Lyon, France, 1st February 2022. An Ulhsport Official Ligue 1 Uber Eats matchball prior to kick off in the Uber Eats Ligue 1 match at the Groupama Stadium, Lyon. Picture credit should read: Jonathan Moscrop / Sportimage PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxUK SPI-1496-0104

With Rafael Leao leaving Lille for Milan this summer, the Ligue 1 runners-up need to act fast to find his replacement. The Portuguese winger-cum-striker had an amazing campaign last season. Aside from his tally of eight goals and two assists in 24 games in Ligue 1, Leao was a crucial player upfront. His pace and power were extremely impressive. When combined with his excellent positioning, off the ball movements, and overall technical ability he’s often far too difficult to handle.

But this summer, Lille had to say goodbye to the 20-year-old wonderboy. The former Sporting CP forward signed a lucrative five-year deal with Milan with Lille getting paid an impressive amount of €30 million despite only getting the player for free roughly a year prior. This deal, again, proves what a genius sporting director Luis Campos is. He’s not just excellent at spotting talents; he’s also a smart deal-maker.

Several names surfaced in the summer as Lille looked to replace Leao. From Watford’s Dodi Lukebakio, Paris FC’s Silas Wamangituka, and then Charleroi’s Victor Osimhen. Each of the three had an amazing campaign last season and looked quite similar in terms of style of play albeit some differences. Despite Wamangituka actually being the cheapest target, Campos decided to sign Osimhen who scored 20 goals and provided four assists in 36 games across all competitions for Charleroi. We’ll take a look at how he performed last season and how he’ll fit in at Lille this season in this scout report.

In this tactical analysis, we’ll take a look at why Osimhen could potentially be the smartest signing out of the three.

If you want to read the full tactical breakdown of Victor Osimhen’s profile, head over to totalfootballanalysis.com or click HERE


Total Football Analysis Magazine #11: July 2019 - tactical analysis tactics
Artwork by @chapulana

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