Wingers are midfielders not forwards they are just not central midfielders.
In the same way full backs are defenders but they are not central defenders.
The complication is that some systems / players have converted from being central strikers to wide forwards but in this case they don’t have much defensive responsibility …. Mo Salah for example provides little cover for his full back.
We play with wide midfielders and they are expected to track back. Tats is better at it than EMC and EmC is better at it than Wright ( which is one of the reasons I don’t think Frank likes wright wide left )
Look at most top leagues, the top scorers will have just as many wingers or ‘inside forwards’ amongst them as strikers.
In modern football, most teams play 1 striker and therefore, the goal scoring burden typically picked up by two strikers needs to be picked up across the starting 11, hence why AMs and wingers look more and more closer to forwards as years pass.
Sakamoto is not better in his role than EMC, I’m sorry. Even defensively, EMC has overtook Sakamoto in tackles and blocks per 90 as well as possession won in final 3rd period 90. Last season, Sakamoto was comfortably ahead in all but 1 category which demonstrates just how quickly EMC was progressed.
