Who is Samuel Mbangula? The star of Juventus' winning start to the season
"Pressing the opponents means taking a risk, because you open up spaces, but it is ultimately worth the risk because you can win it back high up the field and go straight towards goal," Thiago Motta told reporters after Juventus' 3-0 win over Verona.
The word 'risk' was hardly synonymous with the Turin club last season or the two years prior under Massimiliano Allegri. The 57-year-old was so dogmatic that certain players, like Federico Chiesa, grew frustrated with the restrictions placed on them.
It's still early days, but Thiago Motta is already making a positive impact in restoring the Old Lady to her former glory. The permanent additions of Douglas Luiz, Khephren Thuram and Juan Cabal, combined with the loan signings of Nico Gonzalez, Francisco Conceicao, Pierre Kalulu, and Michele Di Gregorio, have all strengthened the squad. However, the real testament to Motta’s influence lies in Juventus New Gen - the streamlined name for the club’s academy - where talents like Jonas Rouhi and Nicolo Savona have already graduated to the senior team.
Then, of course, there's 20-year-old Samuel Mbangula, who was surprisingly called up for Juventus' Serie A opener against Como. The move even shocked the player's own agent, Grace Diamoungana. "Honestly, we didn’t expect that he would be in the starting lineup," she said via CalcioMercato. "When he told me, after being informed during the technical meeting, we were very happy. I think it’s the result of his work in training and the fact that he respects Thiago Motta’s directions on the field."
But who is Samuel Mbangula, the youngster who’s already won over Motta with his aptitude at Vinovo training centre?
Mbangula joined the Juventus Next Gen Academy in September 2020, quickly rising through the ranks from the U17 squad. With 12 goals in 57 appearances for the Primavera, and two goals with four assists in 25 Next Gen games in Serie C. This progress has clearly impressed Motta enough to include him in the starting lineup for Juventus' opening games of the season
Born in Congo but also holding Belgian citizenship, Mbangula made his debut for Belgium’s U21 squad in October 2023, but it might not be long until he’s promoted at a national level too.
So about his role. Mbangula is a versatile attacking winger, who primarily operates on the left, but is equally comfortable on the right or as an attacking midfielder. Typically this allows Kenan Yildiz, Juventus’ No. 10, to assume a central role, with Mbangula on the flank.
Right-footed and quick on his feet, Mbangula has a knack of cutting inside and creating opportunities for Dusan Vlahovic - or even other attacking midfielders. He is by no means a tall winger but uses his low centre of gravity very well to open up play from tight spaces and generate chances. Among his most effective traits are his speed and ability to find accuracy in his long-range shots. He is something of a modern-day winger in that he can forge turnovers in the final third.
With data, it's hard to draw conclusions with a small sample size. Typically, at least 10 or 12 matches are needed before any meaningful insights can be drawn about a player. With this in mind, we’ve looked at his first two league matches for Juventus. In 160 minutes, Mbangula created four chances, yielded an xA of 0.15, made four tackles, and won six duels. It shows a well rounded game that be nourished still further under the guidance of Motta.
Mbangula holds a WhoScored rating of 7.95 and is in the Serie A team of the season so far. It’s very early but his story at Juventus could be another in a case of a club standing to gain all with putting great onus on their academy rather than splashing millions on an import.
This article was provided by FootballTransfers
