Kamaldeen Sulemana has recently joined Atalanta from Southampton for a fee that reached £18m.
He follows his former head coach Ivan Jurić, who also had his first experience in the Premier League managing the Saints last season.
Although Jurić’s experience with Southampton was unsuccessful, leading to relegation despite high hopes for his ability to upgrade the Southampton style of play and results, he was able to return to Serie A and join a very competitive team like Atalanta at the start of this season.
Jurić brought Sulemana with him to Atalanta, and it has been obvious since the first Serie A match of the season that he is planning to rely on Sulemana regularly this term as a temporary replacement for Ademola Lookman.
The latter was linked to Inter Milan until the last days of the transfer window and wasn’t 100% fit to start the campaign.
It will be useful for Jurić to have a backup option to compete with Lookman for the starting spot, even with the latter remaining in Bergamo.
Furthermore, they could alternate using both players depending on the opponent and on the players’ form and fatigue.
It is true that Lookman and Sulemana will be rivals for the same position, but it appears that Jurić is finally planning to experiment with both players simultaneously, using Lookman as a striker and Sulemana on the left wing.
This could also be an excellent way to motivate Lookman further, as he is aware that his spot at Atalanta is no longer secure and that he needs to give his best in each game to ensure his starting spot.
In the meantime, we have to be aware that during his first few appearances with Atalanta, Kamaldeen Sulemana has already made a remarkable impact on his new team’s performances and results, scoring two important goals and providing one assist out of five appearances so far.
Let’s compare these numbers to those of Sulemana at Southampton.
His goal contribution rates in five matches this season almost equal those for the 2024/2025 campaign, given that he scored two goals and provided three assists in 30 games last season.
This Kamaldeen Sulemana scout report examines Kamaldeen Sulemana’s profile, playing positions, and mastered roles, as well as his areas for improvement.
The analysis will also aim to compare Kamaldeen Sulemana and Ademola Lookman to assess whether this new signing can guarantee the same quality.
Kamaldeen Sulemana Profile
Kamaldeen Sulemana is a player who can be deployed in various attacking positions, providing Jurić with numerous options to rely on him in different situations, not just in competition with Lookman for a spot.
Although his main position is left winger, Sulemana has shown throughout his career that he can also play as a striker and advanced playmaker, whether as a central one or as a left/right playmaker.
Kamaldeen Sulemana Possible Positions
This means that both Lookman and Sulemana can form an advanced midfield duo in Atalanta’s 3-4-2-1 formation, with Nikola Krstović being the main striker.
Jurić can also confirm that Kamaldeen Sulemana will be the main left winger, with Lazar Samardžić on the right wing and Lookman as a striker, just as Atalanta played against Como.
These alternatives can only motivate Sulemana to keep improving his performance.
Even with Lookman’s return to full fitness, he still has a high chance of playing regularly with Atalanta.
In fact, it appears that Jurić plans to experiment with Lookman in a more advanced position, exploiting his abilities as a striker, which would allow Sulemana to be the starter on the left wing.
The following graphic confirms that Sulemana can be very useful to Jurić’s attacking plans.
He can be valuable in any of these positions, primarily due to his explosive pace, ability to change directions with agility and balance, as well as his passing, crossing, and dribbling skills.
Moreover, Kamaldeen Sulemana has also been used as a right winger and can effectively play that role if needed, as he is comfortable with both feet.
That makes him a winger who is not significantly impacted by switching from one wing to the other.
It is true that Sulemana was not capable of scoring many goals previously in the Premier League; however, the goals he scored highlight his reliable penetration and ability to cut inside, as well as his ability to easily get past defenders thanks to his dribbling.
Sulemana can combine his quick and efficient dribbling abilities with pacey penetrations to create a threat for Atalanta.
He knows that he likes to come from behind and exploit the element of surprise in his favour.
With 2.37 passes to the box per 90 and an average success rate of 55.1%, Sulemana can also be very useful in terms of passing, especially from the wing.
He has the passing skills needed to create dangerous opportunities and provide key passes.
Whether with crossing or key passing, Sulemana should not be underestimated as a playmaker.
He often passes with accuracy and notices his teammates’ movements between the lines, which allows him to be dangerous with his passes and not just use simple passes or backward passes only.
That said, it will be crucial for Atalanta to monitor his form regularly because Sulemana is known for getting injured frequently per season and, therefore, risks creating an issue in terms of player choices if he gets injured during this season.
