Matthis Abline.
Abline is pronounced "Aubaine", meaning a great bargain, godsend, or lucky find. I don’t actually know this to be true, but it sounds good.
He’s 22 years old and already racked up 126 Ligue 1 appearances, which means he has to have something about him, and I’m going to watch him to see if the noise surrounding his potential move to the Premier League is justified. Striker’s data are, in my eyes, largely team style-based, so the fact he only has two goals this season isn’t a concern for me. It’s better to see what he can do and if the system he’s in is platforming his talents.
Role in the team: In the 24/25 season, Abline mainly operated in a partnership in a 3-5-2 system where the playstyle was very direct, so he was dealing with a lot of long balls and floated crosses. Whilst he is a fairly tall forward, he’s not amazing aerially in terms of finishing, but he does win first contact pretty regularly when it’s booted up to him. He’s most comfortable finishing around the penalty spot or closer to the D. In the 25/26 season, he’s been operating mostly off the left side. He’s so clearly the best player for Nantes; his game has suffered slightly because he feels he has to do everything himself, and you can see him get visibly frustrated and throw his arms up and pull his shorts if the pass isn’t made to him. He gives everything and expects it back. Some people might not like that, but I think that’s what separates being fine and good and potentially great.
Strengths: First touch, ball carrying, speed with the ball.
Abline probably possesses the best first touch that I’ve seen from any striker in Europe. He kills it, takes the ball into his stride, and creates separation almost immediately. For number nines in Ligue 1 last season, Abline led the division for shots from take on attempts with 8. This season, he ranks third for shots from carries with 16. You won’t see many better forwards who possess his ability to carry the ball upfield, as well as have quick feet in tight spaces and the nimbleness to escape or evade pressure. He goes to initiate contact by planting his feet and getting low, which enables him to have the power and speed to get away quickly into space. Naturally, he peels to the left side even when playing as a lone striker or with a partner. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t channel run down the right side, because he does, but his comfort blanket is being on that left as he wants to cut inside and unleash a shot. He wants to get involved in the game and drops deep because he knows he’s capable of carrying his side 30/40 yards up the pitch. When he plays as a 9, he’s dropping deep to get on the ball, or he’s quickly spinning behind the central defender to run onto a through ball so he can shoot across goal. If he’s playing wide left, his starting position isn’t high and wide; it’s low and wide. He wants to access the ball more easily and quickly from the midfield or fullback.
Improvements: Box movement, finishing.
The reason I don’t think he’s an outright centre forward is because of his movement in crossing situations and his natural instincts when the ball is around the box. A natural finisher would anticipate rebounds, look to follow up a shot, or even have that hunger to get into the box. It would be harsh to say Abline doesn’t have this, because at times it is there but it’s rare. He prefers to hang back and ball watch whilst walking, or hangs at the back post with little movement from crossing situations. He doesn’t come alive like he does outride the box where he will show double movements for balls over the top. Also, when he does go through on goal, his temperament is to try and hit it as hard as possible most of the time. Whilst his technique is clean, his ball striking isn’t that great because it’s erratic. There’s a consensus that clean ball striking means hitting it hard with no back-lift, that’s not the case. In the Premier League, 9s who score goals tend to have a blocked shot % of between 8%-20%. Abline is currently operating at 34% of his shots being blocked. Thats because he takes too long to get it off through too many touches, not through being a slow motion. It’s head down, try and and get a clear opening which in turn makes an opening to a closing. When he works half a yard, he goes to find another yard and that allows the defenders to get back. He needs to work on his shot placement too, because according to my model, the consistent finishers average around 22% of their on target shots being in the corners. Abline is averaging 13%, he needs to stop going for power every time and central. The ability in both feet is there, the technique and temperament needs work and that will take him to the next level. I want to see him variation into his runs, show a quick dart to the front post, fake a front post run and back peddle back to the space. I want to see him manipulate defenders into sides of the box so he can shoot across goal with either his left or right foot. The easiest finish for strikers with power in their shots is when they go hard and low across the keeper.
Conclusion: Weighing all his strengths and weaknesses up, I think Abline is a top 6-8 Premier League-level talent. I think he’d be a great signing for the likes of Crystal Palace, Everton, Bournemouth, and Leeds. His instincts and tendencies lead me to believe he is very close to both Matheus Cunha and Joao Pedro. There’s intention with every first touch. It’s immaculate almost every time, but the touches after that can be loose and awkward and a good chance of a turnover going the other way. Physically, he can match anyone; speed isn’t an issue because the acceleration with the ball is genuinely high standard. Where he’s a step down from the other two is the speed at which he actually gets shots off. He takes too many touches and overplays consistently. Where there’s an opportunity to pull the trigger, he tries to go one more, and the shot is either blocked, scuffed, or he’s lost control. Cunha and Joao both can snap shots off quickly even if they’re guilty of the same thing of overplaying. Joao is also good aerially in the box. He’s great at carrying from deep, getting out of tight spaces. He looks for the interchange to give and go; he can shoot cleanly off both feet without the best accuracy. There’s an arrogance to him as well in the way he demands the ball from his teammates, but that can also go against him, as he does go into hero mode quite often and thinks he has to do everything himself. What caps him from being at an elite club is what caps Joao Pedro and Matheus Cunha. They’re good in multiple positions without having a natural great position. I don’t think he’s a natural 9, as the instincts and movement in the box aren’t there. I also don’t think he’s an out-and-out winger who has to be on the touchline. I think he’d work best with someone close to him, but let him have the freedom to roam about in the left half spaces because he will excite you, he’ll bring a certain energy every time he gets the ball, he’s the type of player a mid-table Premier League team would love, and fans would idolise. Not every player is destined for greatness, and in my opinion, Abline, if he were to move to the Premier League, would struggle to score goals constantly, but he would absolutely impact games regularly because that carrying ability, matched with physicality, would be effective in England. If I had to put him anywhere, he’d be great in the current 3-5-2 iteration of Leeds with Calvert-Lewin as his partner. I think if he had his game simplified and had teammates on his wavelength, he wouldn’t get into a rut of wanting to pop the takeover pill, because he’s capable. Just when his mind goes into overdrive, he does exactly that, overdrive.