It may be fair to say that Samuel Kalu didn’t enjoy the best start to 2020. The 22-year-old winger featured in each of Girondins de Bordeaux’s last three Ligue 1 games prior to the postponement of professional football in France, however, prior to those three games Kalu had sat out five straight Ligue 1 fixtures, featuring in just one other game for Bordeaux in 2020.
The Nigeria international struggled with injury and had questions raised over his level of commitment by Bordeaux manager Paulo Sousa, however, the winger has shown plenty of promising signs on the pitch thus far during his time in France since moving to Bordeaux from KAA Gent in the summer of 2018.
In this tactical analysis piece, in the form of a scout report, we will attempt to examine Kalu’s strengths and weaknesses and how both of those are highlighted by his various different roles within Les Girondins’ tactics at times.
Dribbling quality
Kalu’s dribbling quality is one of his more noticeable and most important traits. The winger is capable of beating multiple men with his tricky dribbling ability. His impressive balance and agility, in addition to his speed and power, help him to perform well when running at opposition defenders and make him an asset to his side on the ball in a variety of different scenarios.
As we mentioned in the introduction to this tactical analysis piece, Kalu is a player who has performed in a variety of different roles within Bordeaux’s tactics. Les Girondins’ most commonly used formations are the 3-4-2-1 shape and the 4-2-3-1 shape. Bordeaux have lined up in one of these two formations in 68.7% of their league fixtures this term, according to Wyscout.
Kalu has played in a variety of roles within these shapes, including the deep, right-sided midfield role, the central attacking midfield role, and the left-wing role. The player has performed in each of these positions to varying degrees of success thus far throughout the 2019/20 campaign, as each position requires Kalu to tap into a different part of his game, with some roles highlighting more of his best qualities than others. We will discuss his strengths and weaknesses throughout this tactical analysis piece and attempt to explain which roles may suit the winger best, based on his performances this season.
Kalu’s dribbling ability is one trait which the winger can exhibit to a fairly strong extent regardless of where he is playing, as the attacker can operate well when running in behind, thanks to his power and pace, in addition to operating well when running at defenders, thanks to his impressive technical ability on the ball, balance, and agility.
This first image above is taken from a game in which Kalu lined up on the left-wing. Here, we can see the Nigerian attacker on the ball, attempting to cut inside from the wing, while he is supported by another wide man who is making an overlapping run. However, Kalu only has eyes for the small gap between the two opposition defenders in front of him here. As he cuts inside, he manages to weave through this gap, exhibiting his agility, balance, and his impressive close control.
The two Saint-Étienne defenders who have come out to approach Kalu leave enough space for the winger to cut inside and this is the area where the 22-year-old can typically cause the most damage on the pitch. If Kalu is kept to a distance, out wide, his threat is lessened considerably as opposed to if he is allowed to get into this area, in and around the edge of the penalty area.
