading a pass in between the lines to start a counter-attack. He had a situation where the ball was played behind him for the 22-year-old to stretch his left leg, controlling the ball with a cushioned first touch before turning away from a marker to switch possession to the opposite flank. His phenomenal first touch allows him to play the ball on his first touch in tight situations and set a fast-paced tempo to games from a deep-lying playmaking role.
A lay-off was played back to him in the six-space for Irving to play a one-touch switch to the opposite flank as he would move into the right half-space in the attacking phase, playing a one-touch pass to a runner in the wide zone for a high-quality low crossing situation. He received possession in the right half-space once more, driving into the box to skip past a defender to square a cross to an attacker who mis-kicked and sent a shot wide. He took another brilliant directional first touch to drive the ball forward and work a pass into the wide areas before he received possession in the six-space once more, taking a brilliant directional first touch by allowing the ball to roll across his body to his left foot to play a line-breaking pass to the eight space to instigate an attacking move. After a turnover in the pressing phase as he received a lay-off to play a one-touch through ball for a runner who crossed into the box for Austria Klagenfurt.
The 22-year-old utilized his intelligence for movement and distribution to orchestrate the creation of an opportunity from deep, receiving possession from his fullback to lay-off before moving into the right back zone to receive possession and play the ball to the goalkeeper. Irving then moved into the 8 space as a teammate in the six-space received possession for the Scot to drop into the six-space to receive possession and work a line-breaking pass in between the lines as the sequence led to a shot on goal. He dropped into the six-space to receive possession as he turned to thread a line-breaking pass to the ten space as he won an interception in midfield to roll a pass to a teammate in between the lines. After a turnover, Irving received possession in the six-space to play the ball to a teammate before his side lost possession for the Scot to make an interception and drive the ball to spread a pass into the wide areas for a crossing situation.
Irving’ ability to move and work clever passing interchanges in the six-space to string together attacking moves makes him one of the most intriguing midfield metronomes to watch in European football. He moved into the right back zone from the, rolling the ball away from a marker to drive possession into the centre to work a pass for a teammate in the six-space as the 22-year-old would make a movement into the 8 space. After the ball was switched to the left flank, he dropped into the six-space where he received possession in the left half-space, working a one-two with a teammate before driving the ball forward and playing a deep line-breaking pass in between the lines. In another situation, he dropped deep to trade passes with his centre-back as he moved into the defensive chain, receiving possession to cut past a marker and play a deep line-breaking pass to the 9 space.
Austria Klagenfurt missed an opportunity from a corner as the opposition were preparing a counter-attack as Irving was positioned perfectly to make an interception, driving the ball forward to spread a pass into the wide areas which led to a cross into the box and a header that was sent wide. The 22-year-old then scored a penalty before being perfectly positioned to make another interception in a counter-attacking situation as he drove the ball forward and worked a pass to a teammate in the wide areas to recycle possession. At home to LASK, he proved his ability to distribute possession when receiving the ball at the base of midfield to play a deep vertical pass in between the lines from the six-space before he received possession from the left flank to play another vertical pass in between the lines. His ability to receive possession in the six-space to shield the ball and swivel away from pressure or cut past an attacker by shifting the ball to the outside of his boot to flick possession away from a teammate.
Defensively, Irving covered space to make a tackle before playing a one-touch pass to a teammate, showing calm under pressure, before he received possession to switch possession to the opposite flank. He won an aerial duel in midfield before receiving possession to play a one-touch back-pass to a teammate, moving into space to receive possession once more before he played a brilliantly weighted through ball to a teammate making a run in behind. Irving is extremely comfortable in receiving possession and passing with both feet as broke lines by playing a pass with his weaker right foot to a teammate in the wide areas to instigate a counter-attacking move. He was perfectly positioned to make an interception from an opposition goal-kick before playing a penetrative pass to the left flank before he controlled a pass in the half-space to lob a fantastic cross for a teammate to head against the post.
Irving has played as a box-to-box midfielder and deeper-lying playmaker this season as he is much more effective when he has a better overview of the pitch and can distribute possession to teammates in between the lines from deep. He can work backwards and sideways passes to patiently string together moves while he can play penetrative passes in between the lines or stretch the pitch with switch-passes to the opposite flank. The 22-year-old would move into the ten space, linking up play in between the lines before dropping into the six-space to receive possession as he drove the ball forward to attempt a lobbed pass to Solomon Bonnah which was intercepted as the Scot covered space to regain possession. The deep-lying playmaker is extremely intelligent when receiving possession in the deeper areas, possessing a mastery of the minute details such as his directional first-touch, rolling well-weighted passes in front of teammates so they can receive possession in stride while also being very mobile at covering space in the defensive phase.
