Player Focus: Lack of Interest in Ben Yedder is Baffling

Franck Tabanou may have left, with talismanic captain Etienne Capoue expected to follow, but if Toulouse can keep hold of young forward Wissam Ben Yedder, who was a revelation in his breakthrough campaign with le Tefece, then they will still hold out hope for a productive season.

The renewal of full-back Serge Aurier's contract, an apparent target of Arsenal, was also a significant deal with regards to the immediate future of Alain Casanova's side, and if he can stave off interest in last season's top scorer to boot, all will not be doom and gloom at the Stadium Municipal.

While interest was seemingly forthcoming from Premier League duo Everton and Aston Villa in January, the fact that no team appears to have made an approach for the 22-year old this summer is somewhat baffling. A mid-season slump may have put off some prospective suitors, with Ben Yedder making 13 league appearances without a scoring between December and April as Toulouse's form dipped.

The player's personal drop in performance levels followed shortly after he was handed a lengthy suspension from international action for les Bleus having been spotted attending a night club before a crucial European Under-21 qualifier. The ban will not come to an end until the end of this year and such actions are unlikely to appease any potential buyers, but Ben Yedder's impact on the field was clear last season.

Having not started a single league match for Toulouse before the current campaign, the diminutive front man became a key man for the club to end the season with 15 goals. His barren run in the lead up to 2013 and for the first few months of the year coincided with a tough period for the club, who won just 3 of the aforementioned 13 games that Ben Yedder failed to find the net. Prior to that the striker had begun the season in spectacular fashion, with 9 goals in his first 13 appearances.

At the end of November, 14 games into the season, Toulouse were just 6 points off the summit of Ligue 1 with Ben Yedder starring with two goals and an assist in an emphatic 3-0 win over table-toppers at the time Lyon. By the beginning of April however, when Ben Yedder's dry spell came to an end, they were 20 points off of top spot and eventual league champions PSG, sitting in 11th.

However, come the end of the season the forward was back in top form, scoring 6 and picking up 3 assists in his final 8 league appearances, including a brace in a man of the match display (9.45 WhoScored rating) on the final day against Montpellier. All in all Toulouse lost just twice in the games in which Wissam Ben Yedder scored (against European qualifiers Nice and Lyon), with only four players netting more goals in the division than the 22-year old.

The fact that his tally of 15 came in a side that have been far more renowned for their defensive solidity than attacking flair in recent seasons is well worth noting. Indeed, only seven Ligue 1 sides had fewer shots than Toulouse last season (447), and Ben Yedder's conversion rate (19.7%) was that of a far more experienced forward. In fact, such a figure was in advance of Ibrahimovic (19.1%), Gomis (15.5%) and Aubameyang (13.9%), who all finished above him in the scoring charts.

The youngster is tipped for bigger and better things by the French media next season, as he hopes to play his way back into the international set-up's good books in order to earn a first senior call-up to the French side prior to next summer's World Cup. A former futsal player, Ben Yedder has the technique that playing such a style develops and is able to use his low centre of gravity - standing at just 5'7" - to wriggle his way out of tight spaces and make a yard to get his shot away.

His pace is also a real asset as he plays on the last defender, though he's far from a limited goal poacher. Of the 38 players to score as many or more goals than the Frenchman, the lowest proportion of Ben Yedder's tally came from clear-cut goalscoring opportunities (33.3%). Most were well-taken efforts steered into the bottom corners, with none of his goals coming from outside the box.

He did, however, score a good variety of goals and was one of only 17 players in Europe's top 5 leagues to net at least three goals with his left foot, right foot and even his head, despite being the shortest player in most penalty boxes. It's that ability to strike from all manner of means that should put him in the shop window, and his competency with either foot is a rare trait, despite favouring his right (8 goals).

It’s clear that the French league offers up some of the biggest bargains in Europe, with Newcastle having exploited the market more than any other side. With just two years to run on his current deal, it’s predictable that Wissam Ben Yedder would be available at a competitive price. With the market for promising forwards as, if not more, booming as ever it’s a wonder why the Toulouse man hasn’t been the subject of concrete interest, for now at least.