Khéphren Thuram, the son of renowned French defender Lilian Thuram, has finally seen his arc grow after racking up plenty of game time for OGC Nice in 2022.
His elder brother, Marcus Thuram, is also a professional footballer.
Marcus plays for Borussia Monchengladbach in the Bundesliga and has represented France in the latest edition of the World Cup.
Khéphren is a product of Monacos development programme and made his professional debut for the club in the 2018/19 Champions League season, playing for Monaco against Atletico Madrid.
He has played for Frances U-17 and U-18 teams and joined Nice in 2019.
This tactical analysis will provide a detailed look at Nice’s wonderkid, Khéphren Thuram.
This analysis also examines his growth and top strengths under various tactics.
Khéphren Thuram Style Of Play
Khéphren is a tall, physical player who yields dominance with the ball and is an attack-minded midfielder who consistently takes his team up the pitch.
At just 21, he has never been in doubt about being involved in the starting eleven for Lucien Favre.
As the midfielder who bridges the defence and the attack, Khephren’s game-running ability has highly developed.
So far this season, Khéphren has appeared in 24 games across all competitions for Nice, contributing to four goals.
The former Monaco midfielder is skilled at passing the ball, isnt afraid to get into a few rough battles, can get up to speed quickly after losing possession, and is extremely strong at reading the game defensively.
After spending the first part of the campaign in Nices reserve unit, the Frenchman has emerged as a crucial cog in the wheel, filling in for colleagues who often advance to higher places.
His regularity was unquestionable at one point in January of 2022.
After becoming consistent, he was never let go of the starting eleven.
He started featuring quite often, even before Favre was named the head coach in June of the same year.
Khéphren has also impressed the former Borussia Dortmund coach and has proved to be a starter on his roster.
Since Gouiri or Justin Kluivert often play on the right wing, Thuram, a dynamic and direct deep-lying midfielder who could also play as an outright sentinel, is frequently moved to the left side of the pitch to provide balance.
How Khéphren Thuram Physicality Contributes To Defence
Thuram, who stands at 191 centimetres, towers over his peers.
Thanks to this, he can make tackles while still in motion and snag balls that would normally be out of reach for a man of his height and build.
Historically, the primary focus of central defensive midfielders has been to man-mark the other teams star player and to steal the ball from him whenever possible.
Thuram might need more work in this area, but given that change in modern football is constantly evolving, he might be the one to watch for the future.
He loves to be close to the ball receiver even before he receives it, and applies pressure to break his balance.
A good dribbler wouldnt come near a player like him, as he gives less space to wander out when hes close.
We can see that the opponent has lost balance, while Thuram is just behind, putting his physicality to work.
In tight spaces, he would dominate the opponent, executing a backing action with the intention of dispossessing them of the ball.
On average, he competes in 6.58 defensive d
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