One for the Future : Moussa Ndiaye. Future First Team Potential? -

Moussa Ndiaye made a name for himself during Barcelona’s first team pre-season. He won the hearts of many fans while showing his abilities. However, at the moment he is struggling for game time at Barcelona B. Despite it, he is one of the players to look out for in the future of African football.

Description

Moussa Ndiaye was born on the 18th of June, 2002 in Dakar, Senegal. He joined Barcelona from Aspire Academy in the summer of 2020. The club has paid €500k+variables for the signing of the young defender. He signed a contract until 2023 and a possible two-year extension. The Senegalese defender signed for Barcelona B. However, due to paperwork issues, he spent his first season at the club with Juvenil A. But it was a good chance for him to grow under the orders of Franc Artiga and later Sergi Mila.

In the 20/21 season, he picked up 1 goal in all of his appearances for the U19 team. In the summer of 2021, finally became a Barcelona B player. Moreover, he even made an appearance in the pre-season for the first team playing as a left-back. He made his Barcelona B debut against FC Andorra at the Estadio Johan Cruyff on the 10th of October 2021, where he played 22 minutes. Moussa is regarded as one for the future of Senegalese football. He made his debut for Senegal U20 at the age of 16 against Mali U20 in the group stage of the U20 African Cup, where he was named as the player of the tournament. In the African Cup, Senegal lost the final on penalties.

He also played a big role at the 2019 WAFU Cup of Nations and was named Man of the Match in the final game as Senegal defeated Ghana on penalties to win the regional title. Thanks to his outstanding performances for Senegal, Ndiaye was nominated for the 2019 CAF Youth Player of the Year award but lost to Achraf Hakimi.

Playing style

Similar player: David Alaba

Moussa Ndiaye is a left-footed centre-back who is also capable of playing as a left-back. Despite not being the tallest he can win aerial duels thanks to his exceptional jumping ability. Senegalese youngster has good enough reading of the game ability that helps him to position himself in the perfect scenarios in 1v1 duels. Moussa has extraordinary interception and defending abilities, while using his speed he is able to cover counterattacks from the opposition. Making him difficult to outrun.

He is also not the most physical defender, however, he uses his body to shield the ball while in possession and win duels against much stronger attackers. His vision and passing ability let him be a great ball-playing defender. Moussa is calm with the ball and able to play from the back. Using his passing as a way to break down lines of defences he is a dangerous creator from the backline. Moussa has great agility and reactions making him a great dribbler that likes to cut inside whenever he is playing as a left-back.

While as a centre-back he is not afraid to beat the first line of defence to bring the ball closer to the midfield. He is a great defender that can play with total composure in possession. While in the future don’t rule him out as a possible defensive midfielder as he has enough qualities to play there.

Future at the club

As of now, Moussa is struggling for game time at Barcelona with the emergence of Arnau Sola and the backline fully occupied by other central defenders like Comas, Mika, Ramos Mingo. Moussa is a fascinating player with great potential, however, due to lack of playing time, we could see him leave on loan in January or the summer. We could see him leave permanently unless he will become part of the first team in 2-3 years. However, it will depend on the board if they see him fit and if they will trigger a contract clause of additional 2 seasons in the next few years.

Potential Rating: 9/10