For many worldwide, the arrival of December means a time of festive celebration, such as Christmas, is upon them! However, for football fans in both the men’s and women’s games, it also signifies the start of the build-up towards the winter transfer windows, with speculation increasing and rumours intensifying as to who needs what, which players will be available and how each club can spend well to ensure that they meet their pre-season targets.
In the women’s side of things, one team that has already been linked with a big January move is PSG Féminine, with reports suggesting that they will be on the lookout for a new central midfielder when the window opens as they try to balance out their desire to push the likes of Laurina Fazer, Grace Geyoro and Jackie Groenen further forwards whilst also protecting their back line.
The ambitions that they have in finding the right player are indicated by the names that have been linked with a switch to the French capital, with Wolfsburg Frauen’s Lena Oberdorf and Arsenal Women’s Frida Leonhardsen Maanum the two that have been most heavily rumoured to be on their shopping list.
However, it seems unlikely that Germany or the Norway international will be available next month. Both of their current sides will be keen to keep hold of their prized assets, even with no Champions League football to offer them this time. So, PSG may find more success by looking in other pastures. With that in mind, this tactical analysis will use xGold, Total Football Analysis’ player comparison programme, to identify three players who could fit the profile they appear to have put together and who could be more likely recruits when the window opens next month.
The ideal profile
Before looking at them, though, it is important to first lay out the specifics of what qualities the ideal new arrival will need to have, and the fact that Oberdorf and Leonhardsen Maanum are the two that have been reportedly targeted does allow this analysis to build a picture of what type of player PSG Féminine are looking for.
Starting with Oberdorf, she has always been known as a solid defensive player who is a dominant obstacle for opposing attackers to negotiate whenever they make their way into the final third, with her generally taking up a position in front of the back line and looking to disrupt their rhythm in any way possible.
In this case, during last season’s DFB-Pokal Frauen final, she has recognised how Freiburg Frauen’s Judith Steinert is looking to deliver the ball into the Wolfsburg goal area and how there is space available on the near side for her to aim for, due to Wolfsburg not managing to get back in time. In any normal situation, this would likely lead to the ball finding its intended target and Freiburg getting a shot away at goal. Still, Oberdorf gets up to change the flight path of the ball and, as a result, allows Iceland forward Sveindís Jane Jónsdóttir the extra seconds that she needs to get back into position and to win the ball first when it comes back down.
Freiburg did manage to get a shot away here, with Wolfsburg not clearing the ball with enough conviction and allowing it to fall to Lisa Karl as a result, but Oberdorf had once again anticipated this and had got into position to block the effort. The fact that she made 5.88 interceptions per game last season highlights just how formidable she is when inside her own third, and it is this that PSG are looking to add to their squad when the January window opens.
When her team has possession, Oberdorf’s attention turns towards distributing the ball around the field and allowing her teammates to penetrate their opponents in areas where they will have an advantage. And the fact that she had a passing accuracy of 73.5% during the last campaign shows this is something else that her teammates came to rely on her for.
However, it is not only deeper areas that she makes these passes from, with her also moving up the pitch to help connect play from more advanced positions, which has continued into the current campaign.
The danger this poses for opponents is demonstrated in this situation, which came during last season’s Champions League quarter-final meeting with PSG, with Oberdorf just outside the goal area and ensuring that her team can recycle the ball and shift it around the pitch faster. It is an option that fellow Germany midfielder Lena Lattwein takes her up on here, but the key thing to note is how she sends the ball towards the other side of the box with her first touch. That shows how she had already planned her next move before the ball had come to her, which is why she is so effective and dangerous to leave in space like this.
Unfortunately for Wolfsburg, PSG, on this occasion, were alive to the pass, with China right-back Li Mengwen intercepting the ball before it could reach striker Alex Popp and ending the possibility of a goal coming about, but the fact that Oberdorf was able to attempt the pass in the first place and the way that she took it with her first touch shows why PSG are reportedly so keen on acquiring her services.
Regarding Leonhardsen Maanum, the interest from PSG appears to be due to her ability to move the ball around the pitch and instigate quick transitions with her decisive passing. This quality caught Arsenal’s eye in 2021 when they signed her from Swedish side Linköping, with head coach Jonas Eidevall at that point looking for a player who would help him to implement his fast-flowing style of play.
