Scout report- Ez Abde; Barcelona's new gem?

Who doesn't like dribblers? Someone who'll run at people, take on defenders and show a bunch of skills. Ez Abde is one of them.

Barcelona have suddenly stumbled upon a group of fantastic young players in Ansu Fati, Pedri, Eric Garcia, Ronald Araujo among others. Abdessamad Ezzalzouli, also known as 'Ez Abde', is the newest addition to Barca's stable of young stars. The Moroccan right winger came to Spain at the age of seven and spent his youth career at a host of clubs. Most notable of these has been Hercules, for whom he played in the Spanish third division last season. Barca bought him this summer for around €2m with the intention of making the B team more competitive.

He impressed for Barca B and with the ongoing injury crisis and Xavi's love for wingers, he made his first-team debut. He's featured eight times in the league, impressing every time and scoring once.

SWOT analysis of Abde

Strengths:- As previously mentioned, the guy is a phenomenal dribbler. He takes on the fullback repeatedly and beats them consistently. This helps in creating overloads and dangerous offensive situations. Xavi likes his wingers to keep the width and create chances from the flanks. This is a profile that fits Abde's perfectly. He's also a strong and determined character which always helps in succeeding at big clubs. He's also only 20 meaning he has a lot of time to improve on his weaknesses.

Weaknesses- The right winger who can play on the left as well has two main weaknesses. One is that his decision-making isn't top class yet. Sometimes he tends to take on too many players or go on dribbles when there are better options available. This is something to work on as it will make him a more well rounded threat. Experience will also help.

The other thing is the end product. In modern football, wingers need to put up consistent numbers. He has yet to hit 10 goals in his professional career, so that's something to keep in mind. A big reason for this is the fact that he's taking a low number of shots. The 20-year-old takes 1.8 shots per 90, of which, 0.5 which are on target. This is lower on both counts than every forward that has started a league match for Barca this season, barring Luuk De Jong. This is related to the decision making weakness.

Opportunities- Abde's biggest opportunity has been handed to him by the never-ending injury crisis at Barcelona. Xavi has shown that he trusts him and now it's upto him to make the most of the chances he's getting. Ousmane Dembele's contract situation probably suggests that he's leaving and Ferran Torres is going to be used through the middle. This means that there is a possible place for Abde in the front three, both long and short term, if he does well.

Threats - At Barca there is always competition. If Abde doesn't progress at a steady rate, there are plenty of others ready to take his place. The likes of Ilias Akhomach and Ferran Jutgla are already around the first team while others like Estanis Pedrola, Antonio Aranda and Angel Alarcon will be waiting for their chance. Moreover, there is always a chance that Barca will sign a new expensive forward given president Laporta's reported obsession with signing Erling Haaland.

It will also be interesting to keep an eye out on his international situation. He played age group football for Morocco. He was called up for AFCON 2021 presumably to replace Hakim Ziyech. But Spain have apparently shown interest in having him play for them. Barca also weren't very eager to let him leave and later he contracted COVID. He isn't going to the AFCON at the moment and it will be interesting to see which country he represents in the future.