Having already splashed out on big money deals to bring in Aaron Mooy and Tom Ince, Huddersfield Town broke their club-record transfer for a third time to sign striker Steve Mounie from French club Montpellier.
The 22-year-old joins for an undisclosed fee, reported to be £11.44 million plus add-ons, and has penned a four-year deal with the Terriers.
Speaking to the club’s official website, Huddersfield head coach David Wagner believes that the Benin international has the tools to flourish in the English top-flight:
“He has real physical attributes that should be perfect for the Premier League, plus we have already seen his talents as a football in his remarkable season in France… At just 22 years old, he is only going to improve too. Given what he is already capable of, that is very exciting.”
The History
Born in Parakou, Benin, Mounie moved to France as a youngster and started his professional career at Montpellier’s academy.
He made his first-team debut as a substitute in a cup tie against AC Ajaccio in October 2014, but had to wait until the start of the 2015/16 season to make his league bow.
In August 2015, Montpellier sent Mounie on a season-long loan to Ligue 2 outfit Nimes in order to gain valuable first-team experience.
Mounie took his chance to impress, registering 11 goals and five assists in 32 league appearances, returning to Montpellier last summer ready to establish himself in their first-team squad.
He produced an ever better goal return last term, netting 14 times and managing three assists from 35 league outings in a side that could only finish 15th in Ligue 1.
Mounie has made six appearances for Benin, scoring one goal.
The Prospects
While Wagner added Belgian international Laurent Depoitre last month, the need to bolster his attacking options was clear after his side managed just 56 goals in their 46 league matches last season.
Mounie’s strengths appear very similar to Depoitre. Both players are fearsome in the air, although the former boasts superior athleticism, which could be key given that the “Terriers’ identity” places great emphasis on pressing from the front.
The Benin international, who stands at 6ft 3in tall, averaged a staggering 8.4 successful aerial duels per match last term, while six of his 14 league goals came from headers.
His other eight goals were scored from inside the penalty area on his favoured right foot, with several smart finishes highlighting his composure and showcasing a sound technical ability.
Mounie also possesses good movement and pace for a player of his size and is able to drift out wide and play as a winger if required. However, his link-up play has been criticised, particularly in terms of his first touch.
Impressively, the 22-year-old averaged a shot every 26.95 minutes in Ligue 1 last season, which bettered Arsenal’s club-record signing Alexandre Lacazette for Lyon (28.67).
However, his conversion rate is far from comparable. While Lacazette boasts a laudable 33%, Mounie recorded just 13.3% in the same division.
In fairness, that is typical for a target man who registered 41% of his efforts as headers; only 9.5% of Lacazette’s shots were aerial attempts.
When we look for comparisons in the Premier League, Christian Benteke fired 105 shots for Crystal Palace in 2016/17 – the same number as Mounie for Montpellier – converting 14.3% into goals. More than 49% of Benteke’s efforts were headers.
There are clear parallels to be drawn and, like Benteke, Huddersfield’s new striker will flourish only if fed with a regular supply and a variety of crosses. It remains to be seen if Wagner’s side are equipped to deliver; recent signings Aaron Mooy and Tom Ince are likely to be key figures in that respect.
Given the outlay, Mounie would seem the favourite to start in the lone striker role for the Terriers in Wagner’s favoured 4-2-3-1 formation. That could see him priced between 6.0 and 6.5 in Fantasy Premier League – slightly more expensive than fellow signing Depoitre.
He’s already been added as an 8.5 option in Sky Sports – an identical price to his new Belgian team-mate. That could certainly earn him attention as a third forward option should he settle quickly.
Considering Huddersfield’s favourable opening fixtures (cpl, NEW, SOT, whm, LEI, brn), that’s clearly a possibility.
We won’t be short of attacking options from Wagner’s side though, with Ince, Mooy and the 12-goal Elias Kachunga also set to vie for our attention. The classification and price of the latter may well be decisive.
For now, Huddersfield’s aggressive recruitment drive demonstrates that the Yorkshire club are determined to seize their chance in the top flight. That’s reassuring for us Fantasy managers, who will look to unearth some value from Wagner’s ranks.
We will be paying keen attention to the pre-season form and formation, with a Huddersfield attacker very much in our thoughts as an early makeweight.
Time will tell whether Mounie will emerge as the go-to option, but his credentials at least suggest that he has the potential to grow as a factor in Premier League.
