23 - Jules Kounde

Messi983

Messi983

Senior Member
Bulgroz said:
Funny you mention Bade, as I was watching Lens play this weekend I realized I forgot to mention him in my last post! Weird that I forgot about him since he's easily one of the most exciting defensive prospect in the league. Very athletic and great on the ball too. He actually used to be a DM in youth teams iirc. From what I've seen he does seem subject to the occasional brainfart (like most young players though, it's just more obvious when you're playing as a CB, Kounde had a few of them too when he was playing for Bordeaux), but he's probably going to leave Lens for a bigger team this summer. Milan was very interested apparently.

As for DM, well in Lens also there's Seko Fofana who's been pretty impressive so far. He's not a complete stranger though, he was doing very well for Udinese in Calcio and it was a bit surprising that he ended up in Lens (who paid 10M to get him). The best midfielders right now in France are in Lyon though. They have quantity and quality: Aouar of course, but mostly Paqueta who's been absolutely incredible so far in his new team, and they're rotating with Caqueret (who's not playing that much and could probably go to a bigger team by the end of the season if it doesn't change), Thiago Mendes (who can be superb for a couple games, and absolute trash three games in a row afterwards) and Guimaraes (very interesting player, but lately he's been struggling a bit). I do think Caqueret could be a steal honestly if he keeps on getting that little playtime overall.

Monaco has an interesting midfield too, with two young very powerful players, Fofana and Tchouameni. I know more about Tchouameni because he's from Bordeaux, very clever player, good athletic skills, nice passing. Fofana is probably a bit better at carrying the ball and breaking through the midfield (he's not necessarily a better dribbler, but that's more of his playstile from what I've seen). They've been a fantastic pairing these past few months. Doubt they would go for very cheap though considering Monaco bought them for 15 and 20M, but they clearly wouldn't be as expesinve as Camavinga (they're not as promising either though).

For strikers, lately I've been pretty impressed by Term Moffi (Lorient). Young Nigerian striker who came from Belgium (just like Osimhen). Raw power, great runs, nice finishing. Lorient has been doing very good for a couple months now after a very rough start, and he's one of the main reasons. Scored twice against Monaco this weekend, and scored the winning goal against PSG the week before that. No idea if he can keep it up for for the whole season and succeed in a bigger team.
Click to expand...

Thanks.

Yeah, I know and like the Lyon midfielders but they're all too expensive for us right now. Aouar was on my wishlist for years but with the emergence of Pedri and Puig also around I don't think we actually need him. He would obviously improve the team a lot but in these times just don't see him as a realistic option nor a priority for the club.

Monaco duo has been on my radar for some time as well, nice that you've mentioned them. But again they're probably both out of our price range at the moment and they'll go to PSG/Bayern/Juve or an EPL club before we'd have a chance to even thinking about getting one of them.

Speaking about Monaco, what do you think about their CBs Badiashille and Disasi? Haven't watched Monaco recently (will try to watch them against PSG this weekend though) but from what I've seen I don't think they really fit to play together. They're probably too similar but might just be because they're both young and they'd look better having someone a bit more experienced alongside them but Monaco is just conceding way too many goals for a team in the CL spots.

About strikers, I'll try to see that Moffi kid. Thanks for bringing his name up.

Ignatius Ganago has caught my eye with his hot start to the season but then he got injured and haven't really caught his level up so far it seems. Boulaye Dia is also scoring a lot and I've seen rumours linking him to EPL clubs already in January so he'll very likely leave Reims in summer. I've never actually watched him play so don't know how good he really is though. He's also a bit older at 24 so probably not that much more room for improvement.

Yusuf Yazici is also interesting but he's more a SS/AMC than a pure striker and he looks inconsistent so probably won't ever make it to the top club.
 
Bulgroz

Bulgroz

Senior Member
Messi983 said:
Thanks.

