Ligue 2’s youngest squad: Four standout stars to watch at beaming Bordeaux in 2022/23 – scout report

Up until this past weekend, at the time of writing, Girondins de Bordeaux sat top of Ligue 2. Their 1-0 loss to Nîmes Olympique last weekend came at the same time as a win for Le Havre which saw the Normandy club leapfrog Bordeaux to the top of France’s second tier. Still, Les Girondins hold onto second place in the league and very much remain firm title contenders.

Their start to life in the second tier under David Guion has been a contrast to fellow second-tier newcomers for 2022/23 — Saint-Étienne — who are enduring another difficult campaign this term, as we recently discussed at Total Football Analysis in another Ligue 2 scout report.

Bordeaux have managed to inject life into their squad following last season’s disappointment; their positive start to the season has been powered by youth, with Les Girondins boasting the youngest average-age squad in Ligue 2 for 2022/23 (24).

Today’s scout report looks at four key players who’ve been pivotal for Guion’s side in 2022/23, two of whom are Bordeaux academy products and three of whom are U23. If you decide to catch some Bordeaux games this term, be sure to keep an eye out for these players who will likely continue to play a big role for Guion’s side if they are to get promoted back to Ligue 1 at the first time of asking.

Dilane Bakwa, 20 years old, 179cm/5’10”, 75kg/165lbs

Our first Bordeaux player to watch in 2022/23 is Dilane Bakwa — a 20-year-old winger from Les Girondins’ youth academy who was capped 17 times by France’s U17 side. Bakwa is a winger who’s comfortable playing on either side of the pitch. However, the left-footer has played marginally more minutes on the right this term, so we’ve compared him with other right-wingers for the percentile ranks on our pizza chart in figure 1.

Bakwa has been heavily used by Guion’s side in attack this season once they enter the final third. He is primarily a ‘dribbler’ and is at his most dangerous when he’s isolated 1v1 with an opposition full-back out wide thanks to his quick feet, ability to accelerate and technical dribbling quality.