Sevilla

The missing number nine, Isaac Romero – Sevilla’s quick fix who will stay for good

If you were to line all of Sevilla’s players up in order of when they played their first game in 2023-24, you’d have to go all the way down to the 34th person to find Isaac Romero. If you were to line those same players up in order of their importance this season, well, that’d be a much shorter trip to find him.

It might have taken a while for Sevilla to call on Romero – they very nearly didn’t – but his arrival in the team back in January will be remembered as one of the big reasons for them avoiding disaster this season. Of course, nobody associated with the club will plan on remembering too much about 2023-24, but one of the positive spins on it will be that a player who emerged from within was one of those who most helped to steady the ship.

When the 23-year-old first appeared in January, it was tempting to think Sevilla were in their final throes of a worsening situation, and looking to a youth team player in the hope of merely sparking something. After four goals in his first five games, it was clear they’d found more than something; and by his next five, that they’d found a player who can be more than merely a temporary solution.

Romero initially came into the side in a front two, partnered by Lucas Ocampos. As the lead striker in that partnership – whether Sevilla played a clear 4-4-2 or their now habitual 5-3-2 – the brunt of the youngster’s goals came in those first five appearances with Ocampos as his closest support. That’s to say, with Romero as the lead striker, Quique Sanchez Flores immediately landed upon a box presence who could finish. It’d be tough to argue against four goals from his first 10 shots for Sevilla, and especially his finish away at Girona in just his third game.

For a top-level career that’s only spanned 11 matches, there’s rather strangely already been two clear parts to it. Romero’s four goals in his first five games provided an immediate boost and helped to spark Sevilla into life, while his six games since the return of Youssef En-Nesyri have seen him transition into a different role; one where the individual goals have slowed but his contribution has remained a constant. In fact, this new role can be considered just as important while Romero’s game is still being figured out, and still very much in the progression stage.

Take a look across La Liga, and there aren’t many teams playing with two centre forwards these days. It’s a reality built on many reasons – particularly in view of wider football developments and tactical trends – but also because it’s hard to find two forwards with genuine compatibility. Specifically with the top-end sides in La Liga, many managers would seemingly much rather have an extra midfielder than an extra player at the top of the pitch at present.

Since En-Nesyri’s return from AFCON, the opposite has been true for Quique Sanchez Flores and Sevilla. With the Moroccan occupying the more referential role, having fewer touches but being the main target in the penalty area, Romero has been activated as the support striker who can still help to load the box, but also show he can be a productive player outside of it.

In a team who are averaging just 47% possession in La Liga under Sanchez Flores – significantly less than under previous boss Diego Alonso (58%) – the combination of En-Nesyri and Romero has given Sevilla a sharpness at the top end of the pitch to off-set their defence-first approach. They now have two mobile forwards who can stretch the game and run the channels, as well as the classic ‘one goes, one stays’ with En-Nesyri playing on the last line and Romero dropping deeper to connect their play.

From their first start together against Rayo Vallecano in February, Romero has created more chances for En-Nesyri in LaLiga (5) than any other player has for a teammate in the division – two of which have ended in goals. And since Romero’s debut in La Liga in January, only Miguel Gutierrez (7) has created more big chances from open play than the Sevilla forward (5), according to Opta.

“He’s got a good understanding with En-Nesyri… they work well, they do everything a coach wants from his players,” said Diego Simeone, following his side’s defeat to Sevilla back in February. “On top of that, [Romero]’s scoring goals. I can’t do anything but congratulate the boy because he’s working really well.”

From our initial view of Romero being a penalty box poacher, the success of his partnership with En-Nesyri owes much to the 23-year-old showing he’s more than a man featuring merely for the final touch. Since taking his place alongside the Moroccan, Romero’s touches and carries per 90 have all increased, without taking away from his involvement in the penalty area which has essentially remained unchanged. That’s to say, Sevilla have re-activated top scorer En-Nesyri, and found a complimentary partner, capable of producing what other forwards in their squad simply haven’t.

 

Though Sevilla aren’t entirely out of the woods yet in terms of La Liga salvation, the threat level is almost nil. According to Opta’s season predictor model, their chances of going down from here are just 2%, with the current bottom three heavily tipped to be the three that go.

Suffice to say, Sevilla will already be well on with planning what they want the summer to look like. In a transfer window aiming for flux, perhaps re-modelling the squad in a major way, Romero’s arrival is one that has saved them plenty of time and money in the forward department. To go out and buy a player of his age, producing what he has both as a scorer and as a link player, simply wouldn’t be possible for the club in their current state.

Following two more assists against Almeria on Monday, Romero now has the joint-most in La Liga since his debut in January (4), along with Alex Baena. And to bring his goals into the mix, only Alexander Sorloth (10) and Vinicius Junior (9) have been directly involved in more goals in LaLiga than the Sevilla forward during the same period (7).

The great irony of Romero playing a pivotal role in saving Sevilla’s season is that his chance was very close to not arriving at all. Though the club made efforts to retain him whilst it seemed like the last step would never come, the sliding doors of football very nearly prevented all this happening. Had the club been able to get the signing of a striker over the line in January – of which there a number of candidates in play – it’s likely that Romero would have never squeezed through. Indeed, at 23 years old, he was already on the late side of making the bridge between B team and first team.

In the end, for what feels like the thousandth time in La Liga this season, Sevilla are just another case of a team finding a solution through someone that already belonged to them. They just hadn’t tried him yet.

 

Jamie Kemp can be found on social media here, and if you’re hungry for more, find their excellent work here.

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Tags Isaac Romero Quique Sanchez Flores Sevilla
La Liga - Club News