Lukas Nmecha 2021/22: Wolfsburg’s astute summer signing finding his feet in the Bundesliga – scout report

Lukas Nmecha is a player with an interesting development curve. Born in Germany, but raised in England brought through into senior-level football by Manchester City, a club he had been with since the age of nine, Nmecha had been a regular at youth international level for England. But just like Jamal Musiala of Bayern Munich, Nmecha made a late switch over to represent Germany, albeit making his decision slightly earlier than Musiala, having played for Germany U21 as well. And yet had you asked Preston North End fans to predict his growth curve when he played 44 games for them in the 2018-19 season on loan from City, they likely wouldn’t have predicted international football and a starring role for a developed Bundesliga side by the age of 23.

In those 44 games, Nmecha scored only three times. Nmecha truly rose to prominence last season in Belgium, scoring 21 goals and making three assists in all competitions for Anderlecht, and with his contract at City coming to an end, he was able to sign for Wolfsburg for free. This wasn’t without its risk for Die Wölfe, given Nmecha’s patchy goalscoring record away from Anderlecht, but it is a gamble that appears to have taken off, with Nmecha having scored eight goals already, notching a goal every other game.

This tactical analysis and scout report will examine some of Nmecha’s key attributes as a player but also look at how he fits in with Wolfsburg’s tactics.

Positioning

Nmecha has shown his value as a versatile attacker this season, where he spent plenty of game time as a number 10, as well as on either wing and of course as a centre-forward. The bulk of his minutes have come in the latter position.

We can see from his heat map shown below, that Nmecha does have a large number of actions in slightly deeper positions. Wolfsburg have predominantly played a 4-2-3-1 and it is in this formation where Nmecha has spent time as a ten or as a winger, but they also use a 4-4-2, and when he is paired alongside Wout Weghorst, Nmecha will still drop off into deeper positions.

Nmecha will draw himself into these deeper positions, leaving Weghorst up top by himself. He will look to play off of the shoulder of the deepest opposition midfielder, and as play breaks, he can quickly accelerate into the space between the opposition defence and midfield where he can be found with a through pass.

We can see this occurring in the image below. The positioning of both Nmecha and Weghorst forces Koln’s two defenders left marking the latter into making a difficult decision. With Nmecha receiving in this space, the young German is difficult to catch as he can drive forward quickly with the ball at his feet. Nmecha is purposeful in such a position and will drive at the opposition defence. If they choose to stick with Weghorst they will simply concede space to Nmecha, and yet if one defender steps forward to engage the attacker, then it leaves Weghorst in a 1v1 position against the final defender.