French midfielder, Abdoulaye Sissako, has just finished his first season in the Belgian top flight. He joined mid-table Zulte Waregem from French Ligue 2 side, LB Châteauroux, but came up the ranks with Auxerre. He’s represented France at youth level but is also eligible to play for Mali.
Zulte Waregem liked to play a higher tempo game than their opponents and preferred passing the ball around than carrying it. This suited Sissako whose strength is his passing game.
For a team that finished in mid table with a negative goal difference, it is impressive that Sissako was able to score a higher attacking VPM than defensive VPM. The VPM balance for a player in the center is about right although if you switched the ATT VPM and DEF VPM that’d be the more expected balance for a defensive midfielder.
However for Sissako, his ratings fit the way Zulte Waregem played with a high tempo, passing game. Their passing may have been quick but it wasn’t the most positive with them often passing more laterally than their opponents. Although when they did play forward or progressive passes their success rate was better even though they would attempt fewer of these passes than their opposition.
Sissako is probably more suited to playing more centrally and less in the defensive area going by his statistical output. Zulte Waregem often played either a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-4-2 formation so partnering him with a stronger defensive midfielder would allow him to create more for his team.
In comparison, we can look at Aston Villa’s midfield signing from Club Brugge, Marvelous Nakamba. He’s a 177cm defensive midfielder who spent last season with the First Division A runners-up. He was rated by Transfermarkt at €6.5 million when he was at Brugge and Villa paid a reported €12 million for his services. Sissako is currently rated at €1.6 million.
As we can see with Nakamba, the VPM balance leant much more to the defensive side of his game. This was due to two main factors. First, he won a higher percentage of his defensive duels even though he attempted less including sliding tackles. Second, his passing is not as accurate in almost every aspect particularly the positive passing such as long passes, final third passes and forward passes.
It is unusual for a player in a side who are front runners to have that type of disparity between their attacking and defensive numbers. Generally, the ratings of Nakamba and Sissako would normally be switched in context of their side’s position. Of course, specific instructions plus overall team approach plays a part in this.
How would Sissako do with the step up to the Premier League? This is the question asked of every player when changing leagues, countries and standards. Players who’ve done well in Belgium have done well in England so let’s look at Nakamba’s first season for Aston Villa as the season comes to an end.
Villa are struggling this season in 19th which is a big change from where Nakamba came from. We can see the effect this has had on Nakamba’s game. His offensive score has dropped dramatically with a drop also in his defensive score. His success at aerial and defensive duels has dropped against tougher opposition as have his attacking actions.
Sissako’s more technical approach might be more suited to a team that enjoys more possession and adopts a passing mentality. If he were to play for a team such as Villa, he’d be more valuable playing in a role that exploits his talents rather than his defensive side. At 22 years of age, he’s still developing and far off his peak years. A good investment for a player that even now is showing a lot of promise in the midfield at senior level.
The VPM Value we can see of both players has been adjusted to the Premier League standard with Kevin De Bruyne set as the midfield baseline for the league. The statistical values of each data point is weighted against the Premier League too.