RB Salzburg is a club renowned for acquiring young talent at a relatively low price, developing it, and then selling the players for a substantial profit a few years later.
This summer transfer window was no different, with Brendan Aaronson and Rasmus Kristensen being sold to Leeds United, and Karim Adeyemi joining Borussia Dortmund.
However, the most recent player to depart from the Austrian champions may be one of the most missed this season, 22-year-old Malian defensive midfielder Mohamed Camara.
Les Monégasques paid roughly €14 million for the midfielder’s services.
Throughout this Mohamed Camara scout report, we will examine the Malian’s strengths and how he fits into the project that Philippe Clement is developing at AS Monaco.
Mohamed Camara Player Profile
The heat map below shows the typical positions that Camara normally took up with RB Salzburg last season.
Mohamed Camara Heat Map
Under German boss Matthias Jaissle, Salzburg are set up tactically in a 4-4-2 diamond formation, with Camara playing at the base of the midfield as the sole defensive midfielder.
This is well illustrated in the Mohamed Camara heat map, where the Malian midfielder tends to stay in the central spaces.
He does not normally venture far into the attacking third of the pitch, and he also rarely gets pushed back into his own penalty box.
So far this season, Philippe Clement has set his Monaco side up in a 5-3-2 formation, and Camara will likely slot into the midfield as a more defensive-minded midfield option.
In Monaco’s last match against Paris Saint-Germain, Clement started Camara alongside Aleksandr Golovin and Youssouf Fofana, with this likely being the new preferred midfield trio for the Belgian manager.
1v1 Defensive Skills
When it comes to trying to find Mohamed Camara’s biggest strength, it is hard to look past his ability in 1v1 defensive duels.
Being the sole defensive midfielder in Salzburg’s system meant that going into defensive challenges without any help was a constant theme.
While the lone attacking midfielder and the two box-to-box players may sometimes have helped out in this respect, most of the defensive midfield work normally fell on Camara’s shoulders.
When looking at the Malian’s statistics when it comes to 1v1 duels, the numbers speak for themselves.
In general, Mohamed Camara averaged 20.49 duels per 90 minutes with a 57.7% success rate last season across all RB Salzburg competitions.
When examining this statistic from a purely defensive standpoint, Camara averaged 7.14 defensive duels per 90 minutes last season, with a win percentage of 61.8%.
Following in this section are some examples of the quality that the Malian midfielder possesses in these 1v1 duels.
The image above shows an example of Camara’s ability to read the passes and subsequently commit a successful 1v1 challenge.
One thing to note is that this is from Monaco’s match last weekend against French champions Paris Saint-Germain, just the Malian’s second match for Les Monégasques.
As the ball is played to the PSG attacker, he is able to anticipate this pass and quickly close down the opposition player.
Camara dives in to attempt the 1v1 challenge, winning the ball and preventing a dangerous attacking sequence from the French giants.
Though it is not always the best idea for midfielders to leave their feet when committing to 1v1 challenges, Camara is able to use these types of challenges to his benefit.
The image above illustrates another example of the quality that Mohamed Camara possesses in these one-on-one defensive duels.
In this phase of play above, the Malian has found himself in a wider position, giving him less time to get back into position in the case that Salzburg dispossesses and counterattacks.
That is exactly what happens in this example.
Salzburg are dispossessed in the middle third of the pitch, with the opposition looking to quickly counterattack.
Camara is able to quickly react and regain possession centrally, cutting off the opposition attacker’s path and winning the ball back, thereby stopping a dangerous counterattacking sequence in the process.
The final example in this section showcases another instance of Camara’s 1v1 defensive ability, this time in a more perilous position, his own defensive third.
The Malian is able to engage in a loose-ball duel, winning it and proceeding to dribble up the field after gaining possession.
Although this occurred in a more hazardous area of the pitch, it still showcases Mohamed Camara’s consistent ability to succeed in one-on-one defensive duels.
This section has demonstrated the Malian midfielder’s ability in 1v1 duels, particularly on the defensive side of the ball.
This is undoubtedly his biggest strength and should be a welcome addition to Philippe Clement’s midfield at AS Monaco.
Long-Range Passing Ability
Another significant strength that Mohamed Camara possesses is his range of passing from deep positions.
The Malian is a key player at spraying the ball from deeper positions into the final third of the pitch to attackers.
Camara does not contribute many assists to his side, but his ability to spray passes from these deep lying midfield positions helped RB Salzburg get past low blocks and in behind their defence with relative ease at times.
In all competitions for the Bullen last season in Austrian Bundesliga, the midfielder averaged 56.38 passes per 90 minutes, with a completion rate of 87.7%.
The primary aspect we are evaluating is Camara’s long passing ability. The Malian averaged 6.19 long passes per 90 minutes last season with RB Salzburg, achieving a completion rate of 56.9%.
This section will take a look at Mohamed Camara’s long-range passing ability, as well as how the Malian takes advantage of his deep-lying positions.
The image above shows an example of the long passing range that the Malian midfielder possesses.
In this phase of play, Camara is in possession in a deeper midfield position and looks to find an open target in the box.
With the opposition defence playing such a low defensive block, the only option for him is to attempt a pass over the backline and into the feet of the Salzburg attackers inside the box.
The ensuing ball from Mohamed Camara is perfectly weighted and finds the feet of Karim Adeyemi to the right of the penalty spot.
Unfortunately, Adeyemi’s first touch is poor, with the ball getting sent out of play.
However, this was still able to demonstrate Mohamed Camara’s long passing range.
The image above shows another example of Mohamed Camara long passing ability and how he breaks down opposition low blocks with it.
In the phase of play above, the Malian international midfielder spots the run of the RB Salzburg attacker running down the left touchline.
Notice as well how the opposition backline is again sitting in a low block, preventing the Austrian champions from playing their normal possession-based style of play.
This allows Camara the time and space to pick out the passing option and play over the top of the opposition defence.
This ability of the Malian midfielder to pick out these passing options from deep was key to Matthias Jaissle’s tactics last season at RB Salzburg.
The final example illustrates another instance of Mohamed Camara’s ability to create chances, particularly through his long passes.
All of these examples share a common theme: the opposing defensive unit is positioned in a low block, looking to absorb pressure.
This tactic forces RB Salzburg to look for the options over the top, with it almost impossible for the ball to be played through the middle on the ground.
The Mali international notices the attacker looking to make a run through the opposition’s defensive line and plays a perfectly timed pass over the top and into his path.
Unfortunately, the pass is just out of the attacker’s reach, with the goalkeeper able to claim the loose ball.
Though he relies more on his defensive capabilities, Mohamed Camara is a very good chance creator and ball distributor, especially from deep-lying positions.
This will be a welcome addition for Philippe Clement’s Monaco side, having a deep-lying playmaker who can impact his side both on and off the ball.
Conclusion
As this Mohamed Camara scouting report illustrated, the Malian will be a welcome addition to both Philippe Clement’s tactics and, more specifically, to Les Monégasques’ midfield.
Although he is a very aggressive defensive midfielder who excels specifically in 1v1 duels, Camara also possesses on-the-ball qualities, notably his long passing range.
This analysis has only gone over two of the strengths that the Mali international midfielder possesses.
He will surely refine his game even more with AS Monaco.
The Austrian giants are a club renowned for acquiring young talent at a low price, developing them, and then selling them for a profit in the future, with Mohamed Camara being another notable example of RB Salzburg’s excellent recruitment strategy.
