Tyler Goodrham is a 21-year-old (2003) English born Irish international that has been called up to their U21 squad but has yet to make his debut after gaining citizenship through his Irish Grandmother. He currently players for Oxford United in the EFL Championship after promotion last year and has played multiple positions so far this season, playing wide off the left and right in spells as well as an attacking midfielder/ more advanced central midfielder in a midfield three.
Goodrham is a smaller slight frame standing at 1.7m tall, he possesses a short burst of acceleration, strong stamina levels to attempt to press from the front and sharp agility to change direction quickly using his low centre of gravity. Gooderham does lack athleticism/ explosiveness, he isn’t an attacker that can stride over large areas of space quickly, he has an average jump reach and can struggle to challenge for the ball in the air, often preferring to attempt make the jump more challenging for his opponent instead of looking to win the ball himself.
Despite showing the technique to get his body across and albeit inconsistently use his arms to fend of tackles his lack of upper body strength can make it difficult to protect the ball, he negates this by often playing off one and two touches before physical pressure is applied and intelligently uses quick body faints to swerve away from the oncoming challenge and face the play quickly.
When playing off the left he often cuts inside onto his stronger right foot, taking up narrow positions trying to link play with short and sharp passes including back heels and flicks, but also has the range to pick out clipped passes as well as longer switches of play into wider areas, generating good power with minimal back lift. This strong ball striking also shows in his finishing, he’s a threat from the edge of the area especially of his stronger right foot but is again capable of using both feet to drive through the ball and can finish accurately into the corners with a more placed/ controlled finish.
Gooderham possesses strong vision for others looking to break ahead, his playmaking style means he’s often looking to weight through balls into them runs and is effective at doing so, despite some inconsistencies with the weight the positive intention and difficulty of what he’s attempting is clear. He also possesses threat with accurate, pacey, curved deliveries from corners off both sides and has made assists this season through this delivery from a dead ball.
He shows a very strong level of first touch and is capable off both feet, strong in small spaces and 1v1 situations, although as mentioned a lack of explosiveness means he can be caught and a reluctance at times to use his left foot despite similar levels of control can cause him to double back on the space he has taken if shifting into wider areas.
Off the ball Goodrham has a strong awareness of space, he again shows his intelligence through quick reactions and scanning, exploiting the space behind the opposition midfield line and fullbacks by moving into the space they leave when jumping forward to press. When playing off the left he will narrow up to allow an overlap but can still make runs outside into the channels, When starting wide he positions himself with his back to the touchline to allow for a positive first touch action to pass or shift past oncoming pressure and often begin combinations into the final third.
Goodrham also shows some instinct to run in behind, trying to get between the FB and CB to attack more central areas in the box/ back post but has a slight preference to hold position for cutbacks/ second ball chances near the edge of the box.
Tyler Goodrham has stood out in an Oxford United side that has struggled at times this season, his technical ability, intelligence off the ball to find space and playmaking style, all significant strengths. A lack of explosiveness may hinder him reaching the highest of levels but a move to play as more of a central attacking midfielder may help to reduce this weakness. I could see Goodrham getting a move to a club at the top end of the Championship before potentially moving into the bottom half of the Premier League as well as being called up to the Ireland mens senior side.
Target Scouting 