Twenty minutes into the 2018 Europa League final, Andre-Franck Zambo Anguissa miscontrolled a bouncing ball just outside his own penalty area. And, seconds later, Antoine Griezmann was celebrating putting Atletico Madrid ahead against Marseille.
A brutal reminder of how ruthlessly mistakes are punished at such a level. Until that moment, and after it too, Anguissa had looked like one of the best players on the pitch in Lyon; swaggering around the turf in a manner Napoli fans have become very accustomed too since his £15 million move to Italy in the summer.
All of this is build up to one salient point; Anguissa has always been a footballer of supreme talent. It’s just that, at 26 and now the beating heart of the heart of a Napoli team that could conceivably challenge Manchester City for the title of world’s best at this particular moment, Anguissa is starting to add some much-needed consistency to his undoubted class; cutting out the kind of mistake that cost Marseille four years ago.
Better, quicker, stronger and more decisive than ever before.
Former Fulham man Andre-Franck Zambo Anguissa now one of Europe’s best
In 13 games this season, the Cameroon international has three goals and five assists to his name. Remarkably, this is already the most productive campaign of his entire career, and we haven’t even carved our pumpkins yet. If Anguissa is not one of the best midfielders in Europe right now, then he’s not far off.
“That Napoli midfielder came from Fulham – a great player.”
So says former Dutch international Rene Van der Gijp; speaking after another buccaneering Anguissa performance in Napoli’s 4-2 Champions League shellacking of Ajax on Wednesday.
Not only a ‘great player’, Van der Gijp believes there is a substantial gulf in class between Anguissa and two players currently linked with mega-money moves to the Premier League.
“(He is) much better than (Edson) Alvarez and (Ibrahim) Sangare. You can see that after fifteen minutes.”
‘Much better’
According to reports, both Arsenal and Newcastle United are fans of Ajax’s Mexican enforcer Alvarez. Chelsea, meanwhile, had a £43 million bid rejected on deadline day (Athletic). PSV’s Sangare, meanwhile, would cost a similarly colossal fee.
He’s attracted interest from the likes of Crystal Palace, West Ham and Nottingham Forest (Daily Mail).
Anguissa’s rather underwhelming spell at Fulham, however, should act as a reminder to Alvarez and Sangare that even the most talented footballer needs the right environment in which to truly flourish.
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