Scouting report on Mamadou Sangare

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I'd urge you to read @Bygecko1 thread on him.

I'd like to add some of my thoughts on him below 👇

Mamadou Sangare has a very good frame, he's really athletic, combines pace and power with agility and tenacity that are so important in such dynamic role like he has in Lens.

He's an all action midfielder, one of the best (if not the best) ball winner in Europe.

So here are my observations below without going into too deep as @bygecko covered him well enough and he's quite known player already.

Physical profile

- 181cm tall
- Athletic (pace, power, agility)
- Great engine - can chase, intercept or tackle, get up and carry the ball forward, dribble past an opponent and turn defense into dangerous attack multiple times per match
- Intensity in his actions show great fitness levels
- High dueling volume and success rate

Technical ability

- He's very tidy technically, can dribble in tight spaces, execute skill moves, la croquetas, pullbacks, stepovers, hits impressive passes consistently
- Combination of tight ball control, agility, spatial awareness and good frame make him very press resistant
- Clean passing, ground, long, lobs, crosses
- Doesn't need set up, releases the ball quickly and effortlessly
- Can execute passes in motion, in stride
- This technical effectiveness translates into his tackles as well, polished and often stays in control of the ball after tackles

Passing ability

- Sangare can be best described as #6/#8 hybrid
- Sits deep, progresses the ball forward via passing or carrying the ball
- Quite often he drops deep to collect the ball and like a talisman push his team forward
- While he prefers RHS, he drifts to the left, but has strong bias towards right to left switches
- Wouldn't call him a controller or a DLP, but rather a progression first midfielder
- Not overly creative, but can pull some very nice passes in motion off of his carries/dribbles

- Most important aspect of his passing is ability and preference to hit long passes, switches of play that skip pressure and completely change the flow of the attack

Defensive ability

Now we've arrived to most impressive aspect of the game.

- Sangare is a pro-active defender
- Great anticipation and willingness to commit
- He covers so much ground and actively looks for mistakes, poor touches, loose balls
- Doesn't shy from getting down and dirty, loves a good tackle and his most impressive type is going in with the right foot 1st and keeping hold onto the ball with the laces of his boot
- Dueling, since he covers so much ground and plays with intensity, he engages in a lot of duels and forces mistakes/loose balls
- Aerially, he has a good leap, decent timing and spatial awareness, but sometimes he competes just for sake of competing even if he's not in good position to do so.

One big negative I've came across is his naivety, nonchalant approach to 1v1 duels against dribblers.
Way too often he comes in rushing and gets left behind in dust because he's incapable of changing the direction that quickly.
The nonchalant part can be seen in the way he approaches some duels and tackles, going in with the left foot when the player is clearly more suited to be tackled with his right (the basic defensive fullback stance)

Mamadou Sangare is a impressive midfielder, ticks every box in most team setups as a #6 or #8 if you want a dynamic, do-it-all type of midfielder.
Reminds me a lot of Carlos Baleba, but there are some glimpses of Camavinga and Bissouma (even his negative ones).

His defensive efforts, athleticism and ability to turn defense into offense provide real value, especially in today's high intensity football.

With a bit of maturity and polish, he easily becomes one of the best defensive midfielders in Europe.

Forgot to include this as well 👇