Creeping out of the darkness to roar into 2020, adidas give us the ‘Shadow Beast’ pack, the Three Stripes’ first offering of the new decade. With some added reflective detailing, the X, COPA and Nemeziz are back in black, with the Predator noticeable by its absence.

Following on from where the ‘Dark Script’ pack left off at the beginning of the 2019/20 season, adidas launch the ‘Shadow Beast’ pack, giving us another dose of darkness, this time for the for the run in. At first glance you’d be forgiven for thinking that this was actually just the ‘Dark Script’ pack, but a closer inspection reveals the details and differences that are otherwise disguised by the dark. 

The biggest shift comes from the Nemeziz 19+, which abandons the gold detailing of its ‘Dark Script’ predecessor, instead adopting an almost safari style print effect through the Three Stripes, an effect that continues on into the soleplate, with the stud tips appearing almost translucent for a noticeable contrast.

The COPA 19+ – always classy in black – takes on a marbled effect through the soleplate, heel cup and Three Stripes, again with translucent stud tips featuring to keep things interesting. A similar silver marbled effect is also carried across onto the X 19+, although the soleplate here features a brushed chrome effect. But the Predator is noticeable by its absence as we count down the days to the new generation launch. Are we looking at the new Predator emerging from the shadows?

Shop the full adidas 'Shadow Beast' football boots collection at prodirectsoccer.com