El Bilal Toure is a Malian professional footballer who plays as a forward for La Liga club Almeria and the Mali national team. The 21–year–old Malian is currently making waves in the top division of Spanish football. He is playing his first-ever season in the top flight of Spanish football, and he is doing so for Almeria, a club that is fighting to stay in the division. He has experience playing with Reims in Ligue 1 and has spent over three seasons with the French club. He has already made eight goal contributions out of the 28 goals scored by his side this season, who are battling to survive. The team is in 18th place and has serious competition surrounding them. Below are some of the player’s stats from his current campaign.
The above viz shows the percentile rank of the players in comparison to other centre forwards in the league. He has fewer contributions on the possession and passing sides and holds a low percentile rank. He has good vision and is also ranked highly for goal contributions and touches in the penalty area. Although he ranks low in other offensive departments, he compensates by contributing to winning aerial duels for his side. The youngster has made 18 appearances for his side this season and has managed to score six goals and provide two assists.
Ability to rack in goals
This season, he has scored six goals from open play on a total of 26 shots. The player averages 1.9 shots per 90 minutes in the 2022–23 La Liga season and has an accuracy rate of 50%. The xG map above shows that the 21-year-old has taken most of the shots from inside the penalty box. He scored his goals on a short-range effort and likes to shoot from central areas. He has taken 26 shots, of which 13 have been on target.
The player has also provided two assists for his teammate. With an overall xA of 0.7, the player averages 0.07 key passes per 90 minutes. In the second visual for his shot assist, it can be seen that one of his assists is a pass from the middle third into the box and the other is a cutback from the right.
Touches and ball penetration
El Bilal Toure averages 3.72 touches in the penalty box and makes most of his movements in the opponent’s half. It can be seen in the first visual above that the density of touches on the right side of the pitch is comparatively higher. This is because the player tends to receive the ball near the right flank and then proceeds to make movements into the box, either by making a pass or carrying the ball into the box.
The youngster has made a total of 16 penetrating carries into the box, most of which have come centrally or down the right. Overall, he averages 1.09 progressive runs and attempts 1.53 dribbles per 90 minutes.
High pressing tendencies
The above viz represents the various high regains made by the player for Almeria in the La Liga 2022–23 season. It can be seen that most of his actions have come in the middle third, along with a few close to the box. He has no contributions on the left flank. He has made a total of eight dangerous recoveries leading to a shot, along with 16 high regains and 13 counter-pressing recoveries. The player averages 3.36 recoveries per 90 minutes.
Performance for Reims last season
Last season, he scored one goal from open play and managed to score one out of one penalty. The xG map above from his season with Reims in Ligue 1 shows that he took most shots in front of the box. He took 31 shots and managed 11 shots on target in 21 appearances. He has already improved his numbers this season in Spain and has plenty more to offer.
Overall, Toure’s impressive performances have seen him become a regular for Almeria, and he has been one of the club’s key players in its battle to stay in the top division. He has also attracted interest from other clubs, with reports linking him to some of the bigger clubs in Spain.
Visuals via TFA data viz engine
