Malick Fofana
Olympique Lyonnais · Midfielder · Belgium · 1,214 min
Ballity Verdict
What makes this player special?
Malick Fofana is at his best when the game opens into one-versus-one battles out wide. For Olympique Lyonnais, that means stretch, isolation, and the ability to beat a full-back before the box gets crowded — not a pure chance-creation spreadsheet profile. The headline trait is duelist winger.
Beyond the headline job, Fofana remains plausible as playmaking winger and raumdeuter. The secondary roles matter for how a coach can reorganise without changing the XI entirely.
On the pitch he has actually been used as LW / CF (#9). That matters: skill-set breadth is one thing; demonstrated deployment is another. Fofana's authenticity claim starts from those minutes, not from a role board alone.
The trade-off is real: duelist shows up as a structural caveat in the profile. Any club buying the upside has to decide whether that hole is tolerable in their system — or whether they will need complementary players beside him.
Why Ballity says this
- Midfield / role totality: duelist winger, playmaking winger, raumdeuter
- Shown minutes: LW / CF (#9)
- Known caveat: duelist
Receipts
- · Player Profile
- · Role Breadth
- · Deployment authenticity
- · Sample · featured
Position
Wide Forward
Appearances
12
Great+ roles
1
Age
21
Preferred foot
Right
Height
169 cm
Ballity insights
Peer context vs wingers — how often they get the ball and what they do with it. Separate from role tiers above. Attackers also split separation into on-ball (dribble-created) and off-ball (movement).
Usage rate
Share of team touches (non-GK) among wingers with match data.
13.8% team touches
Peer band · Low
Pool percentile
30.0%
Also 50.9 touches/90 (season aggregate).
Efficiency
Output quality per action for wingers.
31 score
Peer band · High
Pool percentile
81.4%
On-ball separation
Dribble-created space and self-made shot quality.
43 score
Peer band · Elite
Pool percentile
93.1%
Off-ball separation
Movement-created space on assisted attempts.
48 score
Peer band · Average
Pool percentile
59.7%
Balance & structural weaknesses
How complete this player is on the position's job board — strengths and holes.
How we define this
Two-way = Great+ on ≥2 complementary axes. One-way = every other route Limited/closed. Weak routes = Average holes on complementary axes.
Strong as Duelist (Great)
Weak routes
Defensive contribution
Proxy only · confidence: proxy — not a role tier
Proxy p59 · Actions p54 within winger peers
Stat profile
Within Winger peers — percentile shape (not role scores).
Versatility Index
Precise 0–100 score — cross-group breadth (67%) plus within-group depth (33%), quality-scaled by tier. Distinct from the shape card below.
Index
53.1
Breadth 33.5 · Depth 19.6
- ·Fullbacks: Overlapping FB (Elite)
- ·Wingers: Duelist Winger (Great), Playmaking Winger (Great), Raumdeuter (Good), Wide Runner (Good)
- ·Forwards: Poacher (Great), Channel Runner (Good)
Versatility shape
Coarse directional pattern (Specialist / Dual-threat / Generalist) — not the 0–100 Index above.
Specialist
Great SpecialistDistinct Great+
1 Great+ roles total
Where he plays
Positions with deployment evidence — not statistical guesses.
Natural
Role translations
Where the profile could fit. Tap a position — then see which role style suits it.
Select a position on the pitch to see the best role, alternatives, and evidence.
Role-by-role detail
How each role is scored. Expand a row for a radar of role-shaped stats.
Similar players
Shape match across winger roles — cosine similarity of role scores (domestic leagues only). Slot 1 is the best same-league match; the rest are the next closest from the full pool.
Samuel Amo-Ameyaw
RC Strasbourg · Ligue 1 24/25
Closest roles
Playmaking WingerΔ31
RaumdeuterΔ42
Duelist WingerΔ47
Gustav Isaksen
Lazio · Serie A 24/25
Closest roles
- Duelist WingerΔ11
- Playmaking WingerΔ4
- RaumdeuterΔ18
Jota Silva
Nottingham Forest · PL 24/25
Closest roles
- Duelist WingerΔ23
- RaumdeuterΔ20
- Playmaking WingerΔ14