Yeah, I know and like the Lyon midfielders but they're all too expensive for us right now. Aouar was on my wishlist for years but with the emergence of Pedri and Puig also around I don't think we actually need him. He would obviously improve the team a lot but in these times just don't see him as a realistic option nor a priority for the club.

Monaco duo has been on my radar for some time as well, nice that you've mentioned them. But again they're probably both out of our price range at the moment and they'll go to PSG/Bayern/Juve or an EPL club before we'd have a chance to even thinking about getting one of them.

Speaking about Monaco, what do you think about their CBs Badiashille and Disasi? Haven't watched Monaco recently (will try to watch them against PSG this weekend though) but from what I've seen I don't think they really fit to play together. They're probably too similar but might just be because they're both young and they'd look better having someone a bit more experienced alongside them but Monaco is just conceding way too many goals for a team in the CL spots.

About strikers, I'll try to see that Moffi kid. Thanks for bringing his name up.

Ignatius Ganago has caught my eye with his hot start to the season but then he got injured and haven't really caught his level up so far it seems. Boulaye Dia is also scoring a lot and I've seen rumours linking him to EPL clubs already in January so he'll very likely leave Reims in summer. I've never actually watched him play so don't know how good he really is though. He's also a bit older at 24 so probably not that much more room for improvement.

Yusuf Yazici is also interesting but he's more a SS/AMC than a pure striker and he looks inconsistent so probably won't ever make it to the top club.
Click to expand...

I can't say I'm a fan of Badiashile and Disasi. They're both physical beasts but, as you mention, Monaco concedes a lot of goal and they're one of the reasons why (though they're not necessarily helped by their RB and RB - see the two horrendous mistakes by Sidibe against Lorient, especially on the 2nd goal). That being said, maybe they would each do better with a more experienced DB by their sides.

Ganago is a pretty promising youth, but the general consensus was that Nice made a clever move by selling him for the price they got Gouiri for. Gouiri seems to have more potential imho, but it's also because I just like his playstyle better. He's also kinda solo carrying a Nice side that's been very poor so far, despite having a very decent bunch of players. While on the other hand, Ganago benefits from playing for an underdog team who's been outperforming so far.

Boulaye Dia is worth a mention in the sense that he's doing pretty well this season, but overall I really don't think he has what it takes to go much higher. He'll probably end up in a mid or low table EPL team, and I'd say the same about Habib Diallo from Strasbourg. I haven't watched any of those two a lot this season though, so maybe they've improved a lot.

Yazici has been putting out some very impressive performances, including in EL (with a hat trick against Milan). As you mentioned he's a bit inconsistant, but anyway trying to buy a Lille player with good stats (13 goals and 4 assists this season in 26 games) for cheap is impossible. They probably won't sell him for less than 30 or 40 millions, and I'm not sure he's worth that price (unless he keeps it up like that).
 
Messi983

Messi983

Senior Member
Bulgroz said:
I can't say I'm a fan of Badiashile and Disasi. They're both physical beasts but, as you mention, Monaco concedes a lot of goal and they're one of the reasons why (though they're not necessarily helped by their RB and RB - see the two horrendous mistakes by Sidibe against Lorient, especially on the 2nd goal). That being said, maybe they would each do better with a more experienced DB by their sides.

Ganago is a pretty promising youth, but the general consensus was that Nice made a clever move by selling him for the price they got Gouiri for. Gouiri seems to have more potential imho, but it's also because I just like his playstyle better. He's also kinda solo carrying a Nice side that's been very poor so far, despite having a very decent bunch of players. While on the other hand, Ganago benefits from playing for an underdog team who's been outperforming so far.

Boulaye Dia is worth a mention in the sense that he's doing pretty well this season, but overall I really don't think he has what it takes to go much higher. He'll probably end up in a mid or low table EPL team, and I'd say the same about Habib Diallo from Strasbourg. I haven't watched any of those two a lot this season though, so maybe they've improved a lot.

