Hamed Traorè in the footsteps of Jérémie Boga
Over recent seasons, Sassuolo has developed a good academy and an excellent scouting system that enables them find players who fit their exciting playing style, develop and sell them for profit. With his recent explosion of play, goals and determination all at once as a left-winger since early February, Hamed Junior Traorè appears to be the next link in a well-organized investment plan.
In this data-driven player report, we tried to demonstrate how Traorè has established himself as one of the most talented wide attackers in the serie A.
Player profile
- Nationality: Ivorian
- Age: 22
- Height: 1.84 m
- Career: Empoli, Sassuolo
- Position: central midfield, attacking midfielder and left winger
- Preferred foot: Right
Traorè is most used as a left winger and left attacking midfielder at sassuolo. He is highly valued due to his ball carrying abilities, spatial awareness and brilliant movement off the ball. In terms of profile, he plays in the same manner as the aforementioned Boga who moved permanently to Atlanta in January.
Evaluating Traorè’s performances:
A progressive ball passer and carrier
Traorè average 8.13 progressive carries per 90 which would help the team gain entry into the final phases. In terms of where he receives the ball, the Ivorian has a good spatial awareness which make his positioning very intelligent and flexible as he typically receives the ball out wide or centrally with the objective of advancing it into the penalty area, where he’s generating good quality goal-scoring opportunities for himself.
In the image below, the Ivorian looked to receive the ball whereby he can initiate a run to face up the defensive line.
Once he received the ball, Traore made an excellent progressive run, effectively beating up two defenders and finishing with a powerful strike.
His passing ability brings about absolute positives for his team. He has averaged 4.65 progressive passes per 90 with 79.6% pass completion ratio which is above average for his position.
A prolific dribbler
Given his explosive dribbling ability, good control and low center of gravity, the 22-year-old can be readily identified as a dribbler with a creative bent. Traorè had 89 dribbles, averaging 4.95 per 90, with a successful accuracy of 51.7%.
A goal threat
Hamed has actually managed 0.23 non-penalty expected goals (npxG) from 2.37 shots per 90 and 0.19 expected assists per 90 minutes. he’s an above average finisher as he picked up 7 non-penalty goals from 4.5 npxG. What’s interesting is that when percentiles of midfielders, instead of wingers, are considered he actually ranks higher in both goalscoring and creating. This is apparent in his second goal against Atlanta in Serie A where he expressed his off the ball movement by moving centrally, receiving the ball, keeping the pace with the attack, until he hit the back of the net. He continued to do so, but he only got a brace and once struck the post.
During the counter-attack, Traoré provided a smart off-the-ball movement and received the ball directly in the box to then unleash this banger :
Defensive ACtions
When it come to the defensive contribution, Traoré’s work rate isn’t great but he is still averaging 4.72 recoveries per 90. That’s might be another area for improvement. However, I believe that this was primarily due to Sassuolo’s tactical approach and desire to possess the ball.
The 22-year-old Ivorian is having a good season and has attracted attention of a number of top clubs in Italy. He currently has a market value of around €22m and Napoli expected to be his next destination.
