Aladzi Bamba to Newcastle: The signing from Monaco is strong in the dual game but brings passing range and more in midfield. football news

Aladzi Bamba only made his full debut for Monaco in September. But the midfielder was so impressive in that win over Auxerre that after 11 senior starts the now 20-year-old midfielder has signed for Newcastle for £35.5m – and some consider that a bargain.

Abel Lorincz was Monaco’s technical coach last season, tasked with working with the team defensively and at set-pieces. He remembers that game in Auxerre well. “He was very calm on the ball and made a very good impression,” he says Sky Sports.

“He came through the B team at Monaco and when he joined the first team in training he impressed the coaches enough to give him some chances. The game against Auxerre was a very good first sign of things to come. Towards the end of the season, he was a regular.”

As well as completing 74 of his 78 passes that day, Bamba won more aerial duels than anyone else – showing that even as a teenager he was ready to compete physically. Monaco coach Adi Hutter at the time said he played like someone with great experience.

Bamba’s success in duels has since become a hallmark of his game. He won 9.06 duels per 90 minutes in Ligue 1 last season, more than any other player. It wasn’t down to his height – he was second for ground duels and fourth for tackles.

“He’s got physicality, he’s got aerial ability,” Lorincz said. This is a player who can protect a defense and Eddie Howe identified Bamba as a deep-lying midfielder when his move to Newcastle was announced. But he also exhibits various qualities.

In fact, this is what makes Bamba so attractive. While the headline number is double success, talk to those who know him and there’s more to his game than stopping the opposition – as the passing stats against Auxerre suggested from the start.

“He changed the play against a team that was basically sitting on a low block,” Lorincz said. “I think his main attribute is playing against a low block, those little passes to break down a low defence, he’s really good at that, good at turning under pressure.”

Kyle Walker recently spoke about how Pep Guardiola hated players who played on the half turn because it was too slow – if there was space, it was better to let the ball go across to you and stay away. Watch Bamba play and this trait soon becomes apparent.

This is a press-resistant midfielder whose loping stride can take him away from opponents. And when possessed, he is composed. Often, he’ll roll the ball with the soles of his feet, a detail he credits to his years playing indoor soccer.

Hence why Sebastien Pocognoli, Monaco’s head coach who followed Hutter, described Bamba as an unusual player. Twenty3’s modeling tool suggests that, defensively, he most closely resembles Joao Gomes, who moved to Aston Villa for a similar fee.

But while the combative Gomes is all hustle, an eye test with Bamba says otherwise. His style is more staid but the stats show he is equally effective in terms of his defensive output. And he offered more with the ball at his feet.

That’s why his old youth-team coach at Monaco, Manu dos Santos, sees Bamba as a No. 8 as much as a No. 6, while former Monaco assistant coach Damien Perrineau worked with him to break the line. “They put a lot of work into it,” Lorincz recalls.

He added: “You know, there aren’t players around, especially in France, which is a league with a lot of physicality, where the game can move up and down the pitch very quickly, who has the ability to control the tempo of the game the way he does.”

Bamba himself insists that he is comfortable performing any task for the team. “I can play doubles as well as play between the lines. It’s not a problem for me.” And it’s this attitude that dictates why he’s a favorite among the coaches he’s worked with.

“I don’t do anything special. I train. I go home.” Newcastle will take note of this mentality. Lorincz was certainly influenced by his approach to their set-piece work. “You can ask him to man-mark, protect a zone, block for you or attack the ball,” he explains.

“He was a player who always came to training early. When you have breakfast, as a coach you come before the players. But he was the first person from the team a lot of times. He was always there early and ready to work.

“Honestly, I felt like he was one of those guys who was quiet, well, quiet, you know? Like, not a shy guy, but he didn’t draw unnecessary attention to himself, and he adapted to the challenges that came his way.”

Those challenges keep coming. Bamba started the Champions League knockout tie against Paris Saint-Germain earlier this year and was still in the line-up the following week when Monaco went to the French capital and beat the European champions.

The spring marked an accelerated period of development for him, starting four league games in a row – winning them all. It felt like the beginning for him in Monaco. As recently as May, his stated goal was to become the “undisputed starter” there. But things change.

Now, he is a Premier League player. And not a graduate of the academy but a big money signing with all that it brings. Bamba is expected to be a key component in Newcastle’s midfield rebuild. Lorincz’s substantial progress is supporting him to take this next step.

“The Premier League is the highest level for a reason. But there are always players who, the higher they go, the more they adapt. He has to step up. But he’s certainly shown enough to suggest he has the ability to take that next step.

“I have to say, kudos to Newcastle for finding him.”