14 hours ago
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David Odogu became the final signing of AC Milan’s summer window, and arrives as perhaps the biggest unknown quantity.
As late as on the deadline day of the summer transfer window, Milan’s sporting director Igli Tare was still in pursuit of a centre-back. The name Manuel Akanji was frequently mentioned in reports, but in the end he would choose city rivals Inter.
A name that was also spoken about was Joe Gomez. It was said that Liverpool were waiting for their signing of Marc Guéhi from Crystal Palace before giving the green light, but he did not end up arriving and so the deal was off.
Who was the player Milan turned to? German side Wolfsburg’s David Odogu, a name practically unheard of, and with good reason. As opposed to the experienced winners of Akanji and Gomez, Odogu only has three senior appearances to his name.
Optically, it is a last-minute kind of signing, but the hefty price tag of around €10m for someone so young and inexperienced might say otherwise in regard to Tare’s faith in the player. He could turn out to be a bargain like his compatriot Malick Thiaw or a total flop. Let’s take a deeper look.
Back story
Born in 2006, Odogu grew up in a Christian household in Berlin with his Nigerian father, a former footballer and now a musician that comes from a gospel background.
David spent most of his youth career playing close to home in the Berlinian side Union Berlin, until in 2020 he signed for Wolfsburg. With Die Wolfe, he racked up a total of 55 appearances across all levels, three of which were for the first team.
He first made a name for himself in June 2023 when he lifted the European Championships in a heated final against France on penalties with the Germany U17 side. However, his performance in that tournament is often overshadowed by the following one, given he was more of a supporting player.
When he won the World Cup in December the same year, Odogu was more at the forefront. The final against France also went to penalties, and the reason for the latter triumph being his more famous accomplishment is that he started in every single game as the middle centre-back.
Strengths and weaknesses
Physical presence: The new Rossonero has physical attributes that reminds quite a lot of the player he hopefully means to replace, namely Malick Thiaw.
With a height of 1.91m he is only three centimetres shorter than the Newcastle defender. His weight of 83 kilograms also puts him at the second spot in the Rossoneri’s current central defence, with Strahinja Pavlovic being number one.
1v1s: When asked about his strengths on the pitch David’s first response was one on one duels. His large frame pairs up really well with his aggressiveness as the combination enables him to put heavy pressure on the opponent, often resulting in winning the ball back or a stress-induced decision from the opponent.
Aerial duels: Due to his towering height the German often seems to get the better of his opponents when it comes to aerial duels. This is an important strength to have, especially when considering that it is one of the most crucial tasks for a centre-back.
Passing range: Odogu has a real knack for playing beautiful passes down the wing, which usually coming from his position in the middle of a back-three. With Thiaw gone the Rossoneri did lose a lot of passing ability in the defensive department.
Even though Tomori started the season with a beautiful cross topped off with a header from Leão, he can not really be relied on for consistent long-range passing.
Aggression: As mentioned earlier, Odogu’s defensive style is heavily influenced by his aggression. Similar to Tomori he often tends to make attempts at the ball high up in the field by quickly getting off the line.
This can be described as both a strength and weakness given that such plays are a high risk high reward type of deal. If successful it can result in a promising counter attack, which, given Allegri’s counter-attacking style of play and the receivers of the ball (namely Rafael Leão and Christian Pulisic) would be a very suitable skill to have for Milan.
However, if such an attempt fails it can leave the defence in shambles, causing a goal in the wrong end. Hopefully he will perfect it over time, it is just those kinds of decisions that often come with experience.
Anticipation: This is another trait that shifts between being a weakness and a strength depending on the occasion. At times the former Wolfsburg player can beautifully intercept a dangerous ball but at other times he gets spun around and ends up on the wrong side of an opponent. He usually does far better in these situations when the play is in front of him.
Speed: When he gets going, David comes up in top speeds similar to those of Tomori, but in order to get to those paces he usually has to take a few yards, occasionally leaving him in awkward positions.
Poor touch: The 19 year old’s immaturity is sometimes displayed on the field as he every now and then looks to be in panic with horrible touches as well as headers and passes without an address.
Positioning: Seemingly by the same reason as mentioned above Odogu tends to find himself at a different place on the pitch then he should be. This usually happens when the opposing team attacks down the middle with a pass to the wing.
Transfer rating
The risks of the transfer itself are quite low and the faults of the player are ones that pretty easily can be tied to a lack of experience. The price tag of €10m also contributes to the low risk as it sure is a lot for someone as young as Odogu, but not when compared to Milan’s investments in other targets this summer.
It is, however, when you take into account the context of the purchase that the risks emerge. He could turn into a super star for Milan but the chances of him doing that as early as this season, as inexperienced as he is, are very low.
There are even discussions of him starting off in the Futuro and then making his way into the first team. That’s not enough when considering the current formation and the short list of central defenders that the club has at the moment, which is reflected in the rating.
If the management had signed another, more guaranteed centre-back it would take away most of the negativity of the transfer. Nonetheless, Odogu deserves time and patience to see what he can really be.
Transfer rating: 4/10
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