Supporters’ Shield leaders Nashville SC were active early in the summer window, signing winger Elias Saad from Augsburg on loan and central midfielder Famara Camara from Ranheim.
Ben Wright
In recent windows, Nashville CSO Mike Jacobs and the front office have been excellent at diagnosing issues, identifying opportunities, and moving swiftly to complete them. They’ve done it again.
On the surface, Saad represents an opportunity to improve the attack by adding a layer of dynamism on the left that they previously lacked. The move to add Camara shows Nashville’s willingness to spend on an unproven player and chase upside. But will they pay off, and how can they contribute to Nashville’s title challenge?
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Elias Saad
What I like most about Elias Saad is that his profile is different from the other left wingers on the team, all of whom are good in their specialty but lacking in other areas.
Warren Madrigal is a scorer but doesn’t progress the ball. Alex Muyl is a defensive winger with limited abilities in possession. Ahmed Qasem is weak defensively. Saad appears to be a blend of the three, which ideally makes him the first-choice player, but there’s still an opportunity to substitute one of the other three based on game state and need.
A quick look at Saad's radial chart shows that he is an excellent ball carrier. Nashville are extremely right-side dominant mainly because Andy Nájar, Hany Mukhtar, and Cristian Espinoza are each All-Star-level players, but also due to the fact the left side is severely lacking ball progression. Dan Lovitz isn’t the passer and attacking option he once was, and the carousel at left wing has failed to give Nashville a reliable option in possession.
