Why Malick Fofana is a man in demand this summer
Sometimes, stats just don’t tell the whole story.
By Sam McGuire
At a glance, Malick Fofana hasn’t done much since the move to Lyon to justify the Ligue 1 side doubling his valuation. He signed for the French side in January 2024 having caught the eye at Gent. He’d been deployed as a wing-back in Belgium but was, naturally, a winger.
Lyon took a gamble on the versatile attacker. Unfortunately for him, they put their faith in him during a tricky period for the club. OL needed a remarkable second half of the 2023/24 campaign to claim a sixth placed finish, winning 15 of their final 20 Ligue 1 matches, having won just one of their first 14.
Last term, Lyon claimed another sixth place finish. Results were a little more consistent but everything else wasn’t. Pierre Sage was sacked in late January and was eventually replaced by former Lille boss Paulo Fonseca. Jorge Maciel was in the dugout for the team from March onwards following the suspension of Fonseca.
Fofana finished his first full season in France with five goals and four assists. Across all competitions, he chipped in with 11 goals, just one shy of Rayan Cherki.
Despite his relatively disappointing return in Ligue 1, the 20-year-old is now one of the most sought-after forwards in Europe, if reports are to be believed.
Newcastle United, Everton, Chelsea, Brighton, Spurs and Liverpool are all thought to be interested in the youngster. In a recent piece for the Daily Mail, Lewis Steele claimed that Premier League champions Liverpool ‘want versatile young forwards. Someone who can play sort of all three positions. Arne Slot is keen on that versatile aspect.’
And Fofana certainly fits the bill. The Belgium international impressed for Gent in their 3-4-1-2 shape as a left wing-back. For Lyon, he has primarily played on the left side of the attack. However, due to the fact he’s confident with either foot, he can be used on either flank. There are still question marks over which foot is his strongest.
For Lyon last term, he had a total of 12 shots on his left foot, scoring two goals in the process. As you can see from his shot map (above), his efforts are coming from good areas in the penalty area. He’s as much of a threat on the outside as he is when cutting inside.
He took 18 shots with his right foot, scoring three goals in Ligue 1. The two shot maps aren’t too dissimilar. This highlights his dual threat with either foot. What we can take from this, however, is that he wasn’t much of a volume shooter for Lyon. In total, he had just 31 shots in Ligue 1 last season across 29 appearances. There’s a bit more context here to be factored in, with the 20-year-old racking up just shy of 1,600 minutes in the French top-flight. On average, it was 1.5 shots per 90.
In a better, more dominant side, you have to assume that he would be an even greater goal threat. The numbers look scalable. Everything points to him being a goalscoring winger in the right team, with the right opportunities.
His involvement in the final third may have been fairly limited, all things considered, yet he still managed to contribute to Lyon’s sixth placed finish.
As a creator, he pulled his weight too. Only Cherki (0.52) within the OL team could better Fofana’s Expected Assists per 90 average of 0.25. The Belgian also ranked third for successful dribbles in the Lyon squad last term.
Fofana finished with an Expected Assists total of 4.39 but claimed just four assists. If teammates finished off the chances he carved out, there’s no reason the same chances he created couldn’t have resulted in 10 assists. And no, that isn’t an exaggeration.
Against Lens, he showed blistering pace on the left flank. He initially slowed down play before bursting past the full-back and clipping in a left-footed cross to the back post. Ainsley Maitland-Niles wins his header, and should do better, but puts his effort wide of the bottom post.
In this still, you can’t see Fofana. But the winger had blitzed his opponent down the Lyon left before fizzing a pass across the face of goal. It is beyond Alexandre Lacazette but the man at the back post should slide the ball into an open goal. His effort, however, cannons back off the post.
They’re just two examples of how, had his teammates been better finishers, Fofana’s assists tally would’ve been much higher. That is why, in some cases, stats don’t tell the whole story.
The one-cap Belgium international is being chased by a host of top clubs because the potential is there for him to be one of the most devastating wingers in world football. He’s bubbling away nicely and he looks set to explode in the near future. Even at the reported £45million fee, clubs could be getting themselves a bargain.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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