Abde Ezzalzouli: Profile, playing style, scouting report

The Moroccan youngsters impressed at U23 AFCON 2023

Abdessamad ‘Abde’ Ezzalzouli, also known as ‘EZ Abde’, is a sensational young Moroccan winger starting to make his presence known in Spanish football. Originally a product of the Hércules Alicante youth system before joining Barcelona as a 21-year-old.

But the Moroccan International was loaned to Osasuna at the start of the previous season for more game time. With his pace and the natural ability to go past players, Abde is one of the most promising talents in LaLiga. Born in Morocco and raised in Spain, he represents the Morocco national team at international level.

Past Experience

Abde Ezzalzouli was part of the youth academies for Peña Ilicitana Raval CF, CD Pablo Iglesias, Kelme CF, Promesas Elche CF, and CD Cultural Carrús. He trialled at Elche CF, the main club in his hometown, but was not offered a place in their academy. Ezzalzouli continued to play for neighbourhood clubs in Elche until Hércules B coach Antonio Moreno Domínguez offered him a contract, and Ezzalzouli subsequently joined the main club in the neighbouring city of Alicante.

Abde Ezzalzouli moved to Hércules' reserves in 2016, where he began his senior career in 2019.  On top of this, he would also gain his first taste of international football, choosing to represent his birth nation of Morocco. Firstly, his senior debut would come in December in the form of a late substitution in a 0-0 draw against UE Olot in the Segunda División B  Shortly after his stretch of games for Hércules, Abde was handed his first call-up to the Moroccan youth teams, representing his country in the 2020 edition of the Arab Cup u-20 in Saudi Arabia. He would appear as a sub in an emphatic 6-0 victory over Djibouti.

The start of the 2021-22 season saw Ezzalzouli making what is one of the biggest dream moves any young footballer can make. Having never left the southeast ever since his family moved to Spain, Abde made the move up north and joined Barcelona B in a deal worth around £1.75 million.

Abde Ezzalzouli would make his Barça B debut in early August, making a substitute appearance in a 1-0 loss over Gimnàstic. In September 2022, he renewed his contract with Barcelona until 2026 and was ensuingly loaned to Osasuna. On 4 September, he made his first appearance for Osasuna against Rayo Vallecano after being subbed in the 81st minute, he managed to assist the winning goal in that game, which ended in a 2–1 victory.

Stats

Last season in La Liga, Abde Ezzalzouli played 28 matches and scored four goals and provided two assists. He is also a part of AFCON U-23 where he appeared in four games and played a total of 458 minutes game scored three goals and also provided three assists, and generated six key passes, out of 48 times 28 times he was successful in his dribbles also contributed in defence as he made six interceptions and created 2.51xG.

Type of Player

Dribbling is always Abde’s first choice and his intention is clear, get the ball into the box or shoot. He’s skilled to manipulate the ball in tight spaces and has excellent acceleration and pace. He’s also quite physically to resist challenges, at his age, he’s expected to keep building muscle.

Despite being right-footed, he isn’t predictable and can cut inside or dribble on the outside from either wing as he’s not afraid to attempt shots and crosses with his left foot. Standing at 1.77m and very mobile, Abde Ezzalzouli also has the ability to turn and leave rivals behind using his body. Abde focuses too much on getting the ball into the box himself and can miss some good chances to combine with the overlapping full-back or get into the box with combinations and running in behind. Simply put, Abde Ezzalzouli is already one of the most sensational on-ball players in Europe.

Abde Ezzalzouli is incredibly technically refined for his age, and whilst he isn’t the finished product yet he will do well to improve on his dribbling ability. He has all of the traits that make wide players so dangerous on the ball. Agility, balance, two-footedness, awareness and creativity all play a very big role in what makes Abde a pure joy to watch.

Similar Type of Player

His profile is very similar to Barcelona star winger Ousmane Dembele. Just like Dembele, he likes to dribble and go past opponents. He is very good in 1 v 1 situations but still very inconsistent but so is Dembele. He also has pace and robustness which the French winger also have. In the future, Ez Abde can be a great replacement for Ousmane Dembele.