With his combined talents on and off the ball it was no surprise to see Magassa move forward into midfield last season with Monaco as Hütter changed formation from 3-4-3 to 4-2-3-1. With just two spots available in the starting XI, it proved harder for the youngster to get into the side ahead of captain, Denis Zakaria, and Senegalese superstar Lamine Camara. Despite such talented competition, Magassa was able to make his Champions League debut, playing the full 90 against Bologna, the first half against Arsenal and the second half against eventual finalists Inter in the league phase.
The fierce competition in midfield didn’t affect Magassa’s ability to make a big impact in his strongest areas though with Hütter starting him in both big games against Ligue 1 champions, PSG. This is of course because Magassa only doubled down on those previously exhibited ball-winning qualities when allowed to move forward into the midfield. Last season, he recorded an incredible 7.89 ball recoveries per 90, ranking outright first in France. For context, this number ranks ahead of the Premier League’s top loose-ball-recoverer from last season in Ryan Christie (7.74 per 90) and ahead of West Ham’s squad leader, Lucas Paquetá (5.64). When combining this talent for mopping up in midfield with an outstanding 5.97 combined tackles and interceptions per 90, also ranking top amongst midfielders in France, it’s clear to see why Magassa was picked for those games where his defensive attributes were at their most important.
The defensive data continues to stun when considering that Magassa’s 1.84 interceptions per 90 alone also ranked third amongst Ligue 1 midfielders to play more than ten full games, whilst his 1.4 blocks and 1.67 clearances per 90 both ranked inside the top 26%. Defending isn’t all that Magassa does though. As previously illustrated when talking about his time back at centre-back, Magassa is also an exceptionally progressively skilled player. Given that it is easier to do this from defence, where the entire game is ahead of you, it would be understandable if there was a significant drop-off in Magassa’s ability to progress play when moving forwards into the midfield, but the Frenchman continues to impress in this department as well.