Southampton became the latest Premier League club to break their transfer record this week, with the signing of Lille midfielder Sofiane Boufal for a reported £21 million.
The 22-year-old put pen to paper on a five-year deal at St Mary’s, and speaking to the club’s official website, stated how it was Saints’ long held interest in him that persuaded the Morocco international to join the south coast club:
“For me it was my choice. I took time to choose the best club for me, and I think Southampton is very good for me and my progression. I spoke with the coach and the whole club, and for me it’s the club that wanted me not just yesterday, but for four or five months. I can see the motivation of the directors and the club to sign me. For me that’s very important.”
The History
Born in Paris, Boufal began his youth career at French club Angers, and made his professional debut at the age of 18 in a Ligue 2 clash against Istres in August 2012.
He would only make one other appearance during the 2012/13 campaign, but the following year saw Boufal’s development accelerate – playing 28 league matches, he registered two assists.
After starting the 2014/15 season at Angers, totalling four goals and three assists from 16 league appearances, Boufal joined Ligue 1 side Lille in January 2015. He took little time to settle with his new side, racking up three goals and six assists in just 14 league outings.
It was last season when Boufal really took his game to the next level, though, scoring 11 goals and adding four assists in just 29 league matches. His performances reportedly caught the eye of several top clubs around Europe, including Arsenal, Chelsea and Man United.
Despite being born in France, Boufal chose to represent Morocco at international level, and made his senior debut in a 1-0 win over Cape Verde in March 2016. That’s one of only two appearances he’s made for his country thus far.
The Prospects
There’s little doubt the acquisition of Boufal is something of a coup for Southampton.
Capable of playing across all the attacking midfield positions, the Moroccan has lightening quick feet, and has the ability to dribble through the tightest of spaces. A lack of physicality was a slight concern during his formative years, but he has improved his upper body strength, and now appears strong enough to let his natural ability flourish at the highest level.
Tellingly, of Boufal’s 84 appearances for Angers and Lille, 56 came as a winger.
Claude Puel has started with a midfield diamond in each of the opening three Gameweeks but the new boy’s arrival may well persuade the Saints boss to change his approach as he seeks a first win of the campaign.
A return to the 4-2-3-1 formation favoured by previous Southampton managers Mauricio Pochettino and Ronald Koeman is the likeliest scenario- this could see Boufal, Dusan Tadic and Nathan Redmond play across the attacking midfield positions behind a lone striker.
Such an outcome would clearly dent Redmond’s appeal, given he’s been playing as a forward during the opening three Gameweeks.
If Puel persists with his 4-1-2-1-2, it remains to be seen how he will utilise his options. Neither Boufal (five foot nine) and Redmond (five foot eight) are the most physical of players and it seems highly unlikely that both would be fielded as a front two, with Puel looking for more strength and height through the middle.
Looking at Boufal’s underlying statistics compared to Tadic and Redmond, the Morocco international averaged a shot every 46.9 minutes last season, inferior to both Tadic (28.4) and Redmond (31.6) so far in 2016/17.
He also trails Tadic in terms of creativity, with the Serbian averaging a key pass every 24.7 minutes, compared to every 32.5 minutes for Boufal at Lille last season. That is slightly better than Redmond, though, who’s registering a key pass every 33.8 minutes so far this season.
Boufal does lead the way as regards to dribbling though, averaging 6.5 dribbles per match last term, compared to 4.0 and 3.7 per game for Tadic and Redmond respectively so far this season. Again, this highlights his ability to deliver when fielded in wide areas, offering the Saints a replacement for the departed Sadio Mane.
Priced at 7.0 in Fantasy Premier League (FPL), he’s slightly cheaper than Tadic (7.4) and more expensive than Redmond (6.1).
Having sustained a knee injury towards the end of last season, Boufal is still building up his fitness after undergoing surgery, as explained by Saints Executive Director of Football Les Reed:
“Saints fans may have to wait for a few weeks yet to see him demonstrate his skills, as Sofiane had a delayed start to his pre-season training and will be working very hard with our fitness staff to get up to full match fitness. At just 22 years of age, he will undoubtedly continue to improve as a player, and we’re very pleased that he will be able to make that progression with us here at Southampton.”
Certainly, Southampton’s fixtures are also fairly mixed over the coming weeks, so perhaps it’s only when their schedule becomes more favourable from Gameweek 14 onwards (cpl, MID, sto, bou, TOT, WBA) that Boufal really comes onto our radars.
He should also have had time to up his sharpness and adjust to the Premier League by then, while his Saints team-mates may also need more time under the new manager to find their best form.
Only Liverpool (55) have managed more goal attempts than Southampton’s 53 so far this season, but only 21 of those have come from inside the box, ranking them joint-10th in that category, illustrating the need for more of a cutting edge.
So although Saints look to have bought a very talented player in Boufal, his immediate fitness concerns and the uncertainty over Puel’s tactical approach means it’ll perhaps be best to wait and see how the 22-year-old fares in his first few appearances before considering investing in the midfielder.
Once settled, though, Boufal could well prove to be the main man at St Mary’s if he can continue on the upward trajectory that has already drawn comparisons with Chelsea’s Eden Hazard.
