Ligue 1: Out with Mariano, in steps Bertrand Traore

His name has been buzzing in the news in patches for quite sometime now. It’s probably because he is such a top talent and had the media monitor his growth journey. At 23 years of age, it is beginning to look more like Burkina Faso’s Bertrand Traore is a fully grown footballer. It will not be far off from now before he follows the footsteps of other great African forwards such as Didier Drogba, Emmanuel Adebayor and Nwankwo Kanu who shook the football world. Let’s talk about three reasons why he will get a seat at the table of the legends.

Bertrand Traore of Chelsea celebrates scoring his team's first goal during the Barclays Premier League match between Chelsea and Stoke City at Stamford Bridge on March 5, 2016 in London, England.

(March 4, 2016 - Source: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images Europe)

Ask Olympique Marseille, they know.

On Sunday, matchday six of the French Ligue 1, Olympique Lyonnais humiliated Marseille 4-2, handing them only their second loss of the 2017/18 campaign. Central to Lyon’s performance was 2018 FIFA World Cup winner, Nabil Fekir who has African roots by the way, his parents hailing from Algeria and of course Bertrand. Traore struck twice in a space of nine minutes to put the game beyond Marseille. His first goal came in the 51st minute after he was fed a long upfield ball which he controlled from the left wing, cut inside, dribbling past one player and netting it in the far side of the post. It was really a typical “Riyad Mahrez goal.” The second was even better, Malian-French footballer Moussa Dembele fed Traore a pass from the same wing who then played a neat one-two with Nabil Fekir before netting his second for the game, this time in the near post. He has now scored four goals in six 2018/19 Ligue 1 matches for Lyon, second most goals scored so far by a single player behind Florian Thauvin. Watching Traore’s passing with teammates, finishing and dribbling against Lyon, one would really appreciate that there aren’t as many good and physical forwards in the modern game today, more so who are as young as twenty-three. He sure looks ready for any challenge now!

“At Chelsea, just like Salah, he left an unwanted child who never really got a chance, at Ajax the stage was not big enough and perhaps now - all things align for Traore. Lyon might have to ward off interests from potential suitors for the Burkinabe international who debuted for his country at only 15 years of age.”

— Dennis Takaendesa, FirstTouch Africa

Champions League Spotlight

Lyon look like a side that is on the up. Other than Marseille, Premier League champions, Manchester City also fell victim to their detailed, intricate and clinical style of play in the UEFA Champions League opening round of matches at the Etihad Stadium. With his side not just rubbing shoulders but inflicting pain on the likes of City, it will be difficult for anyone not to spot Traore, future suitors included. He was good in the Eredivisie for Ajax on loan from Chelsea, even reaching the UEFA Europa League final where they lost to Manchester United and made it to the 2016/17 Europa League team of that season after scoring four goals in the campaign. But, that stage put his name to a certain level and this new stage is even bigger. The likes of Kylian Mbappe were astonishing in the French Ligue 1 but only got the world’s stamp of approval after repeating the same feats in the Champions league with Monaco in the 2016/17 season when they reached the semis. At Chelsea, just like Salah, he left an unwanted child who never really got a chance, at Ajax the stage was not big enough and perhaps now - all things align for Traore. Lyon might have to ward off interests from potential suitors for the Burkinabe international who debuted for his country at only 15 years of age.

Chelsea also know

The North Londoners were big losers after letting Mohamed Salah leave for Roma, the Egyptian who could be crowned by FIFA as the World’s Best Football Player for the year 2018. This time, they wisened up a little bit, knowing Traore’s potential, they sold him to Lyon for €10 million with a buy-back clause reportedly inserted in the contract of sale, meaning they would have the first choice resigning him or get a 15% profit from a future sale to any other club. Chelsea know his potential and know that a big money move in the near future for Traore cannot be off the the cards.

With attributes almost similar to that of Emmanuel Adebayor who played for Arsenal, Manchester City, Tottenham, Real Madrid amongst many other clubs; from the height, dribbling and finishing - Traore time is perhaps just now!

UEFA Champions League: Five Young Africans To Watch

The time that we have all been waiting for has now arrived. The most enticing soccer tournament at club level, the UEFA Champions League, returns on Tuesday, 18th of September, 2018. The very best clubs in European football will once again face each other in the group stages of the elite European soccer tournament in a bid to win the UEFA Champions League trophy from defending champions Real Madrid who have won it 3 times in a row to date. The Spanish giants are one of the favorites to win the competition but the rest of the teams in the 32 team tournament have made necessary improvements with the aim to compete at the highest level. This feature is not about identifying the team with the best chances of winning the 2017/18 edition. Instead, it is an opportunity to present the five African players that you need to watch out for in the group stages of the UEFA Champions League tournament aside from the popular ones like Mohammed Salah, Sadio Mane, Mahrez and crew.

Andre Onana

Andre Onana of Ajax clears the ball under pressure from Henrikh Mkhitaryan of Manchester United during the UEFA Europa League Final between Ajax and Manchester United at Friends Arena on May 24, 2017 in Stockholm, Sweden.

