STYLE OF PLAY AND ROLE IN SALZBURG

OFF THE BALL

Milan fans are already familiar with Salzburg and Okafor given we had already faced them twice in the Champions League group stages last season and he scored against us.
Jaissle uses a particular 4-3-1-2 or a 4-4-2 diamond.

In the 21/22 season when Salzburg had Adiyemi, Okafor would partner him on the left of the front 2. Salzburg’s core values lie in their pressing off the ball and this means that Okafor is the first line of press in Jaissle’s scheme of things. When building out from the back Okafor wouldn’t always press the opposing the CB in a very aggressive way but he would be part of the plan to pull the opposition into a pressing trap. Like how Milan have been sucked into Salzburg’s pressing trap

ON THE BALL

Now once the ball has been won back the idea is to hit the opposition on quick transitions and for this Jaissle’s team needs players with nimble feet and quick verticalization of play. What Noah does in a counter attack is to come to the center of the pitch and act as a passing option and do quick 1-2’s to pull opposition defenders out of position and therefore make space for runs for his team-mates.

In case the opposition is passive and not attacking much preferring to sit back like a lot of the lower Serie A teams, then Jaissle have his 2 strikers split and occupy wide areas to allow runs from midfield (mostly the AM) to act as a CM while the forward would cross the ball in. This temporarily converts the 4-3-1-2 to a 4-3-3. Noah usually likes to occupy the left half spaces and only goes to the wide area with the ball to make space in the center of the pitch while drawing defenders away from the same area like a magnet.

Okafor is not someone who takes a lot of shots from distance and always likes to dribble his way to the wings or inside the box before he shoots. His shooting technique is quite good with good power and accuracy as we saw against Milan.

STRENGHTS

Dribbling and 1v1- Okafor’s best abilities come with his dribbling abilities and his ability to take people on. Pioli has always spoken about how he wanted his players, especially forward players to be good in 1v1’s. Okafor is extremely nimble and quick with his feet making it difficult for defenders to anticipate his next move and require a lot of experience.
Quick release of the ball- One of the most important things in transition is how quickly you release the ball before defenders get into their defensive position. Okafor can use his deft touches to move the ball quickly and catch defenders out of position.

Physicality- In their 2 legs versus Roma, Okafor had a feisty battle versus Mancini one of the most physical defenders of Serie A. Even though he isn’t the tallest player, Okafor uses his frame very well and can hold up the ball holding off defenders. He did this quite successfully even against Mancini which shows his physical mettle.

Off the ball movements: Whether it is finding the right position in the box or making runs into space to help out a teammate, Okafor has good off the ball runs and spatial runs making him a valuable asset to have in tight spaces.

Pressing: Being a Salzburg player, Salzburg’s core principles are to press. Players are drilled and taught to press well. Okafor is a potent weapon to any coach who likes to press high. He averaged nearly 4 recoveries per game in the 21/22 season.

AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT AND CHALLENGES

Adaptation: The Austrian Bundesliga (as it is called) is only a 12 team league which starts in June, breaks for 2 months (December and January) and ends in March. The Serie A comparatively has 20 teams, no winter break from this season and is more competitive and intense. If anything can be learnt from the mishap of Charles De Keteleare it is that adaptation requires time.

Lapses of concentration: Okafor is prone to lapse of concentration and sometimes takes his eyes of the ball which can lead to attacks breaking up.

Aerial Dual: One of Okafor’s biggest weaknesses is aerial duels. He rarely attempts any aerial duels which limits the amount of crosses into his side.

PLAYER COMPARISON

The player closest to Okafor’s style of play (purely my opinion) is Roberto Firmino of Liverpool. An underrated yet crucial player to Klopp’s front 3 the plaudits always often went to Salah and Mane but Firmino’s mastering of space went a lot in helping Salah and Mane in scoring many goals.
Okafor like Firmino isn’t also the greatest in the air but is good with his feet on the ground and can use his off the ball runs and make space. As we can see in the spider graph produced by @DataMB_ Okafor and Firmino have very similar style of play based on their numbers. Both are not the greatest headers of the ball, have similar level of expected assists and expected goals and have similar number of passes into the box.

With the level of experience Firmino has I believe Okafor still has a lot to learn and play in the bigger leagues.

HOW DOES HE FIT INTO PIOLI’S PLANS

Okafor has shown he is quite versatile and can play in any position in the front 3 of a 4-3-3 but can he be a CF ? Despite my efforts I couldn’t find the quote where Pioli speaks about how space was the best striker and Okafor can play well as a ball playing striker. With his physicality he can easily hold off defenders and draw them away making space for wingers or defenders to make runs into the box and finish.

Most importantly Pioli is a coach that likes to press and press high up the pitch. Even though Giroud was never a prolific striker he helped press from the front as Leao was not the greatest in terms of pressing. Pioli even had to play a defensive winger like Saelemakers to bring balance in terms of pressing upfront when we had Ibra. Now with Okafor, who is conditioned by one of the best pressing clubs in the world to press from the front. Now with Okafor, it would set Leao free and reduce the burden on midfield to press.

CONCLUSION
Okafor for 13M plus bonuses is a very shrewd business. Crespo spoke about how Okafor isn’t a clinical player but if modern football has shown, goalscoring burden is not just on a single player anymore. It is shared among all players on the pitch. I don’t think it will be smooth sailing for Okafor and patience will be needed for him.

Transfer Rating : 8.5/10