I actually disagree with Young being played in the midfield. I’ve said this before, but I think the model for Young is Luke Hodge. Sure, Hodge would go into the middle at times, but at his best he was marshalling the backline, repelling attacks by reading the ball better than everyone else, and then setting up the play with incisive kicking.
And while this feels like a big call in terms of a comparison, I’d actually double-down and say Young has the tools to be even better than Hodge. Young is a little taller and shapes to be better overhead than Hodge, and I think he’s a better kick. Hodge had some great intangibles, but in terms of reading the play and courage Young as a 20 year old has already shown he’s a brave and smart footballer.
JLo’s defensive approach seems to be to sort hang-back in space and let the other team turn the ball over eventually. If that’s the go, then I think you want Young behind the ball because that’s where we are going to need someone to use it.