Kamaldeen Sulemana Vs Ademola Lookman Comparison
Let’s compare Kamaldeen Sulemana to Ademola Lookman.
We can easily detect that Sulemana needs to become much more physically powerful to win more duels per match, resist and handle the opponent’s pressing and sometimes aggressive play, and win more duels overall.
During his first few games in Serie A, Sulemana looked a bit fragile at times and was unable to keep up with the opposing defenders’ high intensity during duels.
This means that Sulemana needs to work harder on improving his physical strength and muscularity in order to challenge defenders more easily and succeed in Serie A in the long run.
Sulemana still made a difference for Atalanta despite his inability to keep up with the strength of some defenders.
He relied on his agility, dribbling skills, and shooting abilities to compensate.
However, compared to a player like Lookman, Sulemana cannot be as complete as Lookman for now, as Lookman is more experienced and has a quicker, yet physically powerful winger capable of hurting any defense.
The following radar comparison between the two players helps us spot the differences and areas for improvement for Sulemana.
It clearly shows that Lookman is a more concrete and decisive player in terms of numbers.
To reach the level of Lookman, Sulemana has to increase his goal contribution rates, and that’s something that he already started improving at the start of this season.
The same applies to his shooting per 90 and his passing, especially dangerous, given that Sulemana’s dribbling rates are close to those of Lookman.
To become more difficult to beat in duels or to stop, Sulemana has to exploit his remarkable explosivity and add a little bit of physicality and diverse dribbling skills to it.
This would eventually increase his chances of shooting from distance and his ability to create key passing situations.
Given that this is Sulemana’s first season in Serie A, starting it with promising goal contribution numbers is already very positive, as other players face difficulties of adaptation during their initial Serie A games.
Now, consistency will determine whether Sulemana will be as efficient as he was during the first few games or not, given that the upcoming opponents will already be aware of his potential addition and will, therefore, mark him more closely, making things more complicated for him.
Kamaldeen Sulemana Vs Ademola Lookman Stats
Kamaldeen Sulemana Traits
Regarding his traits, Sulemana can be considered one of the talented wingers with a high margin for improvement, given his explosive pace and ability to dribble past multiple players in a single action.
Kamaldeen Sulemana Ball Progression Vs Liverpool
This is one of Kamaldeen Sulemana’s most remarkable traits, as his ball progression actions, whether from the middle or from the wings, can usually be very dangerous to opponents.
One of the most beautiful goals Sulemana scored was against Liverpool.
He got the ball inside his team’s own half.
He started his ball progression with explosiveness, passing Fabinho swiftly and continuing his run until he reached the edge of the box, where he finished with accuracy.
Kamaldeen Sulemana Left-Footed Finishing
Furthermore, he has recently proved that he relies heavily on his left foot for finishing and passing despite being a right-footed player, which gives him a crucial advantage in key situations.
Sulemana has already scored numerous goals thanks to his reliance on his left-footed finishing, knowing that if he had attempted scoring with his right foot in some of those situations, the ball would have been intercepted.
Therefore, it is crucial to alternate between finishing with both feet, depending on the situation.
Sulemana’s most recent goal against Juventus highlights Sulemana’s left-footed shooting accuracy and mastery, despite having attempted a complicated dribble just before shooting.
This makes the action even more impressive, as he was able to shoot while three opponents were chasing him.
Kamaldeen Sulemana Left-Footed Chance Creation
Sulemana also offers variety in playmaking since he usually adapts to the situations he is put in and can make passes using both feet.
He has also succeeded in providing assists using his left foot.
This expands Sulemana’s solutions on the left or right wing, making him more versatile and capable of cutting inside when needed or continuing his run to the corner before crossing with the adequate foot.
Using both feet in key passing and shooting differentiates Sulemana from many wingers.
Not all of them rely on their “weaker foot” as much as Sulemana does, and not all of them have a high level of accuracy with their “weaker foot.”
That said, building more muscle and becoming tougher to beat in duels will help Sulemana become even more crucial inside the final third.
Resisting Serie A defenders’ disturbances is crucial to achieving regular goal contribution objectives.
Conclusion
Kamaldeen Sulemana has been very helpful to Atalanta in the early part of this season, when Lookman was absent.
Since Lookman is gradually getting back to his form, Sulemana needs to convince him to keep his spot in every game and oblige Jurić to keep relying on him, either by using Lookman as a striker or finding another way to play both players, such as using Lookman and Sulemana as wingers (advanced playmakers on paper) with Nikola Krstović as a striker.
