Moumbagna, what is the new OM striker really worth?

Let’s be honest, the winter transfer window carried out so far by OM is not a dream. After the Cameroonian midfielder Jean Onana, who did not play for Besiktas, the Swiss international left back Ulisses Garcia, who was still playing for Young Boys Bern at the age of 28, and the former Brazilian flop Luis Henrique, back from a not very conclusive loan to Botafogo, Marseille is on the verge of completing the signing of a new attacker little known to the general public. His name: Faris Moumbagna.

Although he did not wish to confirm his signing 100%, Gennaro Gattuso clearly suggested, this Friday at a press conference, that the Cameroonian international (23 years old) was going to join the Ciel et Blanc. Everything except a surprise since the newspaper The Team announced two days ago that an agreement had been reached between the Marseille club and the Norwegian team Bodo/Glimt for a transfer estimated at 8 million euros, the player having accepted the terms of a contract up to ‘in 2028.

“It’s a space eater and a tank”

But what is the Indomitable Lion really worth, selected by Rigobert Song for the African Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast, where he has already undergone his medical examination? According to Steve Savidan, anyone who has two selections has every chance of attracting the Vélodrome public. “It moves a little in the surface, it’s impactful. It’s physical, it keeps the ball in front. I know this kid a little, we have a relationship in common. He’s a great kid.”confided the former scorer on RMC Sport.

🗣️ @SAVIDANSTEVE knows the new OM striker, Faris Moumbagna: “He’s a great kid. He’s a surface player. He eats up spaces, he’s a tank.” #RMCLive

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— Rothen s’igname (@Rothensenflamme) January 18, 2024

“He’s a surface player. He’s a space eater and a tank. A great anchor point, a player who is athletic, who eats up space and doesn’t count his efforts”, he added. Since January 2023, Faris Moumbagna has distinguished himself in Norway, with Bodo/Glimt, by compiling 24 goals and giving 9 assists in 50 matches. He particularly distinguished himself in the Europa Conference League, with 6 goals scored in 14 matches. Enough to allow him to quickly establish himself at OM?

“He jumps high, he runs fast, he stands up in the duel”

His ex-trainer in Kristiansund, Christian Michelsen, has in any case seen enormous progress in the 1.85 meter rock. “When he arrived, it was a potential to be further refined: he had immense physical abilities which were obvious, he jumps high, he runs fast, he stands up in the duel, but he was not yet readyhe observed in The Team. He had a lot of chances, because he was more powerful and faster than all the defenders, but he scored few because his technique was not up to standard. »

“He was hitting too hard, or he was coming too fast. He worked a lot on the finishing, the last gesture, the calm when concludinghe added, also praising the human qualities of the future Olympian number 9. He is a smiling boy, who loves football and who loves his teammates. He is no longer just the physical monster he was when he arrived. Here, we can’t wait to see him in Marseille, where the pressure is not the same and neither is the difficulty. » We will have to wait for the return of Cameroon from the CAN.