Malang Sarr

 

Country: France

Date of birth: 23/01/1999 (17 years old)

Place of birth: Nice (France)

Height: 182cm

Youth career: OGC Nice

Current club: OGC Nice

Squad number: 33

Current national team: France U-18

Position: central defender, left-back

Preferred foot: left

Market value (by transfermarkt.de): —

Tournaments participated in: 2016 UEFA European Under-17 Championship qualification elite round (2/0), 2016 UEFA European Under-17 Championship (3/0), UEFA Europa League 2016/2017 (2/0)

Contract until: unknown

Player’s agent: unknown

Transfer rumours: Inter

Similar type of player: Bruno Martins Indi

 

Strengths:

– pace & acceleration 

– agility

– athleticism

– tackling and intercepting

– positioning 

– aerial duels

– anticipation 

– bravery

– marking 

 

Weaknesses:

– still has margin to improve his positional awareness and concentration balance during the matches

 

Style of play:

– versatile, complete and dominant defender

– physically powerful defender with great pace, coordination and agility

– his pace gives him the option to play him as a left back as well, making him a more versatile and well-rounded player

– strong left foot also helps in the balance of the team when paired up with a right-footer

– able to play in a three-man defensive line system as a left sided central defender

– already very accomplished for his age

– known for his composure, elegance, ball playing ability, and confidence in possession

– well-fit, hard-working, and quick at anticipating the movement of the opponents

– accurate and tenacious tackler

– likes to spread play with good long-range diagonals

– not the tallest defender but dominant in the air due to his jumping technique

– indirect set-piece threat

– high tackling and interception rate

– able to control the threat of the attacker without causing an imbalance in the defensive line

– determined and commited player with very good rate of individual and collective work

 

He is best suited to playing as:

Central defender in 4-3-3.

 

Video:

 

Achievements:

—

 

League summary (as for 1 October 2016):

Ligue 1 2016/2017 (ongoing): 7 matches/1 goal (Nice)

 

Description:

Malang Sarr was born in Nice and joined local OGC Nice youth academy at the age of five. He spent the next 12 years in the club’s academy before making his Ligue 1 debut on 14 August 2016 against Stade Rennes, aged 17. It was a dream debut as he scored the winning goal for his team in the 60th minute, heading home from a Jean-Michaël Seri free-kick. It is worth mentioning that he has dedicated his goal to the victims of the terror attack in Nice. In 2016, he played at European U-17 Championship, but young Frenchmen were a massive disappointment and got knocked out already in the group stage despite high expectations.

 

Quotes:

‘Sarr’s rise has been so rapid he does not have a squad number against his profile on the Nice website. Three months ago he played every minute of France’s unsuccessful UEFA European Under-17 Championship group stage campaign in Azerbaijan. Having made nine appearances for Nice’s B side in the fourth tier last term, he featured in pre-season friendlies against Sporting CP and Napoli and was quickly rewarded with his Ligue 1 bow.’

(uefa.com)

 

Football Talent Scout potential rating:

9/10   

Player has potential to become a key player in a top European club.

 

Links:

Transfermarkt

Soccerway