{"id":12737,"date":"2021-01-14T09:22:57","date_gmt":"2021-01-14T08:22:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/soccerment.com\/?p=12737"},"modified":"2024-06-14T13:50:38","modified_gmt":"2024-06-14T13:50:38","slug":"wonderkids-lassina-traore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/soccerment.com\/it\/wonderkids-lassina-traore\/","title":{"rendered":"Wonderkids: Lassina Traor\u00e9"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lassina Traor\u00e9 is a 19-year-old striker from Burkina Faso who plays for AFC Ajax. While his imposing physique might lead some to consider him a target men,<\/em> and his finishing ability is more typical of a poacher<\/em>, we consider him a complete forward<\/em>, able to consistently score goals and create chances for his teammates. This selfless attitude is ideal for a striker at Ajax, where we are expecting him to remain for a few years as he completes his development.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Lassina<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Bio and playing style<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Football runs in his veins<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Lassina Traor\u00e9 was born in Bobo-Dioulasso, the second-largest city in Burkina Faso, in 2001. Traor\u00e9’s mother was a former professional footballer and captained the Burkina Faso women’s national football team, while his father was a footballer too. His cousin, Bertrand Traor\u00e9, is also a professional footballer, a striker for Aston Villa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aged 16, Traor\u00e9 embarked on an 8.000km journey to South Africa, where he joined Ajax Cape Town FC. Two years later, aged 18, Traor\u00e9 signed for AFC Ajax and debuted with the first team on 12th May 2019. Traor\u00e9 was awarded the Eredivisie’s POTM for October 2020<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A complete forward<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Profile<\/a><\/span><\/td><\/tr>
Seasonal stats<\/span><\/a><\/td><\/tr>
Advanced stats & comparative tool<\/a><\/span><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Although young and not particularly tall (183 cm), Lassina Traor\u00e9 is a striker who makes his presence felt in the penalty box thanks to his muscular physique. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although his physicality is important for his game, Traor\u00e9 is not the typical ‘target man’, nor the typical ‘poacher’. He could instead be defined as a ‘complete forward’<\/strong> who contributes to the build-up phase and, in our view, could well play in a two-men attack. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A look at the stats he has produced so far in the Eredivisie shows a total tally of 15 direct goal involvement in 866 minutes this season, i.e. 1.56 per 90 minutes, with 9 goals (0.94 non-penalty goals P90) and 6 assists (0.62 P90). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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High xG per shot<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Traor\u00e9’s 9 non-penalty goals in the Eredivisie have come from 31 shots in total (29% goal conversion), or 3.1 per 90 minutes of play. Those shots carried a total of 7.3 Expected Goals (0.8 xG P90), which means that each shot had an xG of 0.24<\/strong>, on average. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a very high number when compared to Europe’s best strikers. It is at the same level as Edinson Cavani, and above that of renowned poachers like Mauro Icardi and Jamie Vardy (both have xG per shot of 0.21 at the time of writing). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Time will tell whether Traor\u00e9 will be able to maintain these high standards. Moreover, it should be taken into consideration that Traor\u00e9 scored 5 of his 9 goals in the Eredivisie in a single match<\/strong>, Ajax’s 13-0 win over VVV Venlo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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