Evan Ndicka: The defensive gem snapped up by Roma on a free transfer – scout report

The 2023 summer transfer window is officially open, and the early forecast says it could be a busy one! We’ve already seen Jude Bellingham make his move to UEFA Champions League royalty Real Madrid, while there are strong rumours of transfers for players like Declan Rice and Harry Kane too. One thing links those three players, and many more, however, and that is the mammoth transfer fee attached to the deal.

Perhaps now more than ever, there is a certain beauty to securing a quality player on a free transfer, which is exactly what Serie A club Roma have done this week by finalising a deal to bring in Ivory Coast defender Evan Ndicka. Ndicka joins Jose Mourinho’s side after departing Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt upon the expiration of his contract.

This scout report will provide a tactical analysis of Ndicka – an analysis of what traits he possesses that will benefit the Roma backline, while also discussing his potential role in Roma’s tactics. The report will be split into two main sections following the player profile segment – first looking at his defensive attributes before diving in for an analysis of his performance on the ball.

Player profile

Left-footed Ndicka often played on the left side of a back three for Frankfurt, with the occasional appearance at left wing-back or central defence – something he will be able to transfer to Roma’s tactics as they too deploy a system that utilises three at the back. In line with this, most of his contributions appear in central and left-sided areas, which also comes in handy in possession as he likes to form a good possessional relationship with the left-wing back, as we can see in the image below.

This is a typical view of Ndicka’s positioning in terms of where he is but also his body positioning, shaping up to fizz a pass out to his left-wing back in a wide area. We may see this come into play at Roma as Mourinho’s side do experience games where they dominate possession, but we may see more direct play into the forwards from Ndicka in a Roma shirt.

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