On the Wing, Jordan Morris Remains a Striker

Jacob Snow-USA TODAY SportsAs the 2019 Seattle Sounders preseason draws to a close, the bulk of the first team minutes in attacking midfield alongside obvious starters Victor Rodriguez and Nicolas Lodeiro have gone to Jordan Morris. The team has clearly marked the right wing of its traditional 4-2-3-1 for Morris’ use in an Ideal XI, even as coach Brian Schmetzer remains cautious about his progress returning from injury, and as Harry Shipp and Handwalla Bwana stand ready to rotate in to the lineup. Morris’ potential conversion from striker to wing (both for Seattle and for the USMNT) has received plenty of attention from a tactical perspective (both here and elsewhere), but in addition to recognizing he has the physical skills to play wide, we can also note this position change has a track record. Morris logged 37 starts (3258 minutes) as a nominal forward and 22 starts (1720 minutes) as a nominal midfielder in MLS play with the Sounders in 2016 and 2017. This is more than enough to compare the numbers:

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