Scout Report – Joris Gnagnon
Tottenham have always been linked with some young and promising talents ever since Mauricio Pochettino took over as Spurs boss. The recruitment policy of Poch and Levy has been quite clear and their only intent seems to be to invest on upcoming talents and reap the benefits of it in the future. Joris Gnagnon is the latest name that has been linked (The Sunday People h/t HITC) with Tottenham and the 20-year-old centre-half plays for Stade Rennais F.C. in Ligue1. Let’s have a look at what type of player Joris is and his history.
Origin
Hailing from the same suburbs of northeastern Paris in Bonby where Kylian Mbappe grew up, Joris Gnagon started his professional football career at Ligue1 side Rennes at the age of 18. Although he represented the France national U-20 team earlier he now represents the Ivory Coast at the international level. He made his international debut for Ivory Coast on 19 May 2017.
After impressing in his 7 appearances for the club in the 2015/16 season, the club’s manager Christian Gourcuff gave him a regular place in the first team last season. He went on to cement his place in the team and never looked back. He made a total of 30 appearances last season, scoring two in the process.
What Does He Offer?
An unflustered and collected central defender, Gnagnon is very confident on the ball which sets him apart from his age group. Observing his maturity and confidence, Christian Gourcuff who managed Arsenal’s Laurent Koscielny when he was at Lorient, hailed Gnagnon as an “ideal defender” who also displays similarities to Arsenal’s French defender in terms of traits.
His strength lies in his ability to read a game and his positioning. Rather than putting rough tackles on his opponents, the 20-year-old prefers to stick close to his opponent and block his run. His stats speak for itself as he averages less than 2 tackles per match and saw only two cards in his 27 appearances last season.
Many of Europe’s big clubs have scouted the young Ivorian including the likes of Borussia Dortmund, Chelsea and Sevilla who in fact, had a submitted a €10million bid earlier this year which got rejected. But Tottenham appear to be the latest club to be showing interest in Gnagnon and could go after him next summer.
How Would He Fit In At Tottenham?
Joris Gnagnon could be an excellent back up for the London club despite the presence of big boys like Alderweireld and Vertonghen. Summer signing Davinson Sanchez, who has already made quite an impression, will have competition from the young Ivorian, which would be healthy.
Given Gnagnon’s limited experience, he might not be ready for the Premier League yet. But that being said, he definitely has the potential to be one of the best under Mauricio Pochettino. Tottenham have made it a habit of signing the potential future stars in world football in recent times and Joris Gnagnon could just be another one to be added to that list.
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