Every bit the modern full-back

If Ipswich Town’s rise from League One to the Premier League in successive seasons was remarkable, the parallel development of Leif Davis has been impressive to observe, too. Every bit the modern full-back, his play in Ipswich’s promotion campaigns earned him a place in the League One and Championship teams of the season – not to mention the chance to show what he can do in the Premier League.

Davis did make two Premier League appearances for Leeds United in the 2020/21 season, coming on for his debut as a 20-year-old against Manchester City. After a loan spell with Bournemouth in the Championship, however, it was his move to Ipswich in 2022 that kickstarted his career, under the guidance of Kieran McKenna.

Below, our UEFA-licensed coaches have analysed his technical and positional play…

Technical and positional analysis

Leif Davis is a left-footed defender who has played as a left-back in a back four, or a left wing-back in a back five. He is primarily an attack-oriented full-back, recording the most assists (18) in the 2023/24 EFL Championship season. He had done likewise (with 14) in the 2022/23 League One campaign.

Davis is a dynamic athlete who drives forward to exploit space in attacking situations and transitions, accelerating to receive passes on the outside and in behind defenders (below). This means he can receive in a position to cross behind the defensive line, or supply a cut-back to supporting teammates arriving from deeper.

He also possesses the intelligence to disguise his intentions in these advanced positions, shaping his body to cross before cutting inside defenders – especially if there are no options inside the box, or if defenders overcommit to defending space on the outside. He will use a burst of acceleration to travel into dangerous inside half-space positions.

Crossing and creativity

Davis demonstrates tremendous vision in the final third. He recorded no fewer than 33 key passes during the 2023/24 Championship season. He is able to identify and anticipate teammates’ attacking movements inside the penalty area, to find them in goalscoring positions. When defenders overcommit to defending him on the outside – in an attempt to restrict more traditional crosses in the area – he is adept at using the space to play cut-backs into the area between the six-yard box and edge of the area. Here, his weight of pass invites teammates to arrive on the ball and finish off one touch. Indeed, his relationship with Conor Chaplin (below) proved essential to Ipswich’s promotion to the Premier League.

Davis also excels in more traditional crossing situations. When engaged tightly by defenders attempting to restrict his crossing, he drops his body weight to the inside. In doing so, he momentarily unbalances the defender, enabling him to take a short touch with the outside of his left foot to open the space to cross outside the line of defender and into the box. This short touch enables him to use the defender as a guide for his cross, and prevents the defender from recovering to block it.

Despite not possessing lots of pace and skill to face up defenders 1v1, Davis’ sharpness in changing direction is valuable in these situations. His ability to pick out teammates by varying the height and weight of crosses is particularly impressive. He is able to cross with pace to the near post, or stand up crosses to the back post (below).

Out of possession

Without the ball, Davis can press aggressively to close down the space for opponents to receive and play forwards. His athleticism ensures he can also jump adequately over bigger distances to opposition wing-backs or full-backs, when required. He recognises triggers well, as highlighted in the below example against Middlesbrough last season. Here, he used the trigger of Rav Van den Berg’s pass to aggressively press Luke Ayling; using a straight pressing run, he covered the ground quickly in an attempt to regain possession. He has also shown the intelligence to curve his pressing runs – either in-to-out or out-to-in, to restrict play inside or outside, respectively – depending upon Ipswich’s tactical approach.

In the defensive third, he performs most effectively when he is able to shape his body to force attackers on his outside. Here, he uses his left foot to pinch or poke possession away from opponents as they try to dribble past him. Davis also uses his body to position himself between the attacker and the ball, impeding their momentum when they take bigger touches in an attempt to exploit the space in behind him.

He can struggle against particularly dynamic wide players who change direction multiple times. Against this type of opponent, he has been known to commit to the tackle early, making larger movements that fix his body weight and leave him vulnerable to swift changes of direction.

Tactical flexibility

A key strength of Davis – and particularly useful for Kieran McKenna – is his adaptability to different tactical roles and positions. Ipswich have often built with a back four and deep double-pivot of Sam Morsy and Massimo Luongo. They have been trusted to receive in narrow central positions and combine with central defenders and full-backs to play forwards. In these situations, Davis is capable of dropping into a deep and wide position, maximising width and making it harder for the opposition’s press to restrict all available passing options (below).

Upon receiving in this position, Davis performs well under pressure, opening his hips and shoulders to receive on the back foot. This gives him the vision to shape passes outside and down the line, should he be pressed in-to-out in an attempt to lock him against the touchline. Similar to when he is in attacking areas, Davis is able to disguise passes outside and travel – or play – back inside the pitch, when the opposition look to cut off the outside or individuals press him with too much speed.

Davis is also capable of playing at wing-back. Here, he still takes up more advanced in-possession positions on the last line, just as he does when attacking as a full-back. This flexibility can be useful from an out-of-possession perspective against more formidable opponents, too. An example is when Ipswich adapted to a 5-4-1 shape against Manchester City in their second game of the 2024/25 season (below).

Davis is in his third season at Ipswich, and in the third different division he has played in during that time. The evidence, however, is that, at 24, he may now be a Premier League player for some years to come.

To learn more about the technical and tactical aspects of football, and gain insights from coaches at the top of the game, visit CV Academy

Author: The Coaches' Voice