In one of the worst kept secrets of the very young winter transfer season, it is all but certain that Jeremie Boga has become a new Atalanta player (and perhaps when you read this it will already be official). And what a shiny new toy Gian Piero Gasperini has to play with! Its no mistake that Boga has been (at one point) and still can be one of the most electric players in Serie A. His pace and dribbling technique are assets that Atalanta did not previously have, and hopefully he is able to instill life into an offense that sometimes becomes reliant on a methodical and predictable style of football.
While Jeremie Boga has oodles of talent, his move to Bergamo does not come without risk. Since his breakout season two years ago, the Ivorian national has had, at best, uneven form that forced him to rotation duty – even being replaced on the left wing at Sassuolo by a natural striker/poacher in Giacamo Raspadori. After posting double digit goals in the 2019/2020 season, Boga has only registered 4 goals and 4 assists in his last 39 matches. Its hardly an inspiring return, but in his defense Boga has dealt with a slew of injuries and even a prolonged COVID absence that has stifled his attempt to ascend to a new level of success. This is one of Atalanta’s riskiest transfers in recent time, and the return Atalanta will need from Boga will have to be on par with what he did two years ago at Sassuolo. There’s reasons for encouragement, and walking through the talking points will likely get everyone on the hype train (including yours truly, who has been frequently cautious of plunging in headfirst for Boga).
What We Know
He’s An Elite Dribbler- No matter how you slice it, it’s impossible to deny how good Boga is on the ball. In his breakout 2019/2020 season, Boga led Serie A in players dribbled past, and was second in carries into the penalty area. Even this year, in which he has played the equivalent of 7 games and change, Boga is still 9th in carries into the penalty area. An Atalanta offense that has recently been devoid of speed could most definitely benefit from a guy who needs little help getting into dangerous situations – permitting more space for Atalanta’s usual armada of players attacking the net. Boga has never put up boisterous assist totals, but that could change in a new setup that benefits so much from volume possession inside the opponent’s penalty box.
He’s A Strong Passer- Watching Boga it is obvious that his forte is not killer balls and crosses. And while much of his offensive contribution comes from his dribbling, he’s an intelligent passer who will rarely lose possession with an inadvertent pass. In fact, over the last calendar year Boga is in the 99th percentile of all attacking midfielders in pass completion percentage, dishing out successful passes at an 85.9% clip. Granted his passes are often on the safer side, but he is comfortable in still completing them under pressure, deftly fitting into Atalanta’s possession based tactics.
The Injury Bug Has Hit Him Hard- Since the beginning of the 2020/2021 season, Boga has missed 19 matches to 6 unique unrelated injuries. A bout of COVID, and an injury cryptically labeled as ‘fever’ on Transfermarkt suggest that the Corona bug has gotten to him good. Regardless since his breakout season, Boga has only had two stretches longer than two months without injury. Health has not been his friend, but leading into the next point….
He’s Not As Young As You Think- Boga turned 25 years old on January 3rd. While he’s far from a grizzled veteran, its still very easy to liken him to a 22 year old firecracker. But given his slightly more advanced age, its fair to say Boga has entered his prime years as an attacker. For a speed first player, there’s not a whole lot of time left to see if he’ll reach his elite form again, especially if he picks up the unfortunate title of an injury prone player.
What We Don’t Know
Why Did He Fall Out of Favor With Sassuolo- Before being trounced by 3 goals against Bologna on the 22nd of December, Boga had not started for Sassuolo since October 2nd. Sassuolo coach Alessio Dionisi public has asked for more out of Boga in hope to light a fire under his legs, but unfortunately nothing has gone right for Boga still – who has been displaced for the aforementioned Raspadori. Perhaps Boga has been checked out for a while, and demotivated, assuming a bigger move would eventually come for him? As concerning as that would potentially be, it is an unfair stance to take right now without more information. Sassuolo obviously still rate him, given the price tag, and maybe Boga just reached a point where a change of scenery was needed… Which begs the question:
Did Atalanta Bid Against Itself– There were other small rumors that were popping up from other teams expressing their interest in Boga (including Milan, Marseille, and Rennes), but no one was anywhere near as closely linked to the winger as La Dea. If there was no real interest elsewhere in the Ivorian’s services, why was Boga’s price tag so high? 22M euros would be a top three transfer in Atalanta history for a player on a recent downward trend. Obviously the market for him was greater a year ago, and perhaps I’m misreading his value on the market, but it feels like Atalanta was nowhere as ruthless in getting a more favorable price than it was last summer with Teun Koopmeiners. Yes the leagues and player markets are different, but the question needs to be pondered, especially at that price and the importance he’ll be asked to have in the offense.
Is a 22 Million Transfer Too High- On the surface, it seems incredibly steep (as already mentioned before). But it’s important to note another very similarly valued player that joined Atalanta three years ago, Luis Muriel. Muriel had just come off an underwhelming stint in Spain with Sevilla, in which he scored 8 goals in 35 matches with the Spanish side. After coming back to the friendly confines of Serie A, everyone knows what Muriel has gone on to do – but in case you forgot, he notched 40 Serie A goals in his first two seasons, while playing the equivalent of 30 full matches. Honestly, Boga and Muriel have a lot in common in their arrival at Atalanta – and while Muriel has earned his $23M price tag (and then some), you have to have faith that Sartori and his staff know what they’re doing in regards to Boga. Good offensive talent is going to be expensive, and in one year’s time we may all be laughing about the riskiness of the transfer price. (But I guess we could also be rueing the day the transfer went through….). It’s a calculated the risk that Atalanta ultimately needed to make.
The 22 million euros Sassuolo will receive for Boga feels steep for a current rotation player, but ultimately Atalanta seems like the ideal destination for him to find new levels of success. On the surface, its a match that satisfies the desires of both parties. Atalanta has needed a windup box attacker ever since Papu Gomez departed, and Boga (rightly or wrongly) has looked ready to take on more prestigious challenges beyond what can happen at the Mapei Stadium. It will take a lot for Boga to live up to his price tag, but let’s hope he can rekindle his old form that put him on everyone’s radar. Welcome to Bergamo Jeremie, and all the best embarrassing defenses in black and blue! As always, Forza Dea!!!
