Jose Mourinho has taken charge of Tottenham Hotspur twice since his appointment last week, winning both matches against West Ham United and Olympiakos.
For both contests, the Spurs boss has used the same 4-2-3-1 system and it's proved to be effective on the pitch, particularly on the attacking side of the game with a goal scored roughly every 26 minutes so far.
The way in which the Portuguese has constructed his team's formation may offer an interesting insight into how Ryan Sessegnon will be used once he's fully integrated into the first-team.
The teenager was signed by the north London club in the summer, but he's yet to make an impact on the pitch due to injuries and match fitness.
Despite his undeniable talent, there is a degree of ambiguity surrounding Sessegnon regarding how he's best utilised based on his strengths and weaknesses. The Englishman thrived at his former club as a left-back and as a left-sided attacker to the extent that he's capable of fulfilling either role.
He scored 16 Championship goals and registered six assists with Fulham in 2017/18 for example, even though he's commonly regarded as a defender.
The 4-2-3-1 that Mourinho has favoured seems ideally suited to Sessegnon, as the shape seems to become somewhat asymmetric whenever possession is secured which may allow the youngster to be presented with a role that is essentially a hybrid of two.
Serge Aurier's attacking traits appear to be valued by the Portuguese boss.
In both matches, he's advanced up the field to play on the same line as the team’s attackers, while Davies or Rose have instead tucked inside to form a situational back three from left-back to cover against counter-attacks, shown below.
Spurs have attacked in a lopsided manner with Harry Kane, Son Heung-Min, Dele Alli, Lucas Moura and Aurier, while the rest of the team have performed roles that are relatively risk-averse and centred around what may happen once the ball is lost.
Sessegnon will provide Mourinho with a similar dynamic to Aurier, as he's equally offensive yet he's technically a full-back.
If Aurier is rotated, suspended or injured, then the prospect of Sessegnon joining up with the team's attack while Juan Foyth or Kyle Walker-Peters refrain from attacking on the opposite flank may become an option, with an example pictured below.
Spurs are currently lopsided in favour of the right side, but Sessegnon would allow that quirk to switch to the left, which may prove to be highly useful depending on the opposition.
Crystal Palace's most dangerous player is Wilfried Zaha, for example. He's a wide dribbling threat who tends to play on the same flank as Aurier.
If Mourinho was to stick with the system that has been witnessed in his first two matches by using Aurier as an attacking player, that would be considerably riskier than usual because of the threat held by Zaha.
In such a scenario, it would be highly beneficial to adapt the tactics by installing a defensive type to face Zaha, while retaining the same dynamic in attack by using Sessegnon on the left.
Ultimately, it remains to be seen how the English talent will be deployed by Mourinho but based on his usage of Aurier since beginning his tenure, it's reasonable to suggest that Sessegnon will operate as a left-sided version of the Ivorian international.
