Badredine Bouanani has only scored one goal for VfB Stuttgart so far, and according to coach Hoeneß, the Algerian needs to get into scoring positions more often. However, another problem is even more glaring.
The high quality of the squad is currently one of VfB Stuttgart’s trump cards. Coach Sebastian Hoeneß can rotate his players effectively, and the substitutes bring new impetus. This is particularly true of the attacking line.
“He has an outstanding finish, but …”
Badredine Bouanani has performed well there so far. The €15 million new signing has made his mark, spending significantly more time on the pitch across all competitions (763 minutes) than his rival Chris Führich, for example. Unlike Bilal El Khannouss, for example, the 20-year-old has yet to really hit his stride.
Hoeneß thinks highly of Bouanani: “When he has the ball at his feet, you can see that things are going to happen. He’s got a lot going for him with his left foot. He has an outstanding finish, but he doesn’t get into those situations often enough.” Still, Bouanani has a shot on goal every 34 minutes. That puts him only slightly behind Tiago Tomas (every 28) and Jamie Leweling (every 33) and even ahead of El Khannouss (every 37) and Führich (every 40).
The weakest dribbling and tackling rates
However, when it comes to goal assists, the left-footed player is only fourth in comparison with his positional rivals. He provides an assist every 69 minutes, with only Tomas doing so less frequently (every 103 minutes) – although the Portuguese player has also had to play as a center forward on occasion due to injuries to Ermedin Demirovic and Deniz Undav, who has since recovered. So he basically had different tasks to fulfill than when playing in the number 10 position or on the offensive wing.
“He just has to make sure he’s even more active in his game, gets even more action through intensity, runs without the ball,” Hoeneß demands of the offensive player brought in from OGC Nice. And one aspect is statistically significant: Bouanani needs to work on his assertiveness. Among the professionals who are eligible to play behind the center forward, regardless of the specific formation, he has the weakest dribbling (24 percent won) and tackling (31 percent) statistics. Tiago (dribbling 41/tackling 54), Leweling (48/44), Führich (50/48), and El Khannouss (53/44) all outperform him in this regard.
