Newcastle United’s capture of Roma frontman Seydou Doumbia on a season-long loan deal – which includes an option to make it permanent in the summer – capped off the Tyneside outfit’s business in the January transfer window. Discussing his move with the local press, the 28-year-old spoke of his desire to hit the ground running at St James’ Park:
“I’m a striker – I love scoring goals. I’ve already started to prepare. I’ve arrived and I’m ready to go. As they say, you have to have a little bit of time to settle in and know your teammates. Afterwards, I think it will come quite naturally. It’s always been a dream of course to one day come and play in England, in the Premier League. Now that dream has come true so I’m absolutely delighted. It’s special because this is the birthplace of football quite simply. You watch all of the Premier League games on the TV and it was always something which I thought was magnificent to watch. Each weekend I would turn on and watch these games and now I can actually be here and take part in it.”
The History
Doumbia cut his teeth at a bevy of local youth clubs in the Ivory Coast before joining top-flight side AS Denguele. Following a season in which he ranked top of the league-wide scoring charts with 15 goals, the striker plotted a course to Japan, teaming up with J League Division 1 side Kashiwa Reysol. Doumbia netted three goals in 24 outings for the Chiba-based club but then dropped down a division to sign for Tokushima Vortis, where he would go on to bag seven goals in 17 appearances.
A move to Swiss Super League outfit Young Boys marked the next step in Doumbia’s career. His first season with the Bern club harvested 20 goals and 10 assists in 32 outings, rendering him the league’s top scorer. The African striker would retain that title in his sophomore campaign, chalking up 30 goals and seven assists.
Doumbia’s eye-catching output for Young Boys prompted CSKA Moscow to secure his signature in January 2010. His first full term with the Horses proved hugely successful, yielding 28 goals and 11 assists but the striker struggled with injury in the following campaign, tallying just three goals in seven league appearances. Despite contending with hip, thigh and back complaints during the 2013/14 season, Doumbia mustered 18 goals and 13 assists in 22 outings.
Doumbia remained at Moscow for the first half of the 2014/15 campaign, racking up seven goals and four assists in 13 league appearances. In January, however, he completed a transfer to Roma on a four-year deal. Doumbia failed to exert his influence with i Giallorossi – recording just two goals in 13 outings – and was subsequently shipped back to Moscow on loan in the summer of 2015, where he registered five goals and as many assists in 13 appearances this term.
Since claiming his maiden cap for Ivory Coast in 2008, Doumbia has netted five times in 33 outings for Les Éléphants. He retired from international duty in the wake of his snub for the 2014 World Cup but has since returned to score for the Ivory Coast during their 2015 African Cup of Nations triumph.
The Prospects
After sealing Doumbia’s arrival on Tyneside, Steve McClaren cited the African’s top-level know-how and style of play as key to his acquisition:
“I think that as a striker, age doesn’t really matter. But we wanted experience in that. We’ve seen with Mitrovic that a young player can take longer to settle in. We feel that a more experienced one, who has played in various leagues around Europe, will have a better chance of settling in. That’s what we hope. He’s played top football with top clubs, and has played in the Champions League. He scored against Manchester United and Manchester City, so he’s played in big games and has that mentality. He’s a goalscorer. He has to adapt quickly, and some players do… He’s someone who plays on the shoulder of defenders, runs in behind and gets on the end of things. We have been looking for that type, and so are delighted to have Seydou on board.”
With Papiss Cisse sidelined through injury, McClaren has mainly relied on Aleksandar Mitrovic up top since moving to 4-2-3-1, with Ayoze Perez stationed on the left. The Serbia international has struggled to fill the breach, though, scoring just four times all season – indeed, amongst all forwards with 40+ shots in 2015/16, his goal conversion rate of 8.9% is the lowest.
Although he’s scored just once in his previous six appearances, it’s worth noting that Mitrovic sat joint-top with Sergio Aguero for attempts inside the box between Gameweek 18-23, with 20 apiece. Clearly, Newcastle are creating plenty of chances, then, and a more clinical player like Doumbia has the potential to thrive should McClaren’s men continue to carve out the same quantity of scoring opportunities for their lone striker.
Doumbia’s shot-conversion rates over the past season-and-a-half (45.5% and 26.8%) immediately back that theory up. In contrast, Perez (14.7%) and Papiss Cisse (13.3%), whilst superior to Mitrovic’s afore-mentioned 8.9%, also fall well short by comparison. Furthermore, the Ivory Coast international crafted 16 chances for his team-mates this season before joining the Toon – his key-pass frequency of every 60.9 minutes far outstrips Mitrovic’s 98.1 and illustrates his superior all-round play.
The new arrival has received his work permit in time to face Everton at Goodison this evening, though with McClaren admitting that Doumbia hasn’t trained for a couple of weeks, his first couple of appearances may well be off the bench until his match sharpness is up to scratch.
Once fully fit, though, there’d be no surprise to see Doumbia handed the opportunity to fire the Magpies to safety. With Newcastle set to face West Brom and Chelsea before a blank Gameweek 27, it may not be until the following week until the new boy arrives on our radars. From Gameweek 28 onwards, McClaren’s side face Stoke, Bournemouth, Sunderland and Norwich in four of the subsequent five and also have a double Gameweek to factor in at some point down the line. At a price of just 6.5 in Fantasy Premier League (FPL), Doumbia could yet emerge as a viable option for our three-man frontlines over the final months of the campaign.
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