Football scouting is not an easy job, but someone must do it.
Juan Gafas, our shadow scout, is opening his office for BabaGol’s readers, where they can have a first taste of few of the world’s most exciting, yet unknown, hidden gems.
Emmanuel Sabbi
Age: 22
Club: Odense BK (Denmark)
Position: Winger, Forward
Nationality: USA/Ghanaian
Market Value: 1.000.000 € (Transfermarkt)
Why follow him? Last season, Sabbi was among the top 3 players with the most successful dribble stats, out of those who played at least than 2000 minutes in the Danish top division. He did so without neglecting the defensive side, showing good work rate.
Sabbi was born in Italy to Ghanaian parents, but grew up in the USA. He plays for their youth level national team. After a short term in Spain, he found his new home in Denmark making a name for himself in Hobro.
The first thing you notice about him is how quick he is with the ball, something he takes full advantage of when dribbling past opponents - more than 7 times each game, on average. He has both quick feet to take on opponents in tight situations, and good pace to take them when having space. He has a good work rate too, making use of his athletic attributes to track back and win the ball for his side.
He can and does play as a forward sometimes, but I think he does better when playing wide using his pace and helping out in defence if needed.
His end product is not good enough yet; he should make better decisions and use his athletic attributes and technical skills using both feet to show better numbers. But it seems like he is on the right path.
I was sure Sabbi will make a move to another league or a bigger side than Odense, I believe in his skills and as always have more faith in hard working players, but maybe he still needs a bigger "breakthrough" season to convince a bigger team to bring him over.
Photo via Emmanuel Sabbi official Instagram account.
