Video Scouting Report – Benoit Badiashile
- Playing Style and Tactical Profile
- A major deficiency he fixes in the Chelsea defence
- Weaknesses and Areas to Improve
- Current Ability vs Max Ceiling
As always, all reads, comments, shares are gratefully accepted.
- Playing Style and Tactical Profile
- A major deficiency he fixes in the Chelsea defence
- Weaknesses and Areas to Improve
- Current Ability vs Max Ceiling
As always, all reads, comments, shares are gratefully accepted.
Badiashile broke into Monaco's first team at just 17. Now 21, he has played 135 first team games, has featured for France despite its wealth of talent at CB & has a catalogue of impressive performances under his belt. So what makes the young Frenchman a promising talent?
System: Badiashile has played under multiple managers at Monaco. He is comfortable in a back 3 (as LCB or CCB) & in a back 4. Last season, Monaco finished with the lowest ppda of any Ligue 1 team (8.68 | Understat.) This meant a front-foot approach which required the forwards to
inflict a suffocating counterpress. Badiashile often positioned himself close to the halfline, to recover loose balls & recycle possession. He is comfortable stepping out aggressively (mostly in a 3) to close down & prevent players from turning.
Build Up: Under Clement, Monaco build up deep. FBs provide width; attackers stay close to recover second balls from long balls out of pressure. The idea is to draw the opp. press and a) play through lines b) prog. via FBs c) hit Embolo with long balls.
Technical Strengths – Distribution: At Monaco, Badiashile often starts attacking sequences. Adept at passing under & out of pressure, has clever line-breaking passes that flip attacking momentum & has quality switches + passes for runners in the att. 3rd.
Physical Strengths – Aerial Duels: Is a colossus in the air. Aerial win% has been 75% this season and 77% and 73% in the last two. At 6'4, he possesses presence & also has a great leap, but prefers a smaller, more controlled jump for quicker recovery.
Speed: Badiashile moves deceptively quickly at top speed. Key to this are long strides which help him eat up distance. This makes him much better at the defensive aspects of a high line (recovery runs, closing down) than most CBs of his physical stature.
Agility: Surprisingly agile when turning, which is usually a major issue with heavy duty CBs. One of his favourite maneuvers is using his body to swivel away from pressure. This also helps him change body orientation quickly when dealing with counters.
Tactical Strengths – Awareness: For a young defender, Badiashile's spatial & threat awareness is top notch. He scans frequently, anticipates where spaces might open up and shows intelligence in marshalling them well. Rarely gets blindsided when defending.
Positioning: His awareness & physical qualities grant him a strong sense of positioning. He reads the game really well, stays in positions where he can cover effectively and shows a great grasp of his own physical capabilities to nullify quick threats.
Set Pieces: His height, leap and heading power makes him a menace during attacking set-pieces. Comfortable attacking near and far post, and heads with good accuracy. Has also scored some nice non-headed goals inside the box.
Defending Style: These qualities define his defending. His speed allows him to step out into advanced areas to close down threats. He can mark tightly, but prefers not to, keeping a slight distance to anticipate and use his frame to block shots/crosses.
Weaknesses – Concentration: Has (recently) been prone to a loss of focus, leading to poor decisions & poor execution. This is reflected in a variety of ways which can be noted below. It has been the prime reason for his inconsistent showings this season.
Biomechanical Issues: Some errors may also be due to his height. Struggles when he has to adjust quickly from long strides to short (or vice versa) & with actions taken mid jump or in awkward positions on weaker right. These are common among lanky athletes
Standing Off/Indecisiveness: Can be guilty of being too passive in his own half. Seems to be indecisive at times about when to close down and when to stand off, leading to getting dribbled past, fouls or allowing crosses/shots from dangerous zones.
Why Chelsea Want Him: Apart from the fact he was available at a cut-price deal due to his contract situation, Chelsea know they have conceded 6/19 goals from set-pieces. Badiashile adds much-needed aerial reinforcement in that regard, also offering threat at the other end.
Getting Gvardiol for prog. strengths is said to be worth €120m to RBL; unlikely to be paid as CMs take priority. Badiashile is 1/3rd the price, also plays LCB, covers CCB & is only a few months older. These vizes from @ChicagoDmitry | @mclachbot make for interesting reading.
Badiashile will also be someone very familiar to Laurence Stewart, Chelsea's new Technical Director who was previously at Monaco. This signing indicates the use of due diligence done by him to acquire a young CB with a very high ceiling. It would allow Chelsea to spend elsewhere.
Once linked to Napoli as a Koulibaly replacement, he is maybe a good comparison off-the-field. On it, he is closer to Harry Maguire – a tank in the air & very useful at progression via passing rather than carrying. The erroneous streak is hopefully temporary for Badiashile.
Research on Badiashile reveals an intriguing character who is very self-aware of his development. He rejected a move to Man. United earlier, citing he wasn't ready & hadn't played well enough to merit it. In an interview with @mattspiro, he revealed he
ligue1.com
ligue1.com
knew he needed to "be more consistent – play well for the whole game & not just one half. Improve my aggression, my desire to win the challenges... become a killer, like the top defenders." His lack of aggression he says his elder brother (former Monaco GK Loïc) also highlights.
He also credits Henry for his debut & for helping him grow as a professional. This is from when he was 17-18; an intriguing glimpse into his growth - from crying after a game to missing the WC squad to now. Later said Henry & him laughed at this incident.
To sum up, Badiashile is a young, physically dominant, intelligent CB who seems part of a long term plan of him/Colwill at LCB, Fofana/Chalobah at RCB & Koulibaly playing the Silva role in the medium term. His versatility suits Potter's flexible tactics.
if his earlier displays are a bar, he could prove a clever steal in the long term & a useful one now to allow more spending. A strong francophone component in the Chelsea side (KK, Silva, Fofana, Mendy, Kante) will hopefully help him settle quickly as he looks to slot straight in
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