Albania's midfielder Ylber Ramadani has been strongly linked with a move to Aberdeen. (Photo by Lionel BONAVENTURE / AFP)placeholder image
Albania's midfielder Ylber Ramadani has been strongly linked with a move to Aberdeen. (Photo by Lionel BONAVENTURE / AFP)
Man Utd have been linked with a move for Corentin Tolisso but what type of player is the Lyon skipper?
There are several obvious areas of concern for Manchester United that Ruben Amorim has to address this summer and being linked with an experienced playmaker is an encouraging sign.
Capped 28 times for a successful France team and with a World Cup winners medal in his pocket, Corentin Tolisso is the sort of experience that United need to protect the midfield with L’Equipe claiming United are hot on his trail. Unlike some, the 30-year old is improving with age after a difficult time at Bayern Munich saw him take stock and return to Ligue 1. There is a reason why United have been linked with Wilfred Ndidi too.
Now at Lyon, Amorim will have seen at first hand what the playmaker is capable of in last season’s Europa League and will appreciate the energy and drive that Tolisso brings to his team, as well as the sort of leadership that money can’t buy. In his own words, Tolisso recognised what went wrong at Bayern but it is now reaping the rewards.
Corentin Tolisso has the energy that Man Utd need in midfield
“I feel it on the pitch,” he explained. “Someone close to me told me that before, when I tracked back defensively, it looked like I was about to collapse. Now, when I run back, I do it at full pace, I stay upright, I feel strong.”
A series of injuries during his time in Germany make his return to form all the more impressive with Tolisso explaining that a vicious cycle was part of the problem: “Maybe I wanted to come back too soon every time, at Bayern, it wasn’t like I was going out to nightclubs every day, eating poorly, not sleeping well, or failing to hydrate properly.”
Lyon’s financial difficulties could see them cash in on a few of their valuable assets and, despite being 30, as their captain and one of their best players, Tolisso would still command a respectable transfer fee. Given the type of player that he is though, it could be money well spent.
https://ligue1.fr/fr/articles/l1\_article\_2140-when-your-mind-is-free-you-can-do-what-you-love-freely-lyon-s-rejuvenated-corentin-tolisso
The La Liga playmaking prodigy that Tolisso compares to
Using Data MB’s comparison tool, Tolisso is an almost identical match stylistically to Barcelona’s Gavi, widely respected as one of the most complete midfielders in Europe even though he is still only 20-years old.
Radar image of Corentin Tolisso of Lyon compared to Barcelona midfielder Gavi.placeholder image
Radar image of Corentin Tolisso of Lyon compared to Barcelona midfielder Gavi. | Data MB.
A key component in Spain and Barca’s engine room, Gavi is metronomic in how he goes about his business and is at the heart of everything good in how the Catalan outfit progresses the ball up to the final third and linking play with a talented forward line.
Tolisso goes about his business in exactly the same manner. He wins possession and rarely wastes it, looking to play combination passes with those in front of him. He would be perfect for Amorim due to his in built desire to play with his head up and play forward passes at every opportunity, a statistic reinforced by how many key passes he plays compared to his peers.
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