The internal struggle of wanting to praise Saud Abdulhamid and trying not to sell out

There’s a fine line between praising a player and jumping on a bandwagon, but after a lot of internal struggle and a good 24 hours of reflection, it’s time to admit it…

I’m starting to like what I’m seeing from Saud Abdulhamid. Against Braga, Roma’s new right-back put in his best performance for the club yet – and not just because he scored. He’s been a figure of derision for some, while others who have focused heavily on him to attract Saudi interactions have been accused of milking it. But while not flawless, he was worthy of the praise that came his way for his efforts on Thursday and if he can continue in this vein, his arrival might not have been so ridiculous after all.

Let’s pause here. This article will not be an over-exaggerated celebration of him. At first I was hesitant to even write it, given the reaction some of Saud’s most outlandish supporters within the Roma fanbase have received. Keeping some rationality is important. And although the results of Roma’s man of the match poll will have been skewed by his fervent followers (Manu Kone was the best player on the pitch realistically) to perhaps overemphasise how well Saud played, the fact of the matter is that he did play well. And as a site analysing Roma – even if discretely there is a little soft spot I have for Saud, having been the first Roma fan to know we wanted to sign him thanks to the day job; even though I wasn’t the one to source the information, I was the one to publish the story right here in Yorkshire from this very laptop – it’s only right to acknowledge that here.

So, what were the positive aspects of Saud against Braga? His decision making on the move for starters: roaming forwards as a wing-back he knew when to look for a pass or, leading to his first Roma goal, shoot. And not only were both his shots on target, but his pass completion rate of 92% was the joint-best among Roma’s starters. This was an efficient display.

Now for the objectivity that some opportunists might overlook. Saud does still leave something to be desired defensively, having given away a penalty against Lecce at the weekend. That said, he was never dribbled past by a Braga player, but the opponents were surprisingly poor on the night and evidence suggests he may have a harder time against tougher foes in Serie A or the later stages of the Europa League, which Roma now thankfully look on course to reach.

Saud needs to improve his awareness and ability in defensive duels, but he is already looking a better player on the ball and going forwards, catching the eye of boss Claudio Ranieri with his pace.

One wonders if Saud might even be able to play as a winger for Roma, given it’s a role they lack quality in and he seems to be doing better when he doesn’t have to focus on his defensive responsibility. Or maybe not, given that he seems to have enough attacking freedom against weaker teams as a wing-back in Ranieri’s current tactical setup. If Roma look to bolster the right-back position in January, though, it might be an option to consider.

The positive thing is that there’s something to work on with Saud now and he is not a lost cause. For someone who was written off very early into his Roma spell, with suggestions he was signed for commercial rather than sporting reasons and then a shocking debut, he is at least starting to suggest the relatively modest €2.5m Roma spent on him might not be just going down the drain.

It’s still too early to reserve major judgement and there will certainly be no Cafu comparisons here, but I can confidently say I would like Saud to start the next game for Roma instead of Zeki Celik, and I suspect I’m not the only one.

The back of my mind may be saying: ‘Don’t jump on the hype train yet. Don’t jump on the hype train yet.’ I’ve re-read this article a couple of times to check I’ve not overdone it. But credit where credit’s due – and you have to admit his smile is infectious. I’m happy for Saud that he’s scored his first goal for Roma. Do I think he’s good enough to be the long-term starting right-back? No, not yet. But let’s see what we’ve got to work with now. This could be a popular player in the making, but that was just step one. As this plays out, it’s over to Saud to back it up. But I wish him the best of luck.