Does Jonathan Bamba's move to Celta make sense?
Jonathan Bamba sacrifices Europa League action with Lille to fight with relegation candidates Celta de Vigo? The Ivorian winger's transfer needs to be analyzed.
Deolu Akingbade writes about every big transfer from July 2 onwards. His second subject is Ivorian winger Jonathan Bamba, who wrapped up a transfer to Celta de Vigo on a free.
The Facts
Jonathan Bamba was born in Alfortville in 1996, one of the numerous suburbs of Paris. When he turned 15, he made a move to ASSE’s academy in 2011, eventually working his way up to the first team.
He moved from ASSE after making 41 total appearances, moving to Paris FC, Sint-Truiden, and Angers in a series of loan moves. He joined Lille for free in 2018 just in time for their legendary league title, which Bamba was a key part of. He stayed with Lille for five years until his contract expired, when he went to Celta.
Bamba played several games for French youth national teams, earning 33 caps across all age levels. Despite that, the Ivorian never received a senior call-up, much less an elusive cap. He decided to switch national team allegiances, declaring for the Ivory Coast through his descent. He made his debut for Les Elephants against Comoros, playing 62 minutes in an AFCON qualifying matchup.
The Rumors
Everything’s wrapped and confirmed, with Celta, Lille, and Bamba all announcing Bamba’s arrival at Vigo. Bamba left France on a free transfer because his contract expired in early July, with Lille and Bamba unable to agree on a contract extension. Bamba’s wages have not been announced nor leaked yet. Celta signs Bamba to a three-year deal stretching until 2026.
With Bamba and Timothy Weah already out of the door, and Jonathan David linked to several Champions League teams, Lille needs new attacking talent. Lille recently signed Norwegian-Icelandic utility player Hákon Arnar Haraldsson, who can play center-forward, on both wings, as a #10, an #8, or even a wide midfielder.
Lille (along with over a dozen other clubs) has also been linked to Middlesborough forward Chuba Akpom. There are reportedly close to finalizing a deal with Nigerian youngster Gift Orban as well.
Celta has already signed Roma winger Carles Pérez for around $6 million, meaning that Celta has a plethora of attacking options to choose from. Celta legend Iago Aspas and exciting talent Jørgen Strand Larsen will get most of the minutes at the striker position, meaning that Celta signing more attackers seems unlikely.
The Transfer Tree
The Transfer Tree traces the biggest transfers down to the lowest levels by looking at why a team makes a move and how the selling club replaces their player. It repeats until either the team becomes too unknown for any information to come through or the team doesn’t buy a player to replace their departure.
Jonathan Bamba leaves Lille as his contract expires. He almost immediately lands a move to LaLiga side Celta de Vigo.
To replace Bamba, Lille will likely elevate French winger Alan Virginius to a more prominent role. Virginius appeared in 15 total games for Les Dogues, scoring a goal against Troyes. Although the club also signed Aaron Malouda from Rennes’ reserve squad, Rennes has not officially bought anyone out to replace Malouda. Another idea is LASK’s Keito Nakamura, who is also negotiating with Frankfurt.
To replace the in-demand Nakamura, LASK has already bought French youth international Lenny Pintor on a free transfer from Saint-Etienne. Buying Pintor for free is a steal, considering City, Chelsea, and Arsenal all wanted him in 2017. Despite the hype that had previously surrounded him, Pintor started just six games with ASSE last season and didn’t play a full match with the team.
ASSE agreed on a deal with Standard Liege to bring French winger Mathieu Cafaro to Geoffroy-Guichard Stadium for just $550,000. Cafaro went on loan to ASSE the previous season from Liege and appeared in 33 league matches. The deal works out for both clubs and players.
Romaine Mundle is the player brought in to replace Cafaro. He has a strong weak foot, making him a direct replacement for Cafaro thanks to his versatility. The Spurs U21 winger sealed a free transfer to Standard Liege thanks to the allure of first-team football and the chance to develop his game. Spurs likely will bring a player from their U18 squads to replace him, thus ending the transfer tree.
The Spin
Before we delve into Bamba’s playstyle, what kind of salary Bamba deserves, his fit in the team, and how much playing time he might get, we have to ask…why Celta? In November, Bamba fielded offers from several top-tier clubs; Atalanta, Fiorentina, Sevilla, West Ham, and more. Scouts considered him a top-tier French Ligue 1 winger, but his recent move to Celta; quiet and unnoticed; wouldn’t let you know it.
Celta was one of a few clubs jostling for Bamba’s services; Nice, Marseille, LA Galaxy, and Union Berlin were all candidates to land Bamba. Lille did not have any pull over the transfer; it was only down to Bamba, his family, and his management team.
One major reason has to be playing time. Nice and Union Berlin already have many attacking talent on board. LA Galaxy would likely be a last-ditch choice for Bamba, as he could reasonably still play and earn more in Europe. It leaves Marseille and Celta.
However, Marseille reportedly wrapped up negotiations with Gabon striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang around the time they were still negotiating with Bamba. It’s safe to say that Celta was not Bamba’s first choice.
Despite that, Bamba still fits in well with Celta. Bamba usually plays on the left as an inverted winger, cutting inside and often spinning off a very strong shot. He favors his right foot, which is what he usually shoots with. He’s confident with his left foot as well, meaning he can easily draw his defender to the wing and put in a good cross.
He’s an attacking outlet, someone who can get the ball in advanced areas. He’s fast, agile, a solid dribbler, and an even better passer. His build and attacking role invite comparisons to Ayoze Pérez under Rafa Benitez’s Newcastle. Benitez, who Bamba will play under at Celta, will appreciate the skillset of Bamba within his tactics.
Benitez showed them off in Celta’s 5-0 rout over Al-Nassr. Celta lined up in a shape 4-4-2. Left-footed Carles Pérez played on the right, while right-footed Luca de la Torre played on the left. By the second half, it looked like Celta switched to the conventional 4-2-3-1, with left-footed Franco Cervi on the left and left-footed Miguel Rodriguez on the right. Throughout the game, the wide players often cut inside, leaving the crossing responsibilities to their fullbacks. At times, they would drop deep, whether it was to receive the ball deep and run the offense, or just to help out the defense.
There’s definitely a pattern here, one which Bamba can fix. Almost all the players listed are left-footed. Alongside transfer-linked Gonçalo Paciência and Santi Mina, who was recently convicted of sexual assault, Bamba is the only right-footed attacker in Celta’s squad. It’s true that Ayoze Pérez, who I compared Bamba to thanks to the two’s similar tactical roles, relied on his weak foot more often than not.
It looks like to get the most from Bamba’s wand of a right foot, he may have to abandon his inverted playstyle for Benitez’s formation, which he’s more than capable of doing. He can play in a host of different winger roles, which Benitez will love and appreciate. However, it’s likely we’ll see a lot more crosses (2.55 per game in 2022/23 for a 39% cut rate) than shots (71 shots for a 39% success rate, which came 15 yards from the box on average) for a Celta version of Bamba.
Lille coach Paulo Fonesca returns to Lille with some of the same, unsurprising tactics, but with a lot of new faces. Weah and Bamba are gone, and their replacements; Virginius and a mix of Adam Ounas and Edon Zhegrova look unconvincing, to say the least. Fonesca is a firm believer in inverted wingers, which is evident based on Lille’s market strategy. LASK’s Keito Nakamura, the ever-versatile Haraldsson, and even Gift Orban have the potential to play on the wings. It looks like more of the same attacking playstyle for Lille fans, even without star player Bamba; for better, or for worse.