The Wonderkid Files: Assan Ouédraogo – Chelsea & Man Utd’s teenage target

Few outside of keen observers of German youth football had heard of Assan Ouédraogo before this season – but the 17-year-old’s name is now plastered across the gossip columns after an explosive start to his career with Schalke 04, and Chelsea, Manchester United and Bayern Munich have all been linked with a move in last couple of weeks. You don’t have to watch him for long to see why.

Born in 2006 in Germany, Ouédraogo is a dynamic box-to-box midfielder who is also eligible to represent Burkina Faso – but it’s with the German Under-17 team that he first drew attention, playing a key role as his team won the European Under-17 Championship over the summer, including scoring the winning penalty in the final shootout against France. He has since broken into the first-team and is making waves in the 2.Bundesliga, becoming Schalke’s youngest ever goalscorer when he turned his man inside out and slotted home against Hamburger SV – beating Julian Draxler’s record in the process.

Comparisons have already been drawn with Paul Pogba, and he has a lot of the same skills – his technique is outstanding and the speed and balance he demonstrates when shifting the ball from one foot to the other and away from defenders is hugely impressive. Coupled with his strength and ball-carrying talent, he is extremely hard to tackle.

That’s a skill he puts to good use, regularly bursting from midfield to spark attacks and carrying the ball out of dangerous areas with consummate ease. And while he tends to run first rather than pass, he’s also demonstrated excellent vision and the capacity to pick out team-mates with a broad range of passing.

While he still needs to work on the precision of those passes – he has a tendency to slightly overcook them, and doesn’t always get them into the stride of the player he targets – the fundamentals are clearly there. He’s also happy to get into the area and take shots on, and his goals show some distinctly cool finishing under pressure.

On top of all of that, he’s also a brave and committed player who gets all over the pitch looking to win the ball back. He’s strong and unstinting in the tackle and gets into great positions to snuff out opposing attack and intercept dangerous passes, and shows the same awareness of space and intelligent movement going forward, always providing his team-mates with a passing option when required. Basically, he’s excellent in both attack and defence and has the athleticism to get involved at both ends of the field without breaking a sweat.

Picking holes in his play isn’t easy – but apart from the slight lack of finesse you might expect from such a young player, he could do with just a little more acceleration. His top-end speed is high, as he’s proven on many lung-bursting runs up the pitch, but he doesn’t have the quick burst to leave defenders behind. Fortunately, he has the skills to protect the ball under pressure, allowing him time to get up to speed or to draw a foul.

Schalke know what they have, of course, and have agreed a pre-contract deal which comes into effect when he turns 18 next May, and which will tie him to the German club until 2027 – but while the second tier is an excellent spot for him to develop, there are signs that he’ll be more than ready to take a step up before that contract runs its course. With the vultures circling already, it wouldn’t be at all surprising to see Chelsea, United or another European giant in for him next summer.

Reports have suggested that he has a mooted price tag of £15m, although at this stage any numbers mentioned have to be taken with a pinch of salt. There is no solid evidence that any clubs have approached him, and that transfer fee is likely notional at this point – but it doesn’t seem outrageous for a player who is starting to look like the real deal very quickly indeed.

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