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Who is Zakaria Bakkali?
A Belgian footballer of Moroccan descent, Bakkali burst onto the stage for PSV Eindhoven when he became the youngest player to score a hat-trick in the Eredivisie, aged just 17. Since breaking out amidst a lot of hoopla, Bakkali has slowly but surely settled down in this young PSV squad, which has more than its fair share of future superstars. Used primarily as a right winger, Bakkali can also play as a striker and is a joy to watch with the ball at his feet.
Career History
Born and brought up in Liege, Bakkali joined the R.F.C. de Liege in 2003, at the age of 7 before moving to one of Belgium’s major clubs, Standard de Liege two years later. Such was his progress that he caught the eye of several Dutch giants. PSV made the first move when they signed the prodigiously talented 12-year-old in 2008. Since then, his career has gone straight through the roof.
He almost joined Manchester City in 2011, after his ground-breaking performances in the Nike Cup (in which he was voted the Best player of the tournament). But, after refusing that offer, he put his foot down and shone for the Belgian youth setup, where he scored 18 goals in 26 appearances in the U15, U16, U17 and U21 level. And before too long, he was in the Belgium senior squad and is an outside bet to make it to Brazil.
Style of Play
After playing wide left in the PSV youth setup, the presence of another highly-rated winger in Memphis Depay has forced Bakkali to play predominantly as a right winger. Whether he plays on the right or the left wing, Bakkali has the arsenal to trouble any defender. When he plays on the left, like the archetypal modern-day winger, he loves to cut inside and unleash a lethal shot from distance with his right foot.
It is not just his shooting, but his appreciation for space and his ability to pick out his team-mate even in traffic means that he has all the qualities to play as a second striker, if the situation arises. Bakkali also loves to dribble with the ball, whether in open space or out of a tight corner and because of his high football IQ, there is always a good end product.
Strengths
Bakkali’s immaculate vision, blistering pace and acceleration, coupled with his excellent balance and dribbling ability, make him a man to watch out for, irrespective of where he plays. One of his biggest strengths is his change of pace and the ability to skip past even the most experienced of defenders. Although he is a diminutive player, his change of pace means that he can’t be tackled easily. And once he has that yard of space, he is equally capable of delivering a defense-splitting through ball or unleash a venomous shot on goal.
Another important aspect of Bakkali’s play is his passing, which is not only diverse, but accurate as well. His appreciation of space means that he always plays the right ball at the right time and is perfect fit for a quick one-two. His passing, crossing and his effective shooting make him an all-round goal scoring package.
Weaknesses
One of the biggest draw backs of Bakkali’s play is that he doesn’t offer too much defensive protection. Whilst lack of work-rate and his tendency to over-complicate simple things might be because of his age, there is no denying the fact that Bakkali needs to work on the defensive side of his game.
The 18-year-old at times, also suffers from a rush of blood to the head and loses the ball a little too often. If he is to really breakout as one of the best wingers of his generation, he must learn to keep hold of the ball better and keep his head in the game at all times and not lose focus at any point of time.
Possible destination
Over the past few months, both Liverpool and Arsenal have both been linked with this talented teenager who has been making plenty of waves in the Dutch Eredivise. He would be a useful addition to the Reds, who are short on attacking numbers and will be equally at home at Arsenal, given their penchant for passing.
Currently valued at just €2.5 million, he could be a steal for any side who are in need of a quick, dynamic winger with a high football IQ. But, with PSV in no mood to sell, he would be difficult signing to make at this moment.
http://youtu.be/lPorUtHYbIc
