Prospect Scouting: Musa Barrow
Here we look at the Bologna striker who returned from the break as the in-form striker in Italy.
I bet if you thought about all the young players around the world who I could choose for the first prospect scout here with the Scout, not many would have thought I’d be looking to Bologna for inspiration.
However, Musa Barrow, on loan from Atalanta this January was absolutely outstanding in the second half of this season. In the latter part of the season the 20-year-old was one of the most prolific chance creators in Europe.
Player Profile
Name: Musa Barrow
Age: 21 (Born 1998)
Position: Striker/Wing
Club: Bologna (on loan from Atalanta)
Rookie Year: Rookie sticker released 2018-19 season
About The Player
Musa Barrow is an exciting striker, who has been moved across to the left wing while on loan at Bologna, from Atalanta where he is playing in a front three.
Probably the best thing I can say about Barrow is that he makes shit happen when he’s playing.
In fact, check this out. If you take all the players from the top five leagues (England, Spain, Italy, Germany, and France), Barrow was 16th in Shot Creating Actions per 90 minutes.
“Shot Creating Actions” are the two offensive actions that directly lead to a shot. This can be a pass, dribble, or drawing a foul.
Image source: https://fbref.com/en/comps/Big5/2019-2020/gca/players/2019-2020-Big-5-European-Leagues-Stats
From those 5.38 chances Musa creates per 90 minutes, 1.07 of them come from a dribble. That may not mean much to you yet, but lets put that in context. Here are the only players in that top 16 mentioned before that create more shots through dribbling:
Lorenzo Pellegrini (1.17 per 90)
Lionel Messi (1.16 per 90)
Kylian Mbappe (1.13 per 90)
So, yeah… he’s in pretty good company there.
Barrow usues a mix of workrate, speed and strength to create chances for himself and teammates. Check out his assist for the first goal in the video below.
Musa gets a pass to his feet with a defender riding him. He knows that he can’t get a shot off with his back to goal but manages to fend off the defender and create position to get a cut back in to his teammate.
What’s Next for Musa Barrow?
As mentioned before, Musa Barrow is on load at Bologna from Italian darling, Atalanta.
The deal was a loan-to-buy, so Bologna have an option to buy for a fee reported to be around €13 million on a five-year deal - which is a bargain on Barrow’s output.
I haven’t seen a conformation yet of Barrow’s permanent move yet, but I’d expect that to come in the next few weeks (unless I’m missing something).
From there, with a season under his belt, Bologna may have just found himself an absolute bargain striker - and one they could sell to a bigger club after a year.
Hell, I’m sure they could instantly flip him for double the €13 million price-tag to the right buyer!
Musa Barrow: For Collectors
If you’re looking at Musa Barrow cards and stickers, his rookie sticker is from the 2018-19 season and is in his Atalanta.
The price point is very inexpensive at this stage, so take from that what you will.
You can find Musa Barrow Rookie stickers here.
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Also, this is the first one of these that I’ve done, so leave some feedback and let me know what you think!