With an ever-evolving squad and a continued commitment towards the stars of the future, Barcelona have started their La Liga campaign in tremendous fashion, featuring many La Masia graduates who enhanced their development whilst playing for Barcelona Atlètic.
The youth team of the famous Catalan giants has become the birthplace of generational players and managers over the past two decades, with current manager Albert Sánchez offering a valuable opportunity to become instilled with the club-wide footballing philosophies when playing in the third tier of Spanish football.
Barcelona’s latest youth signings have marked a significant moment in the history of African football.
Accra Lions left-back David Oduro became the first player to join the European giant directly from his home nation of Ghana.
Inspiring attacking midfielder Abdul Aziz Issah was not too far behind, having completed a move from Dreams FC, signifying the emergence of Ghanaian talents to a much more global audience.
Ghanaian academies have become synonymous with footballing talent and flair over recent years—take, for example, Mohammed Kudus and Abdul Fattawu, who captured fans’ attention in the early moments of the 2024/25 Premier League season.
This tactical analysis and scout report will begin to break down the playing style of both David Oduro and Abdul Aziz Issah, highlighting the unique talents and tenacity that they may bring as they embark on their new opportunity with Barcelona.
Our analysis should shed light on how the duo have managed to make a name for themselves in the Ghanaian Premier League and how this may translate to a potential opportunity to step into Hansi Flick’s senior team tactics.
Who Is David Oduro?
Having trialled around some of the most successful clubs in European football this year, David Oduro finally decided that Barcelona would be his destination of choice when considering his footballing development.
Turning down the likes of Real Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen, the attack-minded 18-year-old left-back has perhaps aimed to follow in the footsteps of one of his biggest inspirations.
The Ghanaian talent has likened his playstyle to current Barcelona talent Alejandro Balde, which is evident when watching Oduro and his progressive nature.
David Oduro In Possession
Overall, Oduro’s positioning allows him to provide great offensive support while also managing his defensive duties, solidifying himself as a promising modern-day full-back.
One of the most impressive features of his game is his work in transition.
When carrying the ball out of defence and into the opposition’s half, he sparks his side’s attacking play into life.
This is evident in the example below, as Oduro can anticipate the misplaced pass to then break quickly onto the ball, showing no signs of fear when attacking the space in front of him with stern defensive pressure.
When arriving at Barcelona, Oduro himself highlighted his effectiveness not only when providing width and hugging the touchline but also when inverting into central midfield to offer another dimension to his creative talents.
After confidently marauding into the opposition’s half, Oduro’s driving run into the central channel shows his ability to manipulate the positioning of his opposing defenders.
This provides an excellent opportunity for his teammate to finish the sequence with a long-range strike into the bottom corner.
It is interesting to highlight some of the ways in which Oduro can be effective when his side is in possession by creating space for his teammates further up the left flank.
On this occasion, we see Oduro creating an overload in the opposition’s half, positioned in close proximity to his side’s left winger and central midfielder.
This allows the Accra Lions to progress the ball along the flank with their central defender initially and provides an excellent passing outlet to split the lines.
Despite their initial outlet ball being intercepted, Oduro works hard to counter-press and regain possession before producing a perfectly timed switch to utilise the space afforded on the right flank as a result of their overload on the left flank.
Whilst it is presumptuous to suggest that such sequences and actions could be replicated by Oduro in La Liga, it is interesting to see that such movements and ideas have emerged as one of the main focuses for Hansi Flick in the early moments of his tenure with Barcelona—although it is usually flipped in Barcelona’s gameplan with their overload on the right wing instead.
David Oduro Out Of Possession
As we have seen from some examples of Oduro’s play, he is very much proactive in his defensive style when out of possession, perhaps sometimes to his detriment.
Oduro ranked third within the Ghanaian Premier League for total interceptions across the 2023/24 season when compared to all players under the age of 21.
Still, his overall defensive statistics have left a little to be desired at times.
He completed an average of 7.19 defensive duels per 90 minutes for the Accra Lions last season, but possibly more worrying is that only 55% of those were successful.
We often see Oduro disconnected from the rest of his defensive line because of his advanced starting position when his side is in possession of the ball.
This leads to moments of desperation and poor decision-making when the Accra Lions are caught in transition.
However, to Oduro’s credit, he has shown glimpses of excellent defensive capabilities.
He can apply significant pressure to stop the opposition’s progression and force the playback away from his own goal.
This example, in particular, showcased Oduro’s defensive composure when comfortable in his positioning and in the knowledge that he had the freedom to be intense in his press.
Subsequently, he created a high turnover for his team to fly forward when executing his tackle to perfection.
It will be important to see how his overall play can develop when transitioning to a much more competitive playing environment, but there is no doubt that Oduro boasts an exciting skill set that can be nurtured by Barcelona Atlètic.
