As per a recent report by Birmingham Mail, Wolverhampton Wanderers are planning to sign Bouna Sarr from Marseille to strengthen their arsenal for the upcoming season. Sarr has really impressed for the Ligue 1 giants this season and Nuno Espirito Santo is keen to bring him to the Molineux Stadium in the summer.
Sarr started his senior career with French outfit, Metz II, and was eventually promoted to their first team squad. There, he carved his name in the good books of the football fraternity, making around a century of appearances, and in the summer transfer window of 2015, he was lured to the ranks of Marseille. The 26-year-old is an established player and ticks many boxes of a potentially top player.
Capable of plying his trade as a right-back, right wing-back, as well as a right winger, Sarr’s versatility, is unarguably one of his strongest suits. He is a good reader of the game and he has proven his calibre in the French top flight. He is good at retaining possession and at the same time, he is good enough while going forward and jotting productive crosses on a regular basis.
In 29 appearances in Ligue 1 last season, Sarr managed to bag 3 assists and manoeuvred a healthy pass completion rate of 88.3%. Coming to the defensive aspect of his contributions, he made 2.2 tackles, 1.1 interceptions, 1.4 clearances and 0.1 blocks per game on an average. Besides, he was regularly used in Europa League and helped his side to get to the final where they eventually lost to Atletico Madrid.
Wolves secured their promotion to the top flight of English football in a grand manner by lifting the Championship silverware. But the competition in the Premier League will test their limits and Espirito Santo needs to make sure he has the right men at his disposal. Sarr is a good dribbler and has the vision to register precise passes to knit his teammates as a unit. He is good in the air and has the physicality to dominate the opposition.
The Frenchman, however, lacks the experience of English football and this has somewhat dampened the enthusiasm of the fans who are well within their rights to yearn for an established Premier League player to get things rolling. Many renowned players have flattered to deceive after moving to England and thus, there will be an element of risk involved in signing him. There is no denying that the animosity in the Premier League is humungous but if Sarr backs his calibre with productive and consistent outings, then he can turn out to be a handy asset for Wolves next season.
Statistics Credits: WhoScored