It has almost become a cliché by now, but the amount of young talent currently on show in the Bundesliga is to be envied, particularly when it comes to fresh-faced attackers.
Erling Haaland, Jadon Sancho, Kai Havertz and more have already shown glimpses since German football’s return of why so many scouts are so excited about their potential.
Even those who play in defence who are being tipped to do great things – namely Bayern Munich star Alphonso Davies – tend to be lauded as much for their ability in the opposition’s box as they are their own.
There is one out-and-out defender, however, who has got tongues wagging around the continent, with many predicting it will not be long before Edmond Tapsoba takes the leap and joins one of Europe’s elite clubs.
For now, Tapsoba is still, to some extent, finding his feet at Bayer Leverkusen. The 21-year-old only arrived at the BayArena on the final day of the January transfer window, but his performances have helped catapult Peter Bosz’s side into the fight for a top-four finish, with Tuesday’s 4-1 loss to Wolfsburg the first time he has tasted defeat since joining the club.
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Leverkusen also remain in both the Europa League and DFB-Pokal, meaning a season that began with Tapsoba making his first strides into the senior ranks at Vitoria Guimaraes in Portugal may well end with him picking up some major silverware and planning for a first dalliance with the Champions League.
Tapsoba’s journey from a relative unknown in his native Burkina Faso to one of Europe’s hottest young centre-back prospects has been a rapid one.
Despite making his international debut as a 17-year-old in 2016, Tapsoba left his hometown club, US Ouagadougou, having never made an appearance for the first team. He travelled to Portugal to join second-tier side Leixoes, where he impressed in the youth ranks.
One of those who liked what they saw was former Portugal, Barcelona and Chelsea playmaker Deco, who, having spoken with top-flight clubs in his homeland, reached out to Tapsoba.
“I didn’t believe it was him,” Tapsoba told The Athletic in a recent interview. “I mean, it couldn’t be Deco! It had to be a joke or something.
"He said he had a club for me – Guimaraes – and wanted to know if I had a representative, but I thought it was someone pulling my leg. But there was a second meeting at my home and it was only then that I realised this was real.
“Deco spoke to me about where he saw my career going, what he thought could be achieved, and said he wanted to help guide me. When someone like Deco speaks, you listen.”
Tapsoba did listen, and he joined Vitoria in the winter of 2018. He spent his first 18 months learning his trade with the club’s Under-19s and ‘B’ team where, as well as improving the defensive side of his game, he built up something of a reputation as an expert penalty-taker – a skill which only serves to illustrate just how comfortable he is with the ball at his feet for a centre-back.
He was eventually promoted to the senior squad during the summer of 2019, and put in a number of eye-catching displays during the first half of the campaign.
Leicester City and Wolves both showed an interest in signing him during the January transfer window, but it was Leverkusen who won the race, paying an initial €18 million (£15m/$20m) fee that could rise to as much as €25m (£21m/$28m) depending on certain clauses being met.
It has proven money well spent. Bosz has claimed he has never seen a player “adapt this quickly” after playing Tapsoba on the left-hand side of the back three that the Dutch coach tends to deploy.
The Burkinabe starlet has been particularly noted for his passing ability. Though he is not usually tasked with playing long passes through the thirds of the pitch, his calmness on the ball allows him to maintain possession when looking for a team-mate at an almost incomparable rate.
According to Opta, of players to have made eight or more starts in Bundesliga this season, only Borussia Dortmund midfielder Axel Witsel and Bayern Munich defender Niklas Sule are able to better Tapsoba’s passing accuracy of 91.56 per cent. When limiting it to passes within his own half of the pitch, Tapsoba completes 95 in every 100.
And while his role within the back three is defined by the requirement to keep the ball moving and provide overloads in the left-hand channel during attacks, his defensive capabilities are just as strong.
In his eight Bundesliga appearances to date, he has won over 53% of his duels and in excess of 57% of his tackles. A modern-day athlete, his ability to recover his positioning when the ball is turned over has also been marked out as one of his key strengths.
“I'm sure he will continue his development and become one of the greatest players in the world,” his former coach at Vitoria, Ivo Vieira, told Kicker recently. “He can end up where he wants to – at one of the world's biggest clubs.”
It is quite the claim, but Tapsoba is showing in his first few months in one of Europe’s most competitive leagues that he has all the attributes to make a career at the top level.
In a world where teams are searching for the next Virgil van Dijk or Kalidou Koulibaly, Tapsoba will be at the top of a number of shortlists.