Ever since her arrival in north London, Leonhardsen Maanum has shown on multiple occasions just how influential she is in this aspect of the game, with her already having a 79.1% passing accuracy for this season. This situation, during the match against Bristol City Women, provides a glimpse of how she uses this to help break teams down, with the Norway midfielder identifying the wide position that Australia forward Caitlin Foord has taken up and the fact that there is a chance to divide the Bristol back line, and so she sends the ball towards Foord and then runs into the space that is created by Bristol’s Wales right-back Ella Powell moving to close it down.
On this occasion, when she receives the ball back from Foord, Leonhardsen Maanum is unable to test Wales goalkeeper Olivia Clark with any significant conviction due to the angle being against her, but the way that the chance came about shows how decisive she is with the ball at her feet and how she can combine with others to manipulate opponents and to create spaces inside the final third.
However, it has not only been about Leonhardsen Maanum playing in the same way as she did in the Damallsvenskan, as she has also developed her game and added new qualities to it during her time in the WSL. This was especially obvious last season when she became less of a box-to-box progressive midfielder and more of an attacking midfielder who could operate when needed as a false nine. This trait has continued into the current campaign, with Arsenal once again moving the ball out towards Foord here and Leonhardsen Maanum positioning herself to offer a passing option in the middle of the Manchester City Women goal area.
Playing in these advanced spaces is not unusual for her, but the critical point to focus on is how she is now alongside Sweden striker Stina Blackstenius, making her, in effect, a second striker in this scenario. These are not the runs that she would have made when she first arrived at Meadow Park, and so, as mentioned, she has grown as a player there and is now more well-rounded and, therefore, a more attractive transfer option as a result, with her offering a goal threat (she scored 12 times and picked up seven assists in all competitions last season) as well as retaining her aforementioned box-to-box qualities.
When putting all of this together, it becomes clear what PSG are looking for, with the ideal new signing being capable of sitting deep and defending whilst also distributing the ball around the field, along with offering progressive qualities and possessing a goal threat.
Duda Sampaio
With those critical aspects in mind, the first alternative target that they could consider is Brazil midfielder Duda Sampaio, who currently plies her trade for Corinthians Feminino in her native country and who has been a central part of their success over the last few campaigns.
PSG Féminine do have previous experience with the Brazilian market, having signed Formiga back in 2017. They currently have midfielder Ana Vitória in their squad, signing her from Benfica Feminino in the summer. So they know what qualities those who come out of the Brazilian footballing system will possess. At 22, Duda already has several noteworthy traits to her game that make fans sit up and take notice, so she could well be the player that the French club are looking for.
In basic terms, she shares more likenesses with Leonhardsen Maanum than with Oberdorf in that she is constantly seen moving up the field and frequenting advanced areas of the pitch. This is mainly because of the demands that now-former head coach Arthur Elias (who recently replaced Pia Sundhage as Brazil head coach) had for those in her role, with his tactics built around the central striker dropping back whilst those alongside push forward to offer outlets behind. However, it still shows how Duda is someone who knows how to make herself a helpful member of the squad and someone who can ensure that attacks are kept alive.
In this case, against Flamengo Feminino, her ability to make those runs and its effect on her team’s play is indicated clearly, with fellow Brazil international Tamires in possession on the far side of the field and needing someone to run ahead of her. Duda does just that and ensures that the ball doesn’t get trapped and that the attack doesn’t break down prematurely.
When she gets into those advanced spaces, Duda offers a multitude of options, with her just as capable of looking for a teammate in the middle (she picked up a 76.2% passing accuracy and assisted 2.27 shots per game on average in 2023) as she is of holding onto the ball and dribbling infield on her own, and the fact that she has this variety in her play is what will really appeal to PSG.
In many ways, this makes her not too different to Netherlands forward Lieke Martens-van Leer, who joined PSG after leaving Barcelona Femení in 2022 and who has gone on to become a very reliable player in the central and final thirds, with her offering the same goal threat as she did whilst at Barcelona but also now helping to facilitate transitions through her intricate passes from further out.
Her ability to move the ball around the field has been aided by the summer arrival of Malawi forward Tabitha Chawinga on a season-long loan from Chinese club Wuhan Jianghan University, with the former Inter Milan Femminile loanee making runs up the field that have given her the space that she needs to connect with teammates. However, there is no doubt that the scope of what she offers on the ball has increased since switching to the French capital, and the fact that Duda can offer the same variety of tactical options is why she would fit in well there as far as the attacking side of things is concerned.
