Khéphren Thuram — A move pending?
Khéphren Thuram is a 21-year-old French midfielder who usually plays as an LCM in Didier Digard’s 4–3–3 at the French club OGC Nice but can also play as an LM, CAM, and CDM.
Being one of the few good players in a struggling Nice side this season at a young age, Thuram has been on the radar of big European sides from the other top 5 leagues.
Strengths
Thuram is an outstanding attacking threat for his team. He is able to get the ball forward really well, averaging 3.12 progressive carries per 90 which places him in the 94th percentile. He is also able to carry the ball in long distances, as he has 157.75 carrying distance per 90, placing him in the 96th percentile. Not only does Thuram carry the ball forward but he is also really good at carrying it inside the final third. His 2.86 carries into the final third per 90 places him in the 95th percentile, showing how well he does when it comes to driving the ball forward.
Thuram is a stellar player when it comes to taking players on as well. In fact, his 1.36 successful take ons per 90 places him in the 89th percentile. He is also excellent at creating shots from these take ons, as his 0.30 SCA after successful take ons per 90 places him in the 98th percentile, well above players like Jude Bellingham, Federico Valverde, and Pablo Gavi.
He is also a talented creator as well. Thuram’s 0.41 GCA per 90 places him in the 88th percentile. He also has 0.14 xAG per 90, which places him in the 80th percentile.
Weaknesses
He does have a lot of strengths, but Thuram does lack some defensive aspects of a box-to-box midfielder. Although he is 192 cm tall, he is very weak in the air compared to his height. Thuram only has 0.64 aerial duels won per 90 placing him in the 33rd percentile. He is also quite poor in the tackling front, having 0.98 tackles won per 90 which places him in the 30th percentile.
Thuram also does lack quality shooting. He only has 25.7% of his shots on target per 90, placing him in the 38th percentile. His pas blocking abilities also are pretty bad. Thuram only has 0.72 passes blocked per 90, which places him in the 24th percentile; very bad compared to other players in his position such as Aurélien Tchouameni and Bruno Guimarães.
Finally, Thuram does tend to struggle when it comes to progressive passing distance. He only has 166.79 progressive passing distance per 90 which places him in the 34th percentile.
In conclusion, Thuram does have his strength and weaknesses. But, he is still very young and with the help of a proper manager, his weaknesses could be turned into strengths rather quickly. Being this creative attacking wise and possesing this much attacking threat is simply unreal for his age, and it does show he has huge potential. The Big Guns in Europe will and should start outlining their bids for him this summer.
Thanks and I hope you enjoyed reading my story about Khéphren Thuram; the new starlet of France. I would appreciate if you like, share, and comment if you liked it!
