Originally Published 17th September 2021.
Brighton & Hove Albion- Mahdi Camara-Central Midfielder-AS Saint-Étienne-France-23 Years Old-Contract Expires Summer 2024-5’10”-66kg
It is partially surprising that Yves Bissouma remains a Brighton player in light of the reported interest in the Malian international but Brighton were understandably reluctant to see another one of their stars follow Ben White out the door. Teams such as Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United were all rumoured to be intrigued by the 6’1” midfielder in the summer but he remains on the South Coast for now.
However, Graham Potter requires a succession plan for Bissouma as it is very unlikely he will remain a Brighton player by the start of next season. Mainly playing as a ball-winning ‘6’ within a pivot in Potter’s 3-4-2-1, Bissouma was a revelation last season. Tasked with breaking up play, shutting down passing lanes and recovering possession; Bissouma has become a menace to the opposition due to his athletic characteristics and long legs.
Bissouma’s game is not only limited to defensive actions though as on the ball he is sufficient at breaking the lines via surging runs into the final third and has a functioning passing range. The replacement must maintain Bissouma’s defensive proactivity and ability to retain possession if Brighton are to successfully re-establish an all-action ‘6’.
Returning to France to locate Bissouma’s replacement, Bissouma arrived from Lille for £15 million back in 2018, looks prudent due to the bevy of young central midfielders presently performing to a good standard across Ligue 1 and Ligue 2. The best of the bunch when considering probable transfer fee, wages and stylistic fit is arguably Mahdi Camara.
The Saint-Etienne midfielder has quickly become indispensable to the side since breaking into the first team in October 2019 shortly after Claude Puel took over. Over 3,000 league minutes ensued in 2020-2021 and following the recent departure of Mathieu Debuchy, Camara was given the captaincy armband showing the continued faith Puel has placed upon him.
Camara typically operates on the right hand-side of the midfield in a variety of formations largely completing the bulk of his work either side of the halfway line but is also capable of playing as a deeper lone pivot.
Camara’s 2020-2021 Ligue 1 Heatmap
In possession, Camara is accurate as he looks to maintain the ball above all else. Shuttling the ball backwards to the centre-backs or to either full-back is a trademark Camara move. He won’t often play a progressive pass to his teammates which can be detrimental to the side when chasing a game but is strong when there is a necessity to play at a more controlled slower tempo. He does exhibit a reliable short and medium passing range as well as functional scanning but loses accuracy when clipping balls from deep to targets further afield.
Two significant drawbacks of Camara’s game though are that his passing under pressure is somewhat erratic, often over-hitting the ball, and he is far too dependent on his stronger right foot. There are multiple situations a game where Camara holds onto the ball for an extra few seconds in order to play a simpler pass on his favoured right rather than playing a quicker ball on his left. This unfortunately hinders swift progression and gifts the opposition valuable time to positionally recover.
Nevertheless, Camara is adequate at circulating possession and importantly is capable of receiving the ball in tight spaces. For a player who is more defensively minded, Camara displays reasonable agility to collect the ball and carry forward in transition which is a strong asset for someone who wins the ball back again and again. Due to driving with the ball at his feet at common regularity, Camara sucks opponents in before releasing the ball to create shot-creating actions for his teammates.
According to StatsBomb Camara averages a very similar progressive carry rate per 90 compared to Bissouma; 4.68 versus 4.63. Furthermore, Camara is a rather creative runner in terms of the positions he picks up off-the-ball as runs into empty spaces in both the half-spaces as well as out wide towards the byline.
As alluded to previously, Camara is an astute ball-winner. At 5’10” he combines both his brain and brawn to target the ball when the opportunity arises. Critically, his body orientation is frequently immaculate and is not rash when entering duels; minimising contact with the opposition as a result. Camara’s timing of challenges particularly when he decides to lunge in are a piece of art. His prosperity in defensive duels is shown by a success rate of 67.94%, which was second amongst all Ligue 1 central midfielders with over 500 minutes last season. Furthermore, he only picked up only four yellow cards in 37 league games revealing his calm but effective approach when defending.
Camara is a fairly mobile chaser of the ball which aids a Saint-Etienne side who had the 6th lowest PPDA (opposition passes allowed per defensive action) last Ligue 1 campaign. Moving laterally and vertically around the pitch with ease, he demonstrates strong alertness and positioning to pre-empt opposition attacks. As he has received more game time, Camara now makes more sensible decisions when attempting interceptions and is less guilty of ball-watching. His height and natural agility enable him to change direction quickly to cut out passing lines when on the back foot.
Overall, Camara is an effective central midfielder who specialises in producing defensive turnovers, recycling possession and driving forward with the ball to create opportunities for his teammates. Operating within a double pivot behind multiple attacking players such as Alexis Mac Allister would reduce the necessity for him to progress the ball via passes, his most visible flaw.
As you can see below from the FBREF Scouting Reports there are significant similarities between the two players, suggesting the opinion that Camara could be Bissouma’s successor is a valid one.
Considering, Saint-Etienne’s owners have announced plans to sell the club and Camara himself is reportedly frustrated with his wage not reflecting his current role within the squad, a move elsewhere is undoubtedly on the cards. A transfer fee similar to the one that brought Bissouma to Brighton would surely tempt Saint-Etienne into selling their prized captain. Wesley Fofana and Neal Maupay have successfully transitioned into Premier League players from Saint-Etienne and there is little doubt Camara would buck that trend.