Yazici has been putting out some very impressive performances, including in EL (with a hat trick against Milan). As you mentioned he's a bit inconsistant, but anyway trying to buy a Lille player with good stats (13 goals and 4 assists this season in 26 games) for cheap is impossible. They probably won't sell him for less than 30 or 40 millions, and I'm not sure he's worth that price (unless he keeps it up like that).
Click to expand...

Now that you've mentioned him, what happened to Sidibe? I've expected him to establish himself at one of the top clubs (probably in PL), maybe not as a starter but as a solid versatile player nonetheless. But now it seems he was just one of the players who wastly profited from playing for that great Monaco team years ago but then he couldn't make a step up in his career.

Is Gouiri playing as a striker for Nice?

Also, any interesting player in Bordeaux who could be ready for a move to a bigger club?


gregorrin10 said:
who would be better as LCB though? Both play RCB.
Click to expand...

I don't know but this would be a great "problem" to have. Kounde has played as a LB sometimes for Sevilla IIRC so I think he could also adapt to play as a LCB. We'll never get him so no need to "worry" about that though.

We have this obssesion having a left-footed CB in the lineup which started with Lucho and clearly limits our options on the market. Before that we've played right-footed CB pairs like Marquez-Puyol, Pique-Puyol and Pique-Masche together and it worked well.
 
Bulgroz

Bulgroz

Senior Member
Messi983 said:
Now that you've mentioned him, what happened to Sidibe? I've expected him to establish himself at one of the top clubs (probably in PL), maybe not as a starter but as a solid versatile player nonetheless. But now it seems he was just one of the players who wastly profited from playing for that great Monaco team years ago but then he couldn't make a step up in his career.

Is Gouiri playing as a striker for Nice?

Also, any interesting player in Bordeaux who could be ready for a move to a bigger club?




I don't know but this would be a great "problem" to have. Kounde has played as a LB sometimes for Sevilla IIRC so I think he could also adapt to play as a LCB. We'll never get him so no need to "worry" about that though.

We have this obssesion having a left-footed CB in the lineup which started with Lucho and clearly limits our options on the market. Before that we've played right-footed CB pairs like Marquez-Puyol, Pique-Puyol and Pique-Masche together and it worked well.
Click to expand...

Sidibe got a lot of different injuries that unfortunately fucked up most of his career. He was in the squad during WC 2018 but rumor has it that he was hardly fit back then. Those injuries then stacked up and it apparently came to a point where it took its toll mentally. Never managed to go back to his 2017 level basically.

Gouiri is mostly playing as a CF for Nice yeah, even though he also often play LW (I think it's like 75% CF and 25%LW).

Unfortunately not a lot of promising young players in Bordeaux right now. Toma Basic got a lot of praises a year ago when Paulo Sousa was still the coach, and the likes of Milan were interested but he's been struggling a lot since Sousa left. The only one giving me hope right now if Yacine Adli, a DM/CM from the PSG academy bought a year ago. He's still very inconsistant, but when he's good he's very good. Reminds me of Aouar in many ways (he actually did very very good against Lyon a month ago). Used to be a 10, now playing mainly as a DM. He's far from ready for a top team yet, but he could get there in a couple years if he manages to stay focused.
Apart from him we apparently have a couple of promising young players (Lacoux, a CM who's getting more and more playtime, or A. Traore, a very gifted RW) but they all have played 5 games or something so really hard to predict yet.


As for Kounde, afaik he never played LB with Sevilla, only RB. As I mentioned that where his youth coach played him when he was 16 I think, because it was apparent he's never be super tall and they were afraid he wouldn't make it as a CB. He also played as a right CB in a 3 men defense, and he was great. I think he could play left CB (as you're mentioning, a lot of teams play with 2 right footed CB) but honestly it would be a bit of a waste, considering how much he can do when he's able to pass and dribble on his right foot.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Home of Barca Fans

Top