(May 23, 2017 - Source: Julian Finney/Getty Images Europe)

FirstTouch brought you a short piece about the young goalkeeper who is currently plying his trade in the Netherlands for Ajax Amsterdam. He made the right noises last season when he made the number 1 spot his at the dutch club. Onana is a 22-year old Cameroonian that still has a lot to learn from the game but is already trusted at a club with so much history of developing world class players like Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Suarez, Christian Eriksen only to mention but just a few. Onana’s Ajax is seeded in Group E with German giants, Bayern Munich, a fairy strong team in Benfica and AEK Athens. These coming six matches will be like cup finals for the Cameroonian goalkeeper who dreams of playing for a big club after having come through Barcelona’s La Masia academy. Ajax has already kept 5 clean sheets in the 6 matches that the young African has been between the sticks. It will take a lot for him to maintain such stats when playing with stronger opponents in the UEFA Champions League. Onana will surely be out to prove a point that he is ready for his big move and should be a player on your radar as you watch the group stages of the tournament.

“He was limited to second half cameos off the bench at the FIFA World Cup 2018. They say that a wounded dog is the deadliest, and Keita must be just that. He could prove his doubters wrong in this stage of the competition. ”

— Tinotenda Magiya, FirstTouch Africa

Achraf Hakimi

Achraf Hakimi of Morocco is challenged by David Silva of Spain during the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia group B match between Spain and Morocco at Kaliningrad Stadium on June 25, 2018 in Kaliningrad, Russia.

(June 24, 2018 - Source: Julian Finney/Getty Images Europe)

His move to Dortmund was quite a shocker for us especially after being one of the best players for Morocco in the 2018 FIFA World Cup group stages before they were knocked out in Russia. We assumed that he would cement his place at least on the bench at Real Madrid ahead of Nacho who had been used sparingly as a deputy to Carvajal. Nonetheless, Real Madrid went on to buy another player in Odriozola which meant that the Moroccan international was further down the pecking order at the Los Blancos. He moved to Germany with an aim to prove a point that he is ready to play for the biggest club in the world but he has not been handed the opportunity yet as he is still yet to make his first appearance for Dortmund. If given a start, Hakimi will be doing what he does best which is defend with high intensity and overlap whenever he gets the chance. These are assets that big clubs need and he will be eager to show that he can do it on a regular basis. Achraf Hakimi will surely grab the opportunity once it is handed to him.

Victor Wanyama

Victor Wanyama of Tottenham Hotspur poses with the trophy for Carling Premier League Goal of the Month for February 2018 at on March 8, 2018 in Enfield, England.

(March 7, 2018 - Source: Paul Harding/Getty Images Europe)

Yes. Must be surprised to see the Kenyan defensive midfielder on the list of the players to look out for in the UEFA Champions League especially considering the fact that he has not been starting matches for Tottenham in the English Premier League. The 27-year old is a defensive shield that has somehow struggled to cement a first team spot in the Spurs team despite being a better tackler than the preferred Dier. The European tournament comes soon after the international break where Dier was integral to the English team which means that he stands a chance of being fatigued. Victor Wanyama might be on his way out of Tottenham if he fails to grab his opportunity this season and this should serve as the necessary motivation to play his best football when called upon in the UEFA Champions League. Victor Wanyama has a knack for scoring long range goals and Tottenham will need these especially when playing against a very much improved Inter Milan team that has so much quality throughout the pitch. They will certainly not make it easy for Pochettino’s men to play their game which requires the African’s physique to budge through players, create space for his teammates or himself and hopefully score. Wanyama will be playing for his life, his career.

Keita Balde

Balde Diao Keita of SS Lazio during the Serie A match between ACF Fiorentina and SS Lazio at Stadio Artemio Franchi on May 13, 2017 in Florence, Italy.

(May 12, 2017 - Source: Marco Rosi/Getty Images Europe)

The Senegalese winger must not be a surprise call on this list after his unexpected move back to Serie A with Inter Milan. The Italian club paid an estimated £4 million for loaning the 23-year old from French Ligue 1 side Monaco. The African player is still yet to score and provide an assist for his teammates this season which should be something that is on the back of his head whenever he plays. He has been handed the opportunity in Serie A already when he deputised for Icardi who was being rested for the UEFA Champions League fixtures. Balde will be looking to play in his preferred right-wing position and show the promise that Monaco saw in him when they sought his services to replace Mbappe. It is undeniable that this could prove to be a lot of pressure after he also lost his place in the first team of Senegal. He was limited to second half cameos off the bench at the FIFA World Cup 2018. They say that a wounded dog is the deadliest, and Keita must be just that. He could prove his doubters wrong in this stage of the competition.

Bertrand Traore

Victor Wanyama of Tottenham Hotspur poses with the trophy for Carling Premier League Goal of the Month for February 2018 at on March 8, 2018 in Enfield, England.

(March 7, 2018 - Source: Paul Harding/Getty Images Europe)

Finally, we have the Burkina Faso striker who currently plays for Lyon who are seeded in UEFA Champions League Group F with Manchester City, Hoffenheim and Shakhtar Donetsk. Traore will face some stiff competition in this stage and Lyon will be looking to the player to rescue them with his goals. The 23-year old left Chelsea for Lyon to save his career after cutting a frustrated figure from the endless loan spells which did not warrant a spot for the young forward in the London club’s team. He has scored two goals already and will be looking to add more to his campaign in the group stages. Probably not against Manchester City because they are in a league above the other teams in the group. Maybe against Shakhtar. Traore did not rule out a move back to Chelsea because he still wishes to play in the English Premier League. The African striker will be hungry for goals and will look to hurt the aforementioned teams when supported by players like Memphis Depay. If Lyon are to have a chance to qualify to the next round, Bertrand Traore will have to carry the team with his finishing.