This is not to say, though, that she is purely an attacking player, as she also regularly tracks back to assist in the defensive side of things during matches as well. However, what is important to note about this side of her game is that because she tends to push so far up the field, her defending is mostly executed from behind her opponent with well-timed tackles rather than by getting her body in the way as Oberdorf would.
This does not mean that she has any less effect on opposing sides, though, with her dislodging the ball from Darlene here, and she did prove to be a handful in this match with her ability to get tight to individual Flamengo players. Therefore, whilst she is an attack-minded player by trade, she can be dominant in regaining the ball, with her winning 68.1% of her defensive duels and averaging 6.34 interceptions per game in 2023, so she could be just as useful for PSG when they don’t have the ball as she will be when they do.
Minea Lassas
If Duda were deemed too attack-minded and therefore too similar to what PSG Féminine already have in their squad, then another option to consider could be Minea Lassas, who currently plays for PK-35 Helsinki. She is a little older than the Brazilian, at 24 years old, and so has a little more experience in that sense, but she is still at an early stage of her career and possesses many things that the French side are looking for.
What could really appeal to them about Lassas is that she is first and foremost a defensive midfielder, with her mainly found in front of the back line and offering them the protection they need when they don’t have the ball. In this sense, she would be the perfect alternative to Oberdorf and give PSG the presence in deeper areas to allow others like Fazer, Groenen and Geyoro to stay in more advanced positions.
Her ability to slow opposing attacks down and to make her side as robust as possible is indicated here, with Åland United’s Anna Nurmi sending the ball towards Dana Leskinen but seeing her team go no further up the pitch, with Lassas moving across to get tight to the latter and to force the ball out of play. Lassas did win 66.2% of her defensive duels and 49.3% of her aerial battles in 2023, as well as making an average of 8.61 interceptions per game, so her qualities in this side of her team’s performances cannot be doubted, and opponents would have been aware of this whenever facing PK-35.
This is not unlike what Duda was doing in the last section, in that both players were getting tight to opponents and making dominant tackles; the difference is that Lassas looks to use her body to add further protection and to make herself a more significant obstacle to negotiate, and that is what might lead to PSG favouring an approach for her rather than the Brazilian.
This is not to say that Lassas is a purely reactive player, though, with her also demonstrating as the Kansallinen Liiga campaign went on how she spots opportunities to press the ball earlier and to ensure that opponents have as few chances as possible to make progress into her team’s territory.
In this case, city rivals HJK Helsinki Women have the ball just outside the PK-35 goal area, following a set piece, and Lassas has got her head up and has read the danger they now pose. As a result, she has got out to Milja Kirivanta to prevent her from gaining too much ground, and she has been known to push even higher up the field than this on other occasions, averaging 16.35 recoveries inside the opposition’s half during 2023.
Defending with this amount of control and dominance has led to other PK-35 midfielders not being required to track back and help her out. PSG will warm to this as it ties in with their desire to keep their midfielders as high up the field as possible.
However, the French side are looking for someone who can attack as well as defend, and it might appear so far that Lassas is only effective in defensive situations. This is not the case, though, with her also seen moving up the field when her team has the ball and when they don’t, and this graphic indicates the number of shots she set up for her teammates during the most recent campaign.
What is important to note here is that her shot assists came from a variety of positions around the field, and even though she didn’t pick up any assists due to her staying deeper and making longer passes, the fact that she can find teammates when in different areas of the field is essential as it allows her to tick the box-to-box role that PSG are looking for and makes her again match many of the qualities that Oberdorf shows on a regular basis.
She may not set up as many goals as the Germany international does, but that could be coached into her, and there is little doubt that, as an overall package, she would be a good fit for PSG in terms of what she is capable of both in defence and attack.
Olaug Tvedten
So far, this scout report has suggested two players who might be good transfer targets for PSG Féminine to look at when the January transfer window opens, but both do have limitations that might hinder their attractiveness to the French club in that Duda is perhaps too attack-minded and Lassas perhaps doesn’t offer the goal threat that they want from any new arrival.
