Cameroon is keeping up its reputation as one of the best talent producers in Africa and the to-go country whenever there is a need for top talents.
14-year-old Banassoubek Fils Brayan Miguel Alexandre is the next big thing in the making in the central African nation, all be it at his young age.
The early glimpses of Miguel’s talent back in his native Cameroon, has drawn attention of football people, with many comparing him to former Indomitable Lions skipper Stephane Mbia Etoundi, once of Sevilla and Queen Park Rangers.
Banassoubek’s talent maybe a surprise to a few, but being for those who master Cameroon football and know the city of production of Carlos Baleba, Georges Mandjeck and a number of others, it suffices to refer to his Douala roots and understand his aptitude.
The versatile playmaker who operates as a midfielder or in the flanks first caught attention as a kid when his parents enrolled him into AS Njayoh Center Academie before being transferred to the UAE to continue his development around his family and in better facilities.
14-year-old Banassoubek Fils Brayan Miguel Alexandre receives trophy won for his Emarati Academy
Banassoubek is a mature, energetic young midfielder with a wide range of intriguing skills.
Role experience
Players generally shouldn’t be pigeonholed into a role too early. In our rush to figure it out, we can forget that they will develop and surprise us, and their bodies may be completely different in a year. Look at the development of Saka, Lewis-Skelly, and Nwaneri of Arsenal for proof.
Banasoubek has bounced around a little — as a depth option at RCM, as the deeper forward in a 4-4-2 for the Cameroon youth franchise AS Nyajou, as an occasional striker for his club, and even a start at right-back.
14-year-old Banassoubek Fils Brayan Miguel Alexandre in action for Laval FC in the UAE
He is an LCM in a 4-3-3, playing ahead of the lone-6 sometimes, and is featured in the higher, less-touch-intensive pockets. His role is to receive between the lines and quickly turn build-up into attacks. He can roam to do so.
The motives of this role are fairly clear: at present, Banassoubek can hurt opponents the most up top. Playing higher keeps a young player away from shouldering too much responsibility on the ball and risking deep losses.
Still, it’s hard to decouple “this is what a manager wants generally” from “this is the best way to use the Cameroonian prodigy.”
When play advances, Banassoubek generally hangs out here in pockets, but is free to float around as needed, a freedom he exercises a solid (and confident) amount. If you’re thinking that this role — lower touch, hopefully higher impact — is starting to look a little familiar to our LCM role, you’re ahead of the class.
Adaptability
When thinking about how his skillset will transfer across leagues, there is good news;
The 2015 midfielder adapts to various roles with ease and even finds ease playing with older players.
Physical attributes
One of the first things you notice is how hard Banassoubek goes.
If you’re picturing a pure calma technician, he may have that in his bag, but he’s generally something else. He’s a young man in a hurry. His speed isn’t in the highest end, but it’s quite good, and his acceleration should translate well.
He is reportedly 6’0 and has a nice athletic base, a broad but lean frame, and room for growth. He looks taller this year than last. He’s got a slight chest, and you can envision him bulking up from here. In Norway, he rides challenges and doesn’t get pulled down easily: many older players foul him for their troubles. Near-term, he would have less luck in the Premier League, and it’s such an essential part of his game that it’s worth a pause about how quickly it translates.
The other big notch in his corner: he is basically fully ambipedal. There’s a difference between “good with both feet” and “genuinely will use whatever foot is best in a situation,” and he falls more in the latter camp.
This works for him in a lot of ways. One example is when I saw him swing out to RW and run a 1v1 as an inverted winger, performing all his control touches and setups with his ‘weaker’ left. The other way is in getting first-touch rips off in the box: he doesn’t need a control touch, he just hits it at whatever angle is “on.” His ability to control it, wherever it’s fired, makes him more flexible positionally.
Playing temperament
In all the games I saw, he was persistent, dogged, and tactically confident.
He is unfussy and streamlined with the ball. This is an area where the comps and the full-90s differ. While the Youtube clips will show a varied bag of tricks, in reality, he is usually keeping the complicated, shiny stuff under wraps.
His eagerness is dependent. He is not overeager to get on the ball, which is likely tactical: he generally holds space, finds pockets, and keeps the channels filled. From there, once a move is on, he snaps into action, often making a pristine first move (turn and carry) and being less consistent from there (final balls, dribbling into dead-ends, etc).
When defending, he is very active, good at covering ground, and savvy for his age. One of the first things I look for is a player’s reaction to a ball loss: do they drop their head, or snap right into a challenge? He fares well.
In transition, or when box defending, he can get sucked onto the ball-side and lose runners behind him. His potential position in the middle of a 4-4-2 defensive block is one of the primary reasons for concern for now.
Deeper passing and receiving
He is an extremely clean receiver of the ball in nearly every situation. Because of his base-level coordination and his two-footedness, the security of his gathering almost becomes an afterthought. He’s strong at shielding, uses “body as barrier,” anticipates contact, and isn’t finicky about what kind of ball he requires. It’s a real strength.
There are all kinds of slightly-off little passes that he kills without bother. The ball agrees with him.
As such, whenever he is assisting in rondo-like buildup — short, quick, back, lateral stuff — the play is crisp, but there is just very little of it. I kept looking for deeper examples of him orchestrating play from the first phase and it’s just not something he has been asked to do very much.
There are a few factors there. First, his pure technical clarity (and IQ) in short passing situations looks really good.
In the fitness side of it, he rare injury free career so far says it all.
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