Leicester City have been linked to Burkina Faso star Dango Ouattara. Here are all the things you need to know and our opinion on this prospect.
Brendan Rodgers’ side are in desperate need of reinforcements during this window, with a bloated second-rate squad and hyper-expensive first team players. The head coach has since stated he wants to see a squad refresh, selling players who do not want to be here as soon as possible.
To go along with this, the Foxes will need to promote from the youth squad and sign some new players. We already know that a centre-back, left-back, right-winger, and central midfielder are being targeted for this window: at least one will have to be on loan.
3 Things Leicester City must know
According to reports, the East Midlands club are looking at Dango Ouattara from FC Lorient. The primarily RW has been on fire this season and is catching the interest of Premier League clubs: five goals and five assists in 16 games is a fine statistic. Clearly, he is a balanced scorer and creator.
As per is the usual for our ‘three things’ pieces, I like to detail the positioning, stylistic preference, and value of the player in question, before a brief opinion on the transfer. For this one, I have to confess, I knew little of the player before researching for this piece, so I hope to spread a shred of this impressive talent.
Firstly, Ouattara is a versatile forward. For Lorient, the player has performed from both left or right wing positions, as well as occasional starts as a centre-forward, usually as part of a front two. This would tend to be in the role as a wide forward, making runs in-behind the defence and creating gaps for incoming midfielders.
Although he typically plays on the right, most of his contributions have actually come from the left flank. According to this excellent scouting report, Ouattara has actually been let down a little by his teammates who fail to take all the opportunities generated by this explosive player. He is a wild Harvey Barnes style player.
So, although in attack the prodigal talent is stylistically similar to our English left-winger, his defensive style is completely different due to his development at Lorient. One can really identify the attacking style of Club Brugge and the defensive style of Lorient in his statistics.
Ouattara typically remains far wide when his team is in possession, sitting just ahead or level with the opposing defensive line. Upon receiving the ball from a midfielder or fullback, he attempts to hit the ball beyond the defensive line ahead of him and unleash his explosive pace to start cutting inside. Only when more central will the 20-year-old make any attempt to pass the ball; this does limit creativity against low-blocks, but the devastating impact it can have is truly impressive.
In defence though, the numbers are startling. According to FB Ref, this young winger is in the 99th percentile for interceptions, 97th for aerial duels won, 96th for tackles, and 90th for blocks. These are judged against all wingers in the top five European leagues: they are ridiculously good for such an aggressively progressive and explosive forward. Usually, you have the Barnes-style where their defensive contributions are lost due to their attacking contributions, but Ouattara is a phenomenon on this front.
In terms of cost, the player is worth around £20m, although the sheer volume of interest will push up the transfer value. I would say we would be looking somewhere in total value of £30m with add-ons already included: if we can get the player for closer to £20m then the transfer could very well be one of the best.
As a matter of opinion, after researching on this player, observing the stats, and reading other scouting reports, the only conclusion I can have is this one: Leicester City must act now, sign this winger on a permanent deal with a four or five year deal, and be prepared to sell in two seasons time. While playing for the Foxes, he could take the stress off of the English left-winger and also James Maddison, while providing support for the equally explosive Patson Daka going forward.
The potential for an explosive, transition-oriented front three of Barnes-Daka-Ouattara is immense. Supported by a more progressive and passionate midfield with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall at its core, and I think we have the basis for a strong senior team. Sell unused players, release Ryan Bertrand, and sign Dango Ouattara.