Michel-Ange Balikwisha
20yrs, Standard Liege, Belgium, Versatile Right-sided Forward
Michel-Ange Balikwisha has just completed his first season of professional football, at Royal Standard de Liège, and already looks to be moving away, with Club Brugge the likely destination following a bid in the region of €6m.
Balikwisha finished the season having played 32(24) Pro League games, amassing 2112 minutes in total, just over 23 90s. In this time, he contributed 9G and 2A, averaging 0.47 goal contributions /90. He finished the season well for Les Rouches, getting 2 goals in 5 starts during the Conference League Playoffs. One of these goals coming in a 2–1 win over Gent, exhibiting both his close control and his finishing ability on his weaker left side, when he sits down both the Gent keeper and defender, then finishes emphatically into the top right corner past the covering defender. With 3 of his 9 league goals coming from his weaker left foot, Balikwisha possesses the ability to shoot on either side, making him unpredictable in and around the box. This was certainly a key factor to maintaining his excellent 33% conversion rate throughout the season, greater than any of the top 10 goal scorers this Pro League season.
Compared to similar wide forwards, his conversion rate only looks better, with no one exceeding 20%.
Although primarily playing as a right-sided attacker, Balikwisha can and has played all across the front 3 for Liege, in various different formations throughout the season. He’s played on the left, right and through the middle in various formations including 433, 343 and 442. It’s clear to see his is most threatening coming inside from the wing, either cutting in with the ball to create, or running inside the fullback to finish attacks.
His positional versatility suits the Club Brugge system perfectly, where manager Philippe Clement expects forwards Noa Lang, Charles de Ketelaere and Krepin Diatta (first half of season) to play multiple positions around the main striker Bas Dost.
Club Brugge opted for a 433 shape for most of last season, but did use a 442 formation near the end, and looked to have played that system in their only friendly game so far (Beerschot, 1–1). Club Brugge dominated the Belgian league this season, finishing 16 points above second place Antwerp, with the most games won(24), least goals conceded(26), and most importantly for Balikwisha, most goals scored(73).
With Diatta leaving part way through the season, Noa Lang looking likely to make a step up and neither Badji nor Chong able to make the spot their own, there certainly looks to be an opening for a player on the right of the Brugge 433/442 system, although any taker may be expected to fulfil various roles throughout the season.
Sorare
In his last 5 starts, all against playoff opposition, Balikwisha averaged a score of 53.14, and when removing the error lead to goal vMechelen (a clear anomaly as this was his only error led to gaol of the season) his L5 average increases to 57.14.
His average base(AA) over these games was 12.14 which equates to 47.14 including 35pts for starting. For context, only twenty-five forwards on Sorare average an AA score above 12.14, over the last 15 games. Just five of these are u23 eligible as of July 1st. A large contributor to his strong base score is his creativity in attack. Making a fair number of final third passes(0.1pts) and attempted assists(2.0pts), he accumulates points even when his teammates cannot take their chances.
Final Words
This is an excellent acquisition from Club Brugge. The range of roles and shapes Balikwisha has been made to play in at Liege has developed his versatility and fluidity in attack, something vital to Clement’s Brugge system. His finishing ability on both feet further aid his versatility, and his creative ability will suit playing off of a focal point like Bas Dost. From the players point of view, the move is a (excuse the cliche) logical next step in his career. Moving to the best side in the country not only allows development alongside better players and coaches, but also removes concerns over any adjustment period, and provides assurance that he can play at this level. The pathway to top European football could not be clearer as Brugge’s excellent talent development grow the player, and their Champions league qualification gives Balikwisha a platform from which to entertain the whole of Europe. Diatta (Monaco) and Lang (potentially Leeds) are the clearest examples you could ask for in how Club Brugge nurture and eventually export talent to the big European leagues. Looking deeper into Brugge’s history, this pattern continues with departures such as Wesley(£22.5m), Danjuma(£14.8m), Limbombe(£7.4m) and Izquierdo(£13m) all moving to the big 5 European leagues.
As for Sorare, with more possession (Brugge 56% to Liege 52.7%) and more goals (73–52) Balikwisha should only improve in his scoring. He should see far greater supply playing with players like Sorare favourites Vanaken and Vormer, and with his high conversion rate(33%) I would expect him to comfortably exceed his goal tally for this season. As mentioned before a large part of Balikwisha’s base scores come from possession based contributions, so having more of the ball should directly increase his base. Looking at the players he may be directly replacing, once again Diatta and Lang, they both became high ceiling forwards at Brugge, and I would expect the same from Balikwisha.