With that in mind, a third and final option that they could consider who would offer the best of both sides of the game is Vålerenga Damer midfielder Olaug Tvedten, who has just helped her side to a second Toppserien title in four years, who has made her name as a player to watch in the Norwegian women’s game.
In attack, she plays in a very similar way to Leonhardsen Maanum and Duda, in that she makes the same progressive runs and tries to create the same goalscoring opportunities and poses just as significant a goal threat, with her finishing the 2023 campaign as the Toppserien’s joint-top scorer, having found the net on 13 occasions.
What allows her to threaten defences in this way is her ability to read what opponents will look to do and to exploit their weaknesses, and that was shown in no small way during the meeting with Brann Kvinner earlier in the campaign.
Brann, who are now coached by former Manchester United Women assistant Martin Ho, have tended to operate with wing-backs as the campaign has gone on. So, they have naturally left areas behind their back line that can be targeted. As is shown here, Tvedten is aware of this and has made a run into the space that has been left open as a result, but what is important to note here is that she has done so before Mimmi Löfwenius have passed the ball to Selma Pettersen.
As a result of her getting into position early, she is in the right place at the right time to receive the ball from Pettersen as soon as it arrives at her feet, and that then makes it possible for Vålerenga to move it forward at a quicker pace and to turn the chance into a shot on goal.
On this occasion, Brann duo Karoline Heimvik Haugland and Ingrid Stenevik did manage to track back and to bring the attack to a swift conclusion, making up for their initial mistake of leaving the gap open. However, this is not the first time that Tvedten has managed to access these areas of the field, and the fact that she averaged one goal after every 5.2 shots and managed to get 41.2% of her 68 efforts in total on target shows how she could offer PSG the same qualities as Leonhardsen Maanum could.
Regarding her defensive contributions, there are definite traces of Oberdorf’s profile in her play, with her always showing a willingness to get back and help where she can, ensuring that her team is as watertight as possible.
In this case, she has spotted that Brann have possession on the far side of the field and that the ball has found its way into the feet of Signe Gaupset. With the highly-rated midfielder being such a fundamental threat for Ho’s team and someone that is capable of creating a chance out of nothing, Vålerenga’s four-player defensive line has drifted over as a unit to prevent her from making any more headway into the goal area.
However, this has left a gap open for Haugland to have a free run into the goal area behind them and to get into a position from which she can shoot at goal, and that is where Tvedten comes in. Attacking in this manner is not uncommon in Brann’s tactics, and Tvedten knows this, and her pace and awareness to position herself in that hole is the only thing here that stops Brann from having a shot at goal.
When looking back to the beginning of the scout report and how Oberdorf acted in a similar fashion to disrupt an attacking opportunity, it shows how much like the Germany star Tvedten is in these moments of the match. The fact that she won 58.3% of her defensive duels and averaged 3.72 interceptions per game, as well as possessing the attacking threat that she does, shows how she could be the all-rounder that PSG have been searching for.
Her defensive play is not limited to when she is inside her own third, though, with her also making plenty of contributions to winning the ball back higher up the field, as this graphic shows.
This is where she incorporates elements of Lassas’ play into her own profile, in that she anticipates where the ball will go and looks to win it as early as possible, with her succeeding in 33.8% of her offensive duels as the season went on, and that will also benefit PSG as it will allow them to regain the ball at pace once they have lost it and without conceding too much territory, again meaning that the likes of Fazer, Geyoro and Groenen can stay higher up the field and for longer passages of play.
Conclusion
In conclusion, this tactical analysis has looked in detail at three potential targets that PSG Féminine could target during the January transfer window, with reports suggesting that they are looking for a new central midfielder to fill a hole they have identified in their ranks.
The fact that Oberdorf and Leonhardsen Maanum are the two most heavily linked with the club allows those monitoring this rumour to build a picture of the type of player and the kinds of qualities that they are searching for. The three alternatives in this analysis are outstanding players who match that profile.
There is no guarantee that PSG will make a purchase next month, with the fact that they were prepared to add the experienced Amandine Henry on a short-term loan from Angel City now that the NWSL campaign is over before she moved to Lille Féminines — instead, showing that they are prepared to bide their time and to wait for the right player to become available. However, it is certainly something to keep an eye on over the coming weeks and months because there is definitely potential for this rumour to come true.
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