West Ham: Fofana arrival would make Rice a forgotten man

France and Monaco midfielder Youssouf Fofana has emerged as a possible Declan Rice replacement at West Ham.

West Ham United’s search for Declan Rice’s replacement continues after selling their captain to Arsenal in a British-record transfer last week.

Who will West Ham sign to replace Rice?

Rice’s move to north London, reported to be worth £105m when add-ons are included, officially went through last Saturday. It is a deal that was in the offing for the best part of a month, meaning the Hammers have had plenty of time to search for a replacement – like-for-like or otherwise.

Fulham’s Joao Palhinha, Denis Zakaria of Juventus and Everton’s Amadou Onana have each been linked, among others, but The Guardian suggests West Ham could now move for another player.

It is claimed that Monaco ace Youssouf Fofana is on David Moyes’ radar as an alternative, though the Scotsman is concerned about the 24-year-old’s lack of Premier League experience.

However, the numbers suggest that the Europa Conference League winners would be signing a very talented player in ten-cap France international Fofana, whom L’Equipe reports is available for €35m (£30m) this summer – roughly three-and-a-half times cheaper than departed skipper Rice.

Who is Youssouf Fofana?

Fofana may not have Premier League experience, but he has been a regular in Ligue 1 for five seasons, the past three and a half of those with Monaco, having joined from Strasbourg in January 2020.

The Paris native played 36 times for Monaco in the French top flight last season, starting all but one of those and with each coming in central midfield, as per WhoScored.

Fofana’s strengths lie in breaking up play and carrying the ball forward, ranked as he is – as per FBref – in the top 15% of all midfielders across Europe’s top five leagues last season for interceptions (1.49 per 90 minutes) and top 16% for successful take-ons (1.35 per 90).

For some perspective, Rice was in the top 5% for interceptions (1.73 per 90) – going a long way to explaining his hefty price tag – but only the top 34% for successful take-ons (0.96 per 90).

Rice and Fofana are not strictly the same type of player, then, but there are plenty of similarities between the pair, who are just four days apart in terms of age. For example, Rice was involved in 0.14 goals or assists per 90 last season, compared to 0.12 for Fofana.

A similar number of their shots found the target when they did get forward (22.9% for Rice v 23.8% for Fofana); they were in the same range for pass-completion percentage (86.5 v 81.6 respectively); and were near identical in terms of tackles and interceptions per 90 combined (3.90 v 3.99).

While there are areas Fofana cannot compete with Rice, such as aerial duels won per 90 (1.02 v 0.67), the Frenchman – described as a “magnificent” player by football talent scout Jacek Kulig – is clearly a well-identified target to fill in alongside Tomas Soucek or indeed another new midfielder.

Ultimately, no player Moyes brings in this summer can adequately replace Rice. But in Fofana, West Ham would be signing a now-established France international who has plenty of top-flight experience, and all for a fraction of the cost.