Abde Ezzalzouli is making a huge leap forward

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And now, on to Abde Ezzalzouli.

Antoine Semenyo had reasonable hope in him turning into a starting level Premier League talent when he was signed by Bournemouth, but was far from a sure thing. His 2021-22 season with Bristol City in the Championship saw him put up 8 goals and 12 assists in his age 21 season. That was tied for 13th in total goals and assists in the league, with underlying numbers which had him in the top 10 on a per 90 basis. Given the physicality of the league, it was an impressive feat.

Bournemouth’s faith ended up being well founded. Since the beginning of the 2023-24 Premier League season, Semenyo’s 39 goals and assists ranks tied for 15th. Among players who haven’t played for a traditional Big 6 club, he’s 6th. It has led to arguments of him being the best player among the other 14 clubs. While some of his goal scoring has been powered by hot shooting, Semenyo’s combination of two-footed shooting and physicality has undoubtedly made him a good player, one who will be playing for Manchester City shortly.

Losing a high-end attacker of Semenyo’s caliber is another blow for Bournemouth, who are still dealing with the mass exodus of talent from last summer. Even though they’re being paid handsomely by Man City, it’s not easy finding a starting level attacker who can conceivably put up 15+ goals and assists in a league season. With the extra cash in hand, they’ll be looking for a potential replacement on the left side. 

One name of interest could be Abde Ezzalzouli, who you can watch play for Morocco in the Africa Cup of Nations quarterfinal on Friday. After signing for Real Betis in the summer of 2023, his game has steadily improved throughout his early 20s, with this season being the best yet. Before heading to AFCON, he had 3 goals and 3 assists in less than 900 minutes to his name. That kind of production is solid in its own right, but the underlying numbers are even more promising. 

The dribbling and carrying numbers certainly pop off when looking at the radar. Whether it be dribble & carry on-ball value or just simply fouls won, Ezzalzouli’s been among the best in Europe this season. According to FBref, he’s in the 85th percentile for progressive carries among LaLiga wingers and attacking midfielders, and 92nd into the penalty area. Via Opta Analyst, he’s still tied for 15th in shots coming directly off of a carry, despite his last league match occurring over a month ago.

Certainly, Ezzalzouli’s speed is fearsome. His second and third steps can leave guys in the dust, and he at least tries to incorporate using his other foot to help beat defenders off the dribble. Like with the best dribblers, he’s able to push the ball down the flank and use his speed to bypass his marker. This can be from the middle third or in a 1v1 towards the box. He’s also shown on occasion to turn away inwards from his marker in the middle third.

Two things of note, especially if Ezzalzouli was to make the move to English football, would be he can be susceptible to losing battles as a result of physicality from defenders. If he’s trying to play with his back to goal as an outlet, opponents can nudge him off the ball. The second thing is when sizing up his marker in a 1v1, the initial dribbles can be a bit sloppy in terms of weighting, giving the defender a greater chance of dispossessing him.

Despite the high expected assists output, I wouldn’t yet consider Ezzalzouli to be a high-end playmaker or chance creator. Part of it is because of how often he has his head down while dribbling or carrying the ball, it can take away from possible opportunities to create from others. He’ll often try to create quick combinations to progress towards the opposition box.

Interestingly, I found him to be quite willing as a passer when it comes to those connective tissue passing which helps grease the wheels of attacking sequences. A fair amount of his key passes have come from him trying to attack the byline and creating space for a cross, which is what you expect from a winger in today’s game. Although his crossing leaves something to be desired, he at least shows a willingness to attempt them. The best pass I’ve seen from him this season was a defense splitting pass on the break with his left foot in the 2nd half vs Real Sociedad.

Ezzalzouli’s off-ball movement is something of a mixed bag, but there have been some encouraging moments. Whenever Real Betis win the ball in the opposition’s half, you’ll often see him try and kick it into high gear to attack space in behind to be on the receiving end of potential throughballs. Also during transition opportunities, there’ll be instances of him trying to carve out space at the back post. It’s fair to suggest he could be more active in looking for openings in situations where it’s not going against an unsettled defense. An xG/shot of 12% is not too shabby for a winger, although that is partly fuelled by shots coming from high turnover regains and fast attacks.

Every once in a while though, Ezzalzouli will exhibit movement that resembles a top notch striker. Take for instance this sequence vs Valencia. Antony makes a third man run in behind into the box to get into a premium position for a square pass or cut-back. Meanwhile, Ezzazouli is operating on the blindside of Thierry Correia before creating space by fading for the cut-back. The end result was a scuffed finish which went wide, but the process behind it was encouraging.

You can see the outline of a fast, dynamic winger with Ezzalzouli. While perhaps not in the absolute upper tier of quick twitch dribblers, he does hold his own in this department. The dribbling prowess does help his playmaking abilities, and he could top out as a tertiary creator even though his assist numbers would suggest otherwise. He can utilize his athleticism without the ball to find shooting opportunities, although his shot map isn’t quite a fair reflection of his movement. One gets the feeling from watching Ezzalzouli that if he can put it all together, he’d be the type of attacker to constantly strike worry in opponents.

Replacing what Semenyo provided won’t be easy, although it is important to note he did take a bit of time to truly find his footing in English football. He put up a modest eight goals and two assists in his first full PL season. Ezzalzouli is at a similar age currently and more than holding his own in Spain. Interestingly, his production on a per 90 basis this season not only rivals what Semenyo did at his peak with Bournemouth, but exceeds it. 

Such a comparison isn’t totally fair. We’re dealing with less than 900 minutes with Ezzalzouli due to his participation in AFCON, while Semenyo has been a workhorse over the past 1.5 seasons. There’s also the difference in athleticism and physicality between the PL and LaLiga, particularly in European matches involving clubs from the respective leagues. Players who are top tier athletes tend to stand out more in Spanish football because of the advantage they have compared to others. Perhaps if Ezzalzouli made the move to England, his dribbling and carrying value would be chipped away and he’d have to fall back on other skills like off-ball movement. Of course, he could also handle the transition just fine. In theory, his skill-set should fit with how Andoni Iraola wants his team to operate, even though Ezzalzouli is not nearly as two-footed as Semenyo.

Real Betis would certainly demand a noteworthy fee if they were willing to sell in January. Part of the reported terms in the deal included an initial 50% sell-on clause for Barcelona, albeit it might have been reduced to 20% as part of Vitor Roque’s deal to Palmeiras. As well, Betis are once again in the mix for a European spot and Ezzalzouli will be crucial once he returns. €20m was the rumored fee over the summer, which will likely be higher in January due to his performance and other clubs knowing Bournemouth have money to work with following Semenyo’s departure. If the figure was to jump towards €30m, it’d be among the highest fees ever paid by Bournemouth. A significant part of whether or not Ezzalzouli could be a success and worth it financially in the PL is based on how he handles physicality and absorbing contact.

This is by far the best season Ezzalzouli has had, providing ample value with his dribbling along with secondary skills through off-ball movement and on-ball creation. It might make him a potential target for European clubs wanting to take a chance on an early prime winger with eyecatching underlyings. Bournemouth could be a potential suitor, and bet on his skillset translating in the Premier League. His arrival would significantly soften the blow of Semenyo’s departure.

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