Potter’s answer to Baleba: West Ham in talks to sign midfield monster

After a summer break that felt far too long, the Premier League is finally back this weekend, and West Ham United travel to Sunderland for their opening game of the campaign. It’s been a largely positive pre-season for Graham Potter and Co this year, as while they lost 2-1 to Manchester United, they dispatched of Grasshoppers as well as Everton and Bournemouth. Moreover, while they’ve not pulled up any trees in the market, the Irons have made a few smart additions to a side that’s already strong enough to challenge for a top-half finish this season. They aren’t done either, as it now looks like West Ham want to sign a midfield talent who has won comparisons to the highly sought-after Carlos Baleba. West Ham target their own Baleba While West Ham haven’t been as busy as some of their rivals in the market this summer, they’ve still made some wise additions to the team, while also making a pretty penny on Mohammed Kudus. The likes of Kyle Walker-Peters and Mads Hermansen, for example, should help make the side more difficult to play against, while the young El Hadji Malick Diouf looks like he could be a real handful for opposition defenders. Interestingly, it seems like the Senegalese international might not be the Hammers’ only midfield signing, as they’re now moving for an up-and-coming gem who’d been compared to Baleba. At least that’s according to a recent report from Sacha Tavolieri, who has revealed that West Ham are very interested in Ngal’ayel Mukau. More than that, the journalist has claimed that the Irons have already made contact with LOSC Lille over the incredibly exciting talent. In more good news, it shouldn’t be a prohibitively expensive deal to pull off, as the report states that the French side will demand a fee in excess of €20m, which is about £xxm. While that is still a lot of money to spend on a young talent, Mukau looks like he’d be worth the risk, especially as he’s been compared to the sensational Baleba. How Mukau compares to BalebaAs things stand, it looks like Manchester United are going to go all out for Baleba, who, according to some reports, is valued at more than £100m by Brighton & Hove Albion. So, while nobody is suggesting that Mukau is at that level at the moment, it’s certainly encouraging that those in the know, such as respected analyst Ben Mattinson, are comparing him to the Seagulls ace. Mattinson made the bold claim that, due in part to just how “well balanced” the 20-year-old is, he specifically makes him think of the now in-demand Cameroon international. Interestingly, the opinion that the two players share similar characteristics must be shared by Lille themselves, as just a year after selling the Brighton ace, they signed the Antwerp-born gem to play in the same positions. Moreover, just as the United target is known for his lung-busting runs from deep and ability to do a bit of everything in the middle of the park, the young Lille gem can excel as a box-to-box midfielder, in part thanks to his “ability in tight spaces and arriving into the box,” per Mattinson. With that said, while the comparisons to a rising star of the Premier League are encouraging, they are not the only argument for signing the “tenacious” ace, as dubbed by U23 scout Antonio Mango, as he also has some seriously impressive underlying numbers to his name. For example, FBref ranked him in the top 3% of midfielders in the Champions League last season for goal-creating actions from shots, the top 4% for goals per shot, the top 6% for dribblers tackled, the top 12% for aerial duels won and more, all per 90. Mukau’s Scout Report Statistics Per 90 Percentile GCA (Shot) 0.16 Top 3% Goals/Shot 0.40 Top 4% Pass Completion % (Long) 94.7% Top 4% % of Dribblers Tackled 75.0% Top 6% Goals – xG +0.19 Top 7% Non-Penalty Goals – npxG +0.19 Top 7% npxG/Shot 0.17 Top 9% Non-Penalty Goals 0.32 Top 12% Goals/Shot on Target 1.00 Top 12% % of Aerials Won 71.4% Top 12% Goals 0.32 Top 13% Carries into Final Third 2.24 Top 16% All Stats via FBref Ultimately, Mukau might not be a particularly well-known name to fans of English football at the moment, but he looks set for a bright future, and the comparisons to Baleba are simply more evidence of that. Therefore, while it won’t be cheap, West Ham should be doing all they can to sign him this summer.