When he drops into the six-space, he does a brilliant job with creating passing angles for teammates, dropping into space to work quick passing interchanges, laying off passes to centre-backs before receiving possession to switch the ball to the flank. Despite his lumbering size, Irving is impressively fluid in his motoring skills from the six-space, being able to distribute possession from a variety of body shapes as he is skilled in distributing possession progressively from the half-turn. The Scot has the ability to control games from deep with his distribution and ball-carrying as he drove the ball-forward to lob a pass into the box for an attacker to head the ball back into the centre of the box for an opportunity. Irving finished the game with a 79% pass succession rate and 12 ball recoveries as he was constantly playing the ball forward to add some attacking impetus to his side.
Away to Rapid Wien, he started the game by making an interception in the counter-press to spread the ball to the right flank. Irving made another good interception in the counter-pressing phase as he was playing predominantly from the six-space as he moved to the left flank to receive a pass, driving the ball forward to play a switch ball for Markus Pink to play through another attacker who had a shot on target. Irving moved into the ten space to receive a pass in between the lines, spreading a pass for Pink while gesticulating for a cut-back at the top of the box which was cleared. He created an opportunity of his own when he played a cross into the box which was cleared. He dropped deeper to trade passes with a fullback before contorting his body to thread a pass for the fullback in the next line as Irving received a lay-off to surge forward and thread a pass in between the lines. He would participate in the defensive side of the game, covering space to make a tackle before receiving possession in a tight space, skipping past a sliding challenge with his first to work a pass into the wide areas.
Irving is also a skilled set-piece taker, taking a corner which led to a flick-on and opportunity on goal before receiving possession with his back in between the lines to turn and switch a pass to a teammate. The 22-year-old then worked a passing combination in the wide zone before threading a deep line-breaking pass to the 9 space. He finished the game with 3 chances created, 2 tackles, 2/3 takeons and 3 interceptions as he is currently staking a claim to be declared one of the best midfielders in Austria. Irving ranks 6th in expected assists with 2.46 for 3 assists in total while he ranks joint first in second assists which is playing the pass before the assist with 3. He has also been able to create many opportunities with his distribution from deep as he ranks second in through balls while also ranking in the top 20 for key passes. The 22-year-old ranks 2nd in passes to the final third while he also ranks in the top 20 for progressive runs. Defensively, Irving ranks in the top 15 in defensive duels as his ball-progression metrics and physical tools make him a prospect with high level potential.
Irving has the potential to be an elite deep-lying pivote as he has size to receive possession and shield the ball to swivel away from opposition attackers while his directional first-touch allows him to drive the ball into space as well as giving him the ability to steady himself for a line-breaking pass. Defensively, he is strong at winning possession in the air while having a brilliant sense of positioning and anticipation to close down spaces to win possession cleanly and deny the opposition counter-attacking opportunities. His vision and passing range allow him to orchestrate attacking moves from the deeper areas, working passing interchanges in tight spaces to drive the ball forward and roll penetrative passes in between the lines or to switch the ball to the wide areas to stretch the pitch. Irving can also anchor a midfield in the opposition half, receiving possession and circulating the ball with passes in between the lines or switch balls while he can also move into pockets of space to play one-touch through balls to runners. In the counter-pressing phase, his ability to win possession and deny the opposition a counter-attacking opportunities means that he could be deployed in a possession based team as a well-rounded deep-lying playmaker.
Irving would be an exceptional piece of business for many teams in England’s top two divisions as teams such as Everton, Leicester City, Brentford, Southampton, Crystal Palace and Wolverhampton Wanderers could use a player of his ilk. He would suit Vincent Kompany’s Burnley as a younger option to Jack Cork while Norwich City and Swansea City would also be good moves for him. There have been murmurs that he may not play for another team in Scotland other than Hearts but if he reconsiders, he would be a solid piece of business for Celtic and Rangers. In terms of options in continental football, Serie A would suit his style of play as he would be a good option for Lazio, Atalanta, Sassuolo, Torino, Empoli and Fiorentina. In Holland, if PSV lose Ibrahim Sangare then Irving could be a brilliant replacement for the midfielder as he would also be a good replacement for Branco van den Boomen at Toulouse while French teams like Lille, Marseille, Monaco, Lens and Rennes would also be strong landing spots for him. Irving should be one of the most sought after players in British football next summer after his strong start to the season.
