Gambling with Seydou Doumbia

This is Seydou Doumbia, the man it looks like Newcastle are turning to to save them from relegation. At 28 years of age, this is a fantastic opportunity for him to establish himself in what is arguably the best league in the world.

Will Doumbia be a success or has Steve McClaren been playing too much FIFA…

Seydou Doumbia is currently playing on loan at CSKA Moscow from AS Roma. He had originally moved from CSKA Moscow to AS Roma a year ago this month for £10million. In his last 3 seasons (this season inclusive) for CSKA Moscow, Seydou Doumbia scored 41 goals in 64 games (49 starts). During his time at CSKA Moscow he has a ratio of scoring 1 goal every 109 minutes. That is lethal. It is clear he knows where the back of the net is. This is why Newcastle are signing him.

His time at AS Roma is seen by many as disappointing and as proof that he can’t make it in a top league. I disagree, he played 13 games, playing the full 90 minutes in only 2 of those, scoring 2 goals over this time. He was then loaned back to CSKA Moscow where he immediately rediscovered his goal scoring form immediately, scoring 11 goals so far this season. On average he played around 35 minutes per appearance at Roma. In my opinion it is therefore understandable that his record at Roma is not pleasant viewing.

It is true that the Russian League is definitely not the same standard at the Premier League. Doumbia will not have the same goal scoring record in the Premier League as he did in Russia. But, Seydou Doumbia does know where the back of the net is and that is clear. He also adds a lot of pace up front. Something Newcastle have not had since Loic Remy.

The most important thing in this singing is that Doumbia can finish. With the arrivals of Townsend and Shelvey in particular accompanied in the midfield by Wijnaldum and Sissoko Doumbia should have all the service he needs to score. It is a gamble however, lots of players who have been prolific in foreign leagues have come to the Premier League and struggled. An example of this is Salamon Rondon. He had scored 20 goals in 25 games at Zenit, moved to West Brom last summer and has scored 3 goals in 17 games so far this season. It is impossible to say whether Doumbia will succeed at Newcastle. But it is a step forward none-the-less.