Seydou Doumbia

 

{Player Profile Updated 01/09/2012}







Date of Birth: - 31st December 1987 (However, this is debated).



Height: - 5ft 10inches



Nationality: - Ivory Coast



Position: - Striker



Current Club: - CSKA Moscow



Estimated Market Value: - 25 million pounds.



Linked with: - Newcastle

- Arsenal

- Lazio

- Chelsea

- Spurs

- Roma

- Napoli









Club Statistics





Denguele:

2005 season - 20 appearances, 15 goals.





Kashiwa Reysol:

2006 season - 8 appearances, 2 goals.

2007 season - 23 appearances, 4 goals.





Tokushima Vortis:

2008 season - 16 appearances, 7 goals.







Young Boys:

2008/2009 season - 40 appearances, 25 goals.

2009/2010 season - 38 appearances, 32 goals.







CSKA Moscow:

2010/2011 season - 15 appearances, 12 goals.

2011/2012 season - 53 appearances, 37 goals.











International Statistics:

Ivory Coast - 14 appearances, 1 goal.













Honours:



Cote d'Ivoire Premier Division Top Scorer: 2005

Swiss Super League Player of the Year: 2008/2009 and then 2009/2010

Swiss Super League Top Scorer: 2008/2009 and then 2009/2010

Footballer of the Year in Russia: 2010

Footballer of the Year in Russia: 2011















General Comments:



I haven't got an awful lot to say on Doumbia, but from what i've seen of him, he's an old fashioned striker and a bit more. On viewing him the first time I didn't know what to make of him, he just seemed to be a bit of a clutz. However, after watching him more and more you begin to realise what a good player he is. Before I go into detail, I asked a few people there opinions on him, how they'd heard of him etc, and every time I got the same response of 'FIFA 12'. Just because a player is good on FIFA, does not make him a good player in reality, it makes no sense to go by that logic at all (sorry, I just have to say that).



Anyway, Doumbia is ridiculously quick. He can sprint end-to-end in a stupidly fast time and can pull skill out also when needed, and when it pays off, it looks incredible. But the best aspect of his game is his positional play. 90% of his goals have come inside 16 yards maximum, as he just seems to appear in front of the keeper and poach goals. Doumbia has scored a very high amount of goals in his career, and those are all down to his positioning, it's stupidly good. For a team like Arsenal (who look set to lose their goal-scorer) he'd arguably be ideal, as that's what they're going to be missing, and you could argue the same for Chelsea now Drogba has departed.



I also think he has a truly great heading ability, as he just connects with power and accuracy which is pretty rare as he does it consistently week in, week out. I'd also say that he has a very good physical prowess within the game, and he does try and bulldoze past defenders and overpower them, either to get into a goalscoring position, or to score himself with the ball at his feet. However the issue with this, is that he can also concede several fouls due to his physicality, which can mean the game does stop and start and can be very frustrating to watch. I'd say the Russian league allows more physicality though, so if he were to move to the Premier League, I believe referee's would not be very tolerent of such physicality, even if it is a great attribute to have in my opinion.



Now, onto the primary issue. His age. Now, this probably seems utterly ridiculous, but there are widespread reports that Doumbia is not the age he claims to be, and in fact, over 10 years older that what he claims. This for me could stop and potential deal to the Premier League, as the FA tend to be very aware when it comes to these things, so Doumbia would need to prove his age fully, as for me, I do not believe he is the age he claims, as he has had a very long career thus far (at amateur level and professional). I don't want to go into much further detail, but I believe this is a very unique, and very concerning flaw to the player as a whole - as if his reported age is true, he only has one or two seasons left in him before he'll retire, and thats no good for a club spending 25 million pounds on him.







Would Doumbia Cut it in the Premier League? - Yes. His game is perfectly suited to this league, and is like a pacey, skillful (good) Grant Holt (target man with physicality) - and after all, Holt scored a fair few goals last season! My only concern is that the pressure would get to him at the top level in England if he were to move here, but as I said above, he needs to prove his age and resolve all of those issues, but is he worth 25 million pounds?













Summary of Doumbia:



Strengths - Pace, Skill, Positioning, Physicality, Vision (when receiving the ball), Touch, Heading, Finishing.



Weaknesses - Fatigue, Tackling, Often gives away fouls, AGE, Can be extremely selfish, Neglects passing on a regular basis, a history of playing in poor leagues so difficult to judge compared to the PL etc.















The Business End of the Profile.



There were rumours over the last couple of days that a deal for Doumbia could be done by Chelsea. However, no real moves, from Chelsea or anybody else had been made. Lots of inquiries had been made, form a whole number of clubs; Napoli, Lazio, Newcastle, and Arsenal just to name a few. However, with concerns over his age, and the asking price, a move never cam to fruition. I am not sure one will either.









Thanks all,





Ed022-}