Johan Bakayoko — A Scout Report
Age: 21 (April 20, 2003)
Height: 1.79m
Nationality: Belgian
Position(s): Right-winger
Preferred foot: Left
An Introduction to Johan Bakayoko
Johan Bakayoko is a Belgian footballer for PSV Eindhoven. Born to a Rwandan mother & Ivorian father in Overijse, Belgium, he floated around Belgian youth set-ups in his childhood and early teens before settling on PSV in July 2019, aged 16.
After three years in the academy, he was handed his senior debut for the club in early 2022 following an impressive campaign for the U-21s where he netted 20 goals & assisted 17 times in 57 appearances. He was given a senior role in the squad during the 2022–23 season to account for outgoings.
In March 2023, Bakayoko received his first national call-up in Belgium’s 3–0 victory over Sweden during EURO qualifiers. He assisted Romelu Lukaku off the bench to seal the latter’s hat-trick.
More recently, Bakayoko was key to PSV securing the league title in the 2023/24 season over media favourites Feyenoord as he scored 11 times and assisted 9 times in the league.
Why Are Liverpool Interested In Him?
DISCLAIMER: All of the stats provided in this piece are provided by FBRef which provides data from the last 365 days & compares him to other attacking midfielders & wingers outside of Europe’s top five leagues.
Liverpool have been searching for a young winger to understudy Mohamed Salah for a few years. With the inevitable physical decline of the Egyptian King, it was obvious that the club would have to look for a younger, more traditional winger profile who would eventually replace him.
Bakayoko’s playstyle is also one that appeals to the club’s philosophy. For nearly a decade now, Liverpool has employed a counter-pressing style that uses hyper-aggressive wingers that are very direct & great pressers. Even with the departure of Jurgen Klopp & his tactical philosophy, every team still needs a 1v1 threat with output.
To define his playstyle, I’ll break it down into a few key aspects:
- Physicality
- Carrying ability
- Progressive passes
Physicality
This is an area of Bakayoko’s game where he ranks very highly compared to his peers, as he’s a young winger with a physically predisposed body due to his genetics which gives him an advantage over his peers. Following careful observation, it can be determined that his agility & core strength are what set him apart from the rest of the lot.
However, his ability to be strong in the tackle and acceleration cannot be ignored, either. Physically, he’s very balanced for a footballer which is always a good thing when discussing wingers & attacking midfielders who you need to be dynamic.
Carrying
Bakayoko is a top ball carrier. He thrives in taking the ball from Point A to Point B. He doesn’t take excessive touches unless necessary and he doesn’t use flashy skills without purpose. He’s such an efficient player. You’ll hear me say this so many times in this article, but it's the truth; everything about his game is calculated.
However, I must stress that he isn’t a dribbler first, pass second. His main priority is to get the ball into the box with the minimum amount of touches possible. Dribbling isn’t his strong suit but he’s more than adequate in that area of his game. Regarding carrying alone, I’d class him a mix between Bukayo Saka and Jeremy Doku as influences from both are evident.
Ball Progression
Bakayoko is an unpolished diamond within the final third. He receives wide & drifts infield with the ball, usually dragging an opposition fullback with him before sending in an inswinging cross towards the far post. Now, why did I say ‘inswinging’ in particular?
Inswinging crosses are generally faster and easier for teammates to latch onto compared to outswinging crosses that travel slower and are usually swept up by the keeper. This means he creates many low xG chances within a match.
His ball-striking ability is a fresh breath of air as well, which I would compare to Trent Alexander-Arnold in particular. However, I wouldn’t classify him as a zone dominator as rather than sustained periods of influence over a certain area of the pitch, he has glimpses of brilliance throughout the match that last seconds. He has the potential to be a real threat within Zones 14–15.
To conclude, Johan Bakayoko is a talent that most top European clubs all have their eyes on. This article is a gross oversimplification & I wished to get deeper into PSV’s tactical dynamics over the last two seasons and how Bakayoko fit into them among other topics, but personal issues forced my hands. If you wish to correct me on anything I’ve stated in this article, please leave a reply or direct message me on Twitter so I can hear your critiques and improve. Cheers.