Burnley-Cédric Zesiger-Centre-Back-BSC Young Boys-Switzerland-23 Years Old-Contract Expires Summer 2023-6’4″-92kg
Burnley have long been an operational and tactical anomaly within the Premier League but times are changing. Sean Dyche is nearing a decade at the helm and has stayed true to his tried and tested 4-4-2 that has kept the Clarets afloat for the last six years in the Premier League. For many years Burnley’s recruitment strategy has been centred on undervalued experienced Premier League and Championship players who would fit into the team culture Dyche has cultivated.
However, the summer transfers Burnley made surprised many, indicating the new American ownership that took over the club in December 2020 are willing to adopt a different transfer policy. The purchases of Maxwel Cornet and Nathan Collins are both contrasting transfers to one another but also distinctive to Burnley’s modus operandi prior to the takeover.
Collins, a 20-year-old right-sided centre-back bought for upwards of £12 million from Stoke City is the youngest major transfer Burnley have made for close to a decade. Meanwhile, the £13.5 million move for Cornet represented the club’s largest outlay on a player playing outside of England. Furthermore, Cornet’s attributes and typical role he has previously undertook don’t necessarily fit into the conventional Burnley system so there is clearly a change of vision occurring in Lancashire.
Despite the arrival of Collins and also Connor Roberts, there is a need for further defensive reinforcements with so many of Burnley’s regular enforcers nearing the end of their contracts. Iconic captain Ben Mee, who has amassed over 350 appearances for Burnley, only has 9 months left on his contract and there is no backup left-footed centre-back behind him following the departure of Jimmy Dunne to QPR. Therefore, signing a left-sided centre-back must be Burnley’s priority in January and there is likely no better target than BSC Young Boys’ Cédric Zesiger.
Combining a giant 6’4” frame and ability to play on the left side of defence due to his favoured left-foot, Zesiger is a fairly unique commodity who has gathered suitable experience for a team achieving European qualification perennially. However, with his contract expiring in June 2023 and having won two Swiss Super League titles already Zesiger should look to step up.
Standing at 6’4” Zesiger’s physicality is easy to see and the recently capped Swiss international uses it to full effect to define his game. Zesiger seeks out physical contact at every opportunity and outmuscles opponents with free will. Boasting broad shoulders, large arms and significant height Zesiger is simply a colossus on the pitch. As a result of his size and desire for physical engagement he is one of the more aggressive and proactive defenders across Europe.
Considering Zesiger plays in a possession heavy Young Boys side you would expect there to be a reduced defensive action frequency per 90 but Zesiger’s craving for an encounter is visible. Having averaged 7.69 defensive duels per 90, at a success rate of 64.32% and also 11.17 successful defensive actions per 90, Zesiger is highly active. The defender’s height and athleticism naturally leads him to also be a menace in aerial situations, which has benefits in both boxes.
However, his overly aggressive approach has its drawbacks as he is susceptible to conceding unnecessary fouls and getting ‘turned’ by the better dribblers of the game when he comes flying into a duel. Only five Swiss Super League centre-backs conceded fouls as regularly as he did in the 2020-2021 campaign. Clearly there is scope to improve in terms of composure and assessing when the situation is right to overwhelm an opponent with his brute force.
Zesiger’s sheer size is not the only sole athletic trait he possesses. Deceptively speedy for such a big man, the Swiss international demonstrates quick acceleration and lateral movement that enable further advantages defensively. His quick lateral movement and decent footwork permits instantaneous switches of his body orientation meaning he can turn easily to face oncoming danger or move to intercept loose passes from the opposition. Combined with these indispensable characteristics for a modern centre-back, Zesiger is fairly astute in his positioning especially when retreating. This is of course benefitted from his above par agility for his size but his mental capacity to read situations and know where to be located is independently strong too.
Although, Zesiger excels in the defensive game, his ability on the ball is significantly underdeveloped but in fairness this was intensified due to Young Boys having an average ball possession of 57.4%, the highest in the Swiss Super League. Zesiger does look to progress the ball when he has time to but his fundamentals hinder the success and regularity of this.
Zesiger adopts a frankly awkward technique, often receiving the ball with a closed off body shape hindering his passing options. Due to his shoulders and hips regularly being inverted he has to take plenty of touches to have the ball in a position to play out an adventurous pass meaning he is generally a pressing trigger target. As a result of this, it would be un-wise for Zesiger to move to a heavy possession side within a top 5 league where centre-backs have to play out from the back and construct attacks repeatedly.
Despite his on-the-ball flaws, Burnley provide a platform where his skillset could assimilate without his deficiencies being overly exposed. Burnley consistently rank within the bottom three for ball possession in the Premier League under Dyche as prefer a long-ball approach to encourage a physical aerial battle upfield.
Due to this, Burnley do not require a high-quality ball-playing defender. Centre-Backs Mee and Tarkowski make significantly lower passes per 90 than almost all Premier League centre-halves and their respective passing accuracies are considerably lower too. Here Zesiger could easily slot in and his frailties are limited.
Meanwhile, Zesiger’s physical and defensive strengths should seamlessly blend in to Burnley’s style of play. His aerial and defensive duel metrics are already positioned closely to the two Burnley centre-backs. Although the Premier League is a step-up in physicality, Zesiger’s stature should cope without concerns.
For around just north of £5 million, Zesiger would be an astute signing for the Clarets in a position where a succession plan is sorely needed. Having already earned national team honours and only being 23 years old Zesiger’s stock has the potential to rise providing Burnley with future sell-on value.
Thank you for reading,
George
All Statistics courtesy of WyScout.com unless stated. All Statistics up to date as of 17.09.2021.
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