5 months ago
36 Liverpool now look increasingly set to miss out on Assan Ouedraogo judging by the latest round of insider info.
Christian Falk, in his latest exclusive Fact Files column with CaughtOffside, has confirmed that the teenager can move to another Bundesliga side for as little as €7.5m [£6.38m/$8.11m].
“Schalke’s top talent Assan Ouédraogo must trigger his exit clause by June 15 at the latest so that he can leave on July 1,” the German reporter wrote.
“So far, it has been said by those around him that he would accept reduced playing time to take advantage of the opportunity to train with the superstars at Säbener Straße and thus be able to develop further.
“There is no longer any room for haggling over the transfer fee for Ouedraogo. He can move within the Bundesliga for around €7.5m – a bargain price!
“Currently, only the Ouédraogo side is talking to Bayern. However, sports director Marc Wilmots (55) and squad planner Ben Manga have let the agent know that Schalke would like to “rent back” the offensive dribbler for the next second-division season.”
The 18-year-old has been described as a ‘frightening’ prospect by analyst Ben Mattinson on X (formerly Twitter), with comparisons drawn to Paul Pogba and Kehphen Thuram.
The German star is great with the ball in tight spaces. Ouédraogo is a similar profile to those of Khéphren Thuram, Ryan Gravenberch & Paul Pogba. All players who are mis-profiled as a 6 due to their physical prowess and height but actually are best as advanced 8s. pic.twitter.com/MeQvFAroNE
— Ben Mattinson (@Ben_Mattinson_) October 24, 2023
MORE: What Falk is now hearing about Gravenberch & Liverpool amid exit suggestions
Liverpool were thought to be keen on the Schalke wonderkid’s services, though it appears that the Merseysiders are more interested in exploring alternative avenues this summer.
Liverpool technically have their own Ouedraogo
Ryan Gravenberch lifts his first piece of silverware at Liverpool – (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)He’s four years older, but with Ryan Gravenberch profiling quite similarly to the Bundesliga youngster, it’s not entirely surprising that the Reds are happy to let Bayern snap up their own version.
The Dutchman hasn’t quite had a disappointing first season at Anfield, though it’s fair to say the ex-Munich star still has much of his burgeoning potential left to realise.
With new manager Arne Slot arriving to replace the outgoing talismanic boss in Jurgen Klopp, what better time to showcase his talents than in the upcoming pre-season?
What do the stats say about Ouedraogo?
Assan Ouedraogo in action for Schalke – (Photo by Michael Titgemeyer/Getty Images)The young German stands out as quite the offensive monster. FBref have the teenager down as registering in the 96th percentile for non-penalty xG.
He appears to enjoy (and is perfectly competent at) taking on a man and arriving into the opposing box (99th and 97th percentiles respectively).
Pass completion rate is a clear area of weakness (76.5% on average per 90) – a figure Ouedraogo will be expected to seriously work on at the Allianz Arena.
