The Lille midfielder has been the talk of the January
transfer window as a potential signing for Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham
Hotspur after impressing in Ligue 1 and even earning comparisons to Manchester
United's Paul Pogba. Manchester United transfer target Boubakary Soumare has
been one of the breaks out talents in Ligue 1 this season. Football fans around
the world can buy online Premier League Tickets to enjoy its stunning performances.
As a result, the Lille midfielder has been linked to most of
the top clubs in Europe, including the Red Devils' Premier League rivals
Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur.
He has played 18 games in the French topflight this campaign,
with six appearances in the Champions League to boot, and at the age of 20 is
already being tipped to follow in the footsteps of Paul Pogba and Tanguy
Ndombele to become a future star of the Premier League.
There are legitimate similarities between Soumare and the
Manchester United playmaker, but also stark differences that mark him out as a
player with his own qualities.
Both midfielders are gifted with excellent technical
abilities and imposing physiques. Pogba stands at six-foot-three and can be a
nightmare for opponents to challenge for the ball given the reach of his long
legs and strength in possession. Soumare is only an inch shorter than his World
Cup-winning compatriot.
Rather than being awkward or rigid as can often be the case
with tall and broad players, he too is a footballer at his best when he can
show off his graceful control of the ball at his feet.
Soumare is also similar to Pogba in his relative lack of
defensive contributions in midfield, with the pair often relying on others to
make more of an impact when possession is lost, but while the United midfielder
is known for the threat he can offer to his team in the final third, Lille's
box-to-box prodigy does not have the same impact when on the attack.
He is not the player to find solutions to break down a
stubborn defence. Instead, his influence is in deeper positions as the
midfielder who can get the ball into the final third for others to then create
chances based on his hard work in the centre of the pitch.
How to get the best out of Boubakary Soumare
The Frenchman is a very modern midfielder in that sense. He
combines an impressive athletic capacity with a distinct technique to play a
rather specialist role.
His first touch is excellent and allows him to be positive
with the ball once he receives it, and he tends to see a lot of it too with
plenty of his passes made forwards rather than opting to play it safe.
Given his age, he still has plenty to develop in his game,
and his potential ceiling is clearly very high. It is his defensive work which
must improve.
Of the 44 central midfielders to have amassed over 1,000
minutes in Ligue 1 this season, Soumare placed 43rd for defensive duels per 90,
which indicates that he is not particularly inclined to engage in taking on
opposing players for the ball, compared to his contemporaries.
It's worth noting that his success rate when he does go in to
challenge opponents places him as the seventh-best performer from the group,
though.
For those reasons, he's best paired alongside an industrious
partner so that his flaws are masked. Having been an important first-team
regular at Lille, he would likely be expected to do more work to win the ball
for others at a top Premier League club.
Soumare has mostly played alongside 29-year-old Benjamin
Andre at the Ligue 1 club in a midfield two, with his experienced partner more
defensively-minded than the youngster.
From the same group of 44 central midfielders in Ligue 1,
Andre is fifth on the list for defensive duels per 90, and he's first for
interceptions per 90.
Andre is clearly the mould for the sort of assistance Soumare
would require next to him in midfield if he were to try and directly translate
his form in France to another club in another league.
Without that support, he could benefit from being deployed in
a compact system where every player is expected to contribute to winning back
possession whenever the ball is lost.
How Boubakary Soumare could fit in at Arsenal
Mikel Arteta's Arsenal has already sort to take a more
compact approach since the Spaniard was appointed as head coach at the Emirates
Stadium in December 2019, and the Gunners could be in the market for a midfielder
to get up and down the pitch to finally replace Aaron Ramsey.
Soumare is mobile and energetic enough to perform in sucgh a
box-to-box role but he's not the type to put away or create direct goalscoring
opportunities for others, meaning that he'd likely interpret the role
differently to the Welshman.
However, that may not be an issue depending on who he is
surrounded by. Jordan Henderson, for example, often performs a similar role
under Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool despite lacking the offensive qualities of a
true attacking midfielder.
Nonetheless, he is able to use his aggression and
assertiveness to be effective in this area of the pitch, and Soumare could take
on a similar job for Arsenal, albeit with a greater degree of skill on the
ball. This is also how Joe Willock has been used by the Gunners of late,
especially under the former head coach Unai Emery Overall though Soumare is
probably best used as a more controlling deeper presence in midfield than the
player required to attack the box.
How Boubakary Soumare could fit in at Tottenham
Could Soumare be the right option for Tottenham under Jose
Mourinho?
With Moussa Sissoko out injured, and Tanguy Ndombele
struggling to stay fit, the north London has gaps to fill in their own
midfield.
Although he may be a player with apparent similarities to the
duo, it is unlikely that he could be able to single-handily fix the problems
Spurs face.
He'd probably perform reasonably well as a Sissoko
replacement and would be an upgrade with regards to his quality on the ball in
some areas, particularly with his passing.
The Tottenham player favours driving forward with the ball at
his feet whereas Soumare tends to try and feed others instead, and that is why
a pairing with Ndombele could be an exciting proposition for Tottenham,
although one that would need to be carefully balanced.
Paired together they would bring together skill, power and an
ability to get their team up the pitch through carrying or delivering the ball
but it could be argued that they are almost too similar.
Ndombele is a stronger player defensively when it comes to
closing opponents down and winning the ball but is still at his best when in
possession, and with Soumare also hungry for the ball they would probably need
a third midfielder to sit in front of the back four and focus on doing the
dirty work for them.
With Tottenham fans calling for their club to go out and sign
a holding midfielder, the Lille youngster may end up needing another signing to
come good for Spurs. Mourinho didn't take too kindly to a similar situation at
United when he welcomed Pogba to the club, with the powers that be at Old
Trafford still waiting to find the right foil for their all-action Frenchman.
How Boubakary Soumare could fit in at Chelsea
Chelsea is the other London club linked with Soumare, and
Frank Lampard's team can also boast the strongest midfield in the capital on
paper at present.
The French youngster wouldn't necessarily offer a new element
to the mix at Stamford Bridge but he would possess a blend of qualities others
at the club do not.
Jorginho is used to dictate games and control the tempo but
he's somewhat lightweight on the whole. N'Golo Kante offers industry, energy
and defensive endeavour but he's not physically built.
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