RB Leipzig is now one of the biggest clubs in Germany. They play regularly in Europe and that too among the elites in the UEFA Champions League. A top-four finish and regular UCL football is impossible without a good team. RB Leipzig’s scouting has been up to the mark and the German club has produced a lot of superstars in the past. However, they face a challenge to keep these players and are eventually forced to sell them to other clubs. The likes of Dominik Szoboszlai and Josko Gvardiol left the club in the summer.
Leipzig spent the transfer fee to bring in some of the top talents in Europe. Lois Openda was one of their biggest summer signing. The Belgian international has seen tremendous growth in his career. After breaking into the first team at Club Brugge, the 23-year-old earned a move to Lens in 2022. A successful season with the French club earned him another big move to Germany. Let’s take a look at how this young talent has settled in his first season in the Bundesliga.
High work rate
Lois Openda is a centre-forward and starts ahead of the out-of-favour forward Timo Werner. Both players have a lot of similarities. They are not traditional strikers who wait for an opportunity inside the penalty box. Instead, these two like to go wide and run at the defenders.
The above viz shows the ball progression made by Openda in the current season. He averages 1.84 progressive runs per 90 minutes and has a decent dribble success rate of 46.2%. Almost every run is made down the flank by this Belgian forward.
The above pizza chart shows the percentile rank of Openda in comparison to other centre-forwards in the top five European leagues. Openda is very highly rated amongst other attackers. His percentile rank in the attacking department is on the higher side. This shows the quality that RB Leipzig has brought to the team.
End Product
RB Leipzig signed this young talent to score goals. Lois Openda has lived up to the expectations and scored 11 goals combined in the Bundesliga and the UEFA Champions League. The striker averages nearly four shots per 90 minutes and has an accuracy rate of 42.6%. Openda has scored every goal from inside the opposition penalty box.
The 23-year-old has also created a couple of goals for his teammates. Openda’s ability to cover a lot of areas on the pitch allows his teammates to take scoring positions in the centre. Lois Openda has created 12 shot assist chances.
Lois Openda has scored six goals in the last six games. He headed into the international break with a goal each in back-to-back matches. The 23-year-old will aim to compete for the Golden Boot and take his sid to glory.
Visuals via TFA data viz engine