The Basics
Age: 25
Club: Free agent
Nation: France
Position: Striker
Footed: Right
Thuram’s first professional club was Sochaux, which he joined in 2012, eventually making his senior debut in Ligue 2 in 2015.
He only scored once in 43 appearances for Sochaux, before moving to Guingamp in the summer of 2017.
After netting four times in his first season, Thuram scored 13 goals in his second campaign in 2018/19, attracting the interest of Borussia Mönchengladbach, who signed him for a reported £10million.
Over four seasons with Gladbach, Thuram appeared 134 times, scoring 44 goals, before leaving at the end of the 2022/23 season having decided not to renew his contract.
The striker has been capped by France 10 times but is yet to score. He is the son of Lilian Thuram, famous for his time at Juventus, as well as Monaco, Parma, and Barcelona.
Marcus was born in Parma while his father was playing there, and his younger brother Khéphren plays for Nice.
The Scouting Report
Strengths
Thuram is a well-rounded striker and has a lot of strings to his bow.
From an athletic standpoint, Thuram has both pace and power. His recorded height is between 6’2” and 6’4”.
The Frenchman’s pace allows him to get behind the back line and run away from defenders once he’s in the clear. His strength means he can also come short and hold the ball up, protecting it from defenders.
Thuram’s link up play is effective; he can head or chest the ball first time to teammates, and he has the composure in possession and passing ability to find teammates, ranking in the 74th percentile for pass accuracy.
He makes himself available to receive the ball, running into the channels or pulling out wide, and plays one twos in and around the penalty area, making aggressive runs into the box.
The cliché: “good feet for a big lad” applies to Thuram. He goes at defenders with the ball and can use feints and stepovers to get past them. He’s comfortable using both feet so can go either way, keeping defenders on their toes.
Thuram ranks in the 88th percentile for progressive carries and the 87th for successful take-ons.
The striker is calm in front of goal and can sit goalkeepers down before rounding them to find the net. He has been in rich goalscoring form recently, ranking in the 76th percentile for non-penalty goals in the last year.
Defensively, Thuram often lulls defenders into a false sense of security and doesn’t look interested, before jolting into life when the opportunity comes to steal the ball or corner someone. He ranks in the 61st percentile for interceptions and blocks.
He can use his pace to close down quickly, putting pressure on defenders and also drops back when needed to help around the edge of his own penalty area.
From defensive set pieces, Thuram is useful and frequently heads the ball clear, ranking in the 51st percentile for aerial duel win rate.
Weaknesses
Thuram’s goal record isn’t anything to criticise, but he isn’t an above average finisher and lacks a bit of killer instinct, missing one on ones more than he’d like. The striker hasn’t outscored his expected goals (xG) in any season in his career so far.
The random spurts of defensive effort he shows are dispersed between long spells where he does very little, allowing the play to go on around him. He ranks in the 36th percentile for tackles.
Injury history could be a concern for Thuram. He’s already missed games with knee, ankle, and muscle issues in his career.
Fit With Villa
Thuram would provide strong competition for Ollie Watkins, and his physical strength and link-up ability could also make him an effective complement to Watkins if they were to play together.
He has previously been used out wide quite a bit, so could also play that role if required.
Signing a player of Thuram’s quality on a free transfer would be another excellent piece of business, but Villa would face competition from some top clubs in Europe.
Similar Players
- Darwin Núñez – Liverpool
- Randal Kolo Muani – Eintracht Frankfurt
- Robert Lewandowski – Barcelona
- Wissam Ben Yedder – Monaco
- Nicolas Jackson – Villarreal
- Lautaro Martínez – Internazionale
- Danny Welbeck – Brighton & Hove Albion
- Folarin Balogun – Reims
- Marcus Rashford – Manchester United
- Eddie Nketiah – Arsenal
Transfer Targets Series
The Villa Ramble 
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