PROFILE | Yann Gboho – Toulouse’s throw-back winger and low-cost game-changer | OneFootball

Toulouse, through their use of data, have been highly commended for their intelligent recruitment in recent years. Thijs Dallinga, Branco van den Boomen, and Logan Costa were all signed for nominal fees before excelling with Le TéFéCé, establishing a model that many rivals have tried – and failed – to replicate. Yann Gboho is the latest low-cost game-changer.

Having failed to break through at formative club Rennes, a move to Cercle Brugge, an affiliate club of Monaco, revived his young career. Les Monégasques have first right on all of Cercle players, and perhaps  Gboho will be the one that got away. Instead, it was Toulouse who signed him, and for just €2.5m last January. His impact was immediate, albeit not entirely reflected in his stats so far (six goals, six assists in 35 appearances).

He is a throw-back winger, a player that gets great joy, and provides great joy, in beating his man over and over again. In Ligue 1, only Moses Simon has completed more take-ons than Gboho this season, whilst he occupies a high spot in this metric in Europe’s top five divisions. Gboho has completed 34 take-ons – for reference, Kylian Mbappé has completed 38 and Vinícius Jr. 39; that is the kind of company he is keeping. In a league dominated by physicality and intensity, Gboho’s incredible technical ability stands out.

Dembélé and Gboho share a commonality

An eye-catching player who brings fans to the stadium, he is having a bearing on results for TFC, contributing to a return to form in November and easing the admittedly far-fetched relegation fears. Gboho’s compatriot, Ousmane Dembélé, was described as the “most destabilising player” in world football, and whilst he operates on the opposite wing, he gives the PSG attacker a run for his money.

Gboho’s issue, and it is one if he wishes to make the next step in his career, is the same one that has dogged Dembélé his entire career – efficiency. He has the technical ability to toy with his opponent but it is also about punishing them and that is something that he does not yet do enough.

2024, for Gboho, has been an overwhelmingly successful one. Returning to France following his failure to break through at Rennes, he has shown that he is made for this level; 2025 will show us whether he is capable of performing at an even higher level, potentially at a more prestigious club too.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle