Leicester: Expert tips new signing Boubakary Soumare for greatness

After completing the signing of Boubakary Soumare, Leicester City have been told to expect great things of the midfielder by French football expert Ian Holyman.

In recent weeks, Leicester City have been lauded for their smart recruitment. From the swift signing of Zambian forward Patson Daka, to the free signing of the experienced Ryan Bertrand.

One name which bucks the usual transfer policy – buying unknown young talents and turn them into something great – is Boubakary Soumare. Soumare is a Ligue 1 winner and has been known about for some time as a great midfielder.

So, here is what you need to know from Holyman and from Soumare, about why he chose Brendan Rodgers’ King Power side and how he can develop in the East Midlands.

Leicester City’s new midfield powerhouse

As reported by the LCFC site, Soumare chose Leicester City. It is not the case of the Foxes being his only option, he had options, and the King Power side was the most attractive of the bunch for this aspiring midfielder.

I suppose it should also be mentioned that Soumare had close contact with star signing Wesley Fofana before deciding whether or not to join Leicester. He was proud when Leicester came in for him, and he felt the ambition of Rodgers and the club itself as matching his own ambitions to develop and progress as a player and in his career. So, Soumare and the Foxes are a perfect match.

Everyone knows that Brendan Rodgers has been brilliant at developing young players and constructing their roles within the system and club. This was the deciding factor for Soumare.

Ian Holyman believes that supporters should be extremely excited for the arrival of Soumare. He is a player who was wanted by many and represents a major step up for the club. A real option in midfield different to what they have.

Holyman calls Soumare a midfield destroyer, a defensive midfielder who can disrupt and breakup opposition play. However, there is more than this to his game. Soumare is a progressive dribbler, keeping the ball well as he charges through midfield to offload a pass to supporting attackers.

The only weakness to his game is a lack of goal contributions – including assists – which make him statistically not particularly impressive. His style and maturity are there, the numbers are not.

Importantly though, at the King Power, Brendan Rodgers will look to use Soumare’s strength and aerial prowess to control midfield, retain the ball, and progress quickly. He has been a main stay at LOSC Lille, though Renato Sanches was preferred to him during the title-winning season.

Rodgers’ Leicester side will use him to dominate the ball. This is his key strength. They will look to develop his passing and technical ability to improve his goal contributions, and they will look to partner him with the ever-creative midfielders to really threaten any team.