Who Is Abdul Aziz Issah?
The second Ghanaian wonderkid to come through the doors of Barcelona this summer was Dreams FC’s attacking midfield prodigy, 18-year-old Abdul Aziz Issah.
This talent had garnered the attention of huge European clubs before making the move to the Estadi Johan Cruyff.
Much like Oduro, Issah stood out as one of Ghana’s brightest talents when plying his trade for Dreams FC in the GPL, but most importantly, he showcased everything he had to offer when competing on the continental stage.
His dominant attacking performances contributed to a huge moment in club history, as Dreams FC progressed all the way to the semi-finals of the CAF Confederation Cup in their maiden appearance.
Issah produced five goals from just 3.55xGI.
It allows Issah to arrive in Spain having experienced the increased pressure associated with performing against some of the greatest teams in African football.
Abdul Aziz Issah In Possession
Abdul Aziz Issah stands out as a key figure within the attacking setup of whichever team he represents.
He is outstandingly proficient at driving at the opposition’s defence and boasts excellent technicality when creating dangerous attacking opportunities.
Issah is incredibly dynamic in his positioning both in and out of possession, having operated between the lines as an attacking midfielder but also further out wide towards the right wing, closer to the touchline.
The reality is that he is most effective when patrolling the right half-space, with the freedom to drop deeper and link play with his commanding personality.
He is also effective in and around the penalty area—hence the increase in attacking output we have seen within the past year.
Fans of Dreams FC have been privileged to witness his journey developing into a tenacious attacking midfielder who loves to run with the ball at his feet and bypass defenders with his explosive movement and shifty nature.
A perfect example of Issah’s ability to be effective with his off-the-ball intelligence would be when Dreams FC were taking on Rivers United, as we see the midfielder looking to patrol the right half-space to connect play with the right flank.
As the sequence progresses, Issah is able to draw the defender out before bursting into space to receive the through ball behind the Rivers defensive line.
This creates an excellent opportunity to penetrate the opposition box and flash the ball across goal.
Attacking innovation is equally important when Issah has the ball at his feet, as he boasts a varied skill set that lends itself well to both finishing and creating key chances.
He is adept at receiving the ball between the lines in tight spaces and opening up his small frame to work the ball onto his favoured left foot, which has proven dangerous when witnessing his excellent ball striking from range.
However, it must be said that Issah has been fairly prone to snatching at the opportunity to strike from range when it arises, often lacking the necessary composure we see when he enters the penalty area, for example.
Abdul Aziz Issah Out Of Possession
Perhaps one of the most appealing features of Issah’s work out of possession would be his defensive intent and pragmatism when utilising the same scanning abilities which make him such a danger in the final third.
Whilst playing for Dreams FC, we have seen Issah become one of the key members of their 4-3-1-2 pressing structure, often stationed within the number ten role to occupy space traditionally used as the initial outlet ball when building out from the back.
Against a single pivot, Issah remains extremely tight in his marking, but the Ghanaian youngster has also shown he is capable of nullifying opposition ball progression against a double pivot by taking intelligent pressing angles to force play long and help to create turnovers.
Outside of moments in which Issah is pressing high up the pitch, it is refreshing to see how such an attack-minded player with his stature can be so combative when looking to win possession but, most importantly, be effective in his actions when operating in the central areas.
The following example highlights an important match in which Oduro and Issah actually faced off when the Accra Lions hosted Dreams FC.
We see Issah slightly late reacting to the forward movement of the Lions’ midfielder when receiving Oduro’s quick throw.
Despite the slower reaction time, Issah was able to apply his explosive movement in a more reactive response to effectively dispossess the opposition midfielder before sparking an important attacking opportunity for his own side when recycling possession.
Such examples have allowed Abdul Aziz Issah to complete around 6.2 recoveries in the opposition’s half per 90 minutes in the Ghanaian Premier League, and they would certainly help boost public perception that the new Barcelona recruit can be effective on both sides of the ball.
Conclusion
From our analysis of the Ghanaian duo, it is clear to see why both Oduro and Issah have sparked such engagement within their home nation and have earned an excellent opportunity to tackle the additional challenges brought about by representing a club as historic as Barcelona.
Whilst an introduction to first-team football would seem like a huge stretch, Hansi Flick’s committal to integrating youth talent to positive effect should bode well for future opportunities in the seasons to come- as long as they can get up to speed featuring for Barca Atlètic.
Having proudly appeared internationally for Ghana at the various stages of youth football, such a high-profile move to one of the world’s greatest footballing outfits should certainly spark interest in both Oduro and Issah, eventually being elevated to bring success to the Black Stars at the senior level.
