Noah Katterbach has just over a year left on his contract at FC Koln. Whether or not he intends to sign an extension (and for the sake of his continued development I think he should), there will undoubtedly be many teams from the Bundesliga and afar monitoring this situation. For the 2019/20 season has been a breakout one for the young German left-back, as he has gatecrashed Köln’s starting XI under Markus Gisdol, providing solid, if unspectacular, defensive performances, but where he is truly exciting is with the ball at his feet.
One of the most intriguing things about Katterbach is he is still a very raw talent. Watch any Katterbach performance this season and you will see flashes of brilliance, accompanied by some questionable decision-making to be expected of a 19-year-old in his first season of senior football. It is this very rawness which in my opinion makes it such an important decision for him to stay at Köln for the meantime where he will continue to get game time and develop out of the spotlight. However, were a team higher up the table to swoop in for him, looking for a cut-price deal for a clearly promising talent, it certainly wouldn’t be the first time, and it won’t be the last.
Throughout this scout report and tactical analysis, I will highlight his strengths and weaknesses, assessing Katterbach alongside the Bundesliga’s other left-backs, as well as the exciting talent in the same position, scattered across Europe’s Top Five leagues.
Overview
Köln’s tactics have led to them predominantly using a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-4-2 this season, but regardless of their formation they will opt for a back four, and when Katterbach operates as left-back he will do so with a winger in front of him.
Although an exciting attacking talent, Katterbach operates relatively deep compared to what we might expect to see from a modern-day attacking full-back, as the heat map below shows, which is perhaps down to Gisdol’s preferences more than anything.
A lot of Katterbach’s work on the ball can be seen from inside his own half, as I will go onto highlight later.
Dribbling and offensive duels
When comparing Katterbach to the rest of the Bundesliga’s left-backs, as well as Europe’s best U21 left-backs I am only including those who have played at least 450 minutes at left-back this season.
The first part of Katterbach’s game I’d like to give an analysis of is his on-ball ability. Katterbach is very confident and calm in possession, and is excellent when taking on an opponent in a one v one situation.
