Nottingham Forest’s hunt to sign new wide options has seemingly landed on someone with eerie similarities to Callum Hudson-Odoi, but he has one ability that the Englishman can’t match.
Nuno Espírito Santo wants to sign two wingers for Forest’s 25/26 European journey, but it remains to be seen whether they’ll be seen as starters or backup options.
Espírito Santo would likely rather bed in new wingers as rotation options, but Anthony Elanga continues to be linked with Newcastle United, making the situation a fluid one.
Hudson-Odoi has interest from Napoli as well, so it’s perhaps ideal that the Reds have seemingly landed on a primary target out wide that has incredible similarities to the former Chelsea man.
Samuel Mbangula runs with the ball during the Serie A match between Juventus and Atalanta
Photo by Filippo Alfero – Juventus FC/Juventus FC via Getty Images
Nottingham Forest have found a Callum Hudson-Odoi clone
It seems that Evangelos Marinakis is enjoying multi-player deals this summer, with Forest looking at Timothy Weah and Samuel Mbangula of Juventus after the triple-swoop of Botafogo that has seen Igor Jesus on the verge of joining the club.
21-year-old Mbangula looks to be a particularly promising option for Espírito Santo, given that his strengths line up very well with Hudson-Odoi’s.
As seen in his debut strike for the Juventus senior team, Mbangula thrives when cutting in from the left wing and firing across goal with his favoured right foot, a goal very similar to the one that Hudson-Odoi scored to secure victory over Liverpool at Anfield last season.
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Clearly, then, the Belgian would offer a very similar threat to that of the English winger, who already complements Elanga’s ability to stretch the pitch down the right side perfectly.
However, there is one aspect of Mbangula’s game that is far superior to Hudson-Odoi’s, something that could unlock a new strength to Forest’s frontline.
Samuel Mbangula has remarkable defensive attributes
Defending from the front is a crucial part of football, allowing sides to maintain attacks or launch new ones from a deeper position.
The Forest squad already have devastating counter-attacks in their arsenal and Mbangula’s incredible defensive output will only increase their viability.
Statistic Samuel Mbangula Callum Hudson-Odoi
Tackles won per 90 1.44 0.57
Tackles (defensive third) per 90 0.96 0.33
Tackles (midfield third) per 90 0.96 0.33
Tackles (attacking third) per 90 0.19 0.25
Mbangula vs Hudson-Odoi in the tackling department
Clearly, Mbangula’s stats show that he will be more than useful in launching counter-attacks from deep, but the drop off from 0.96 tackles to 0.19 in the attacking third per 90 needs addressing.
If the Forest coaching staff are able to bring that tackling success further forward, Mbangula could start attacks for the Reds much closer to the goal, meaning higher xG chances and less work for the likes of Chris Wood to do to be in the right place to capitalise.