It is another season, and we are back again to the Eredivisie to search for the next young star of football. Such has been the reputation of the Dutch League that every year, clubs pay massive sums of money to buy the best young talent the game offers. This year, Osame Sahraoui oF SC Heerenveen has been one such player. The Dutch club has hit the jackpot in signing him for a modest fee of €1.7 million, a daylight robbery in the highly inflated transfer market of the modern game.
Heerenveen are in tenth but Sahraoui has been on an altogether different level being the focal point of the team’s attacks. His rise also mirrors that of several of his peers from his nation, such as Antonio Nusa, Jørgen Strand Larsen, Noah Jean Holm, Leo Fuhr Hjelde, and Sivert Mannsverk.
And with the performances that he has put this season combined with Heerenveen’s underwhelming show, clubs could line up to swoop him in the summer transfer window.
So, who is Osame Sahraoui, and how good is he?
Osame Sahraoui profile
Born in Oslo, Norway, to Moroccan parents, Osame Sahraoui grew up in the Hauketo borough, where he played for several local clubs before finally joining Vålerenga Fotball’s youth academy in 2014. For the next six years, he progressed his way through the various age group teams.
His senior-team debut came on June 21, 2020, against Stabæk as a substitute. Sahraoui only played for 28 minutes but made a mark as he won his team a penalty that helped them equalise the game and earn a draw despite being a man down.
The youngster finished the season making 28 appearances, scoring five goals and providing seven assists, with his best performance coming against Brann, where he scored two and provided two to help his team win 5-1.
This got him a permanent spot in the senior squad for the next three seasons, in which he scored nine goals and 16 assists. Sahraoui’s progress till then had mirrored that of hundreds of potential youngsters. During the 2022-23 season, he was reaching a stage where he needed to have his breakthrough season to announce his arrival at the top level.
This is why he decided to leave Norway in the 2023 winter transfer window as he joined Heerenveen. He made his debut against Utrecht on February 4, 2023. Sahraoui would end the season with one goal and five assists.
Osame Sahraoui stats
Sahraoui needed a brilliant 2023-24 season to make a giant leap in his career, which is precisely what he has done. The Norwegian has scored six goals and provided three assists in the league. However, his stats show us how underrated a player he is.
According to the data analytics site, he has an Expected Threat (xT) rating of 4.26, the best in the league. Most of his xT comes from his ball-carrying ability, where he once again ranks as the best player in the Eredivisie.
His ball-carrying supremacy is further validated by the fact that he completed the highest number of successful dribbles (70) in the league and has also won the most fouls (44) for his team.
Stats from fbref states that he completes 5.96 progressive carries per 90 minutes, among the top one percentile of attacking midfielders and wingers. He also ranks among the top two percentile in carrying the ball into the penalty areas. Furthermore, he is among the two percentile of players in attempting and successfully completing take-ons.
Another interesting observation that arises after going through his stats. While he may have only got three assists this season, according to the Expected Assists (xA), he was supposed to get 7.81. The difference comes from the quality of his teammates, who have missed several excellent chances created by the youngster. On a better team, he would have been leading the assists chart in the league.
22 – @scHeerenveen‘s Osame Sahraoui is the first player on record with 22 dribbles in a single @eredivisie game. Baller. pic.twitter.com/d00ERD8gkm
— OptaJohan (@OptaJohan) December 1, 2023
Osame Sahraoui style of play
We discussed how identical their heatmaps were in our article on who among Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jr should play on the left wing. Well, you can add Osame Sahraoui to that list, too. The 22-year-old loves to use the left wing and the inside channel to great effect, and this is where he is at his lethal best.
Playing for Heerenveen, Sahraoui has often been tasked with creating chances for the team. This means that he has to take the most risks, which is evident in his high take-ons and carries numbers.
And the player has been very successful due to his pace and amazing movements in tight spaces. He is adept at using the inside channel to get inside the box, take a shot, or go towards the wings and cross the ball. One underrated stat of his is that he has an offside rating of 0.03 per 90 minutes, meaning he is flagged once every 30 games, showing his incredible vision and his art of making line-breaking runs at the perfect time.
However, his talent is still raw, and his decision-making in several situations could improve. One of the major reasons is his habit of doing everything by himself, which often causes him to lose the ball when he could have passed it to a teammate in a better position.
Osame Sahraoui potential
Osame Sahraoui has yet to play in a top team but has still managed to make a brilliant career so far, which shows that his true potential is much higher than what he has shown till now. While there is no news yet linking him to a top club the way he is playing, he will soon have multiple offers.
His rise is also good news for his nation, which now has a pool of younger players that, in two years, could become an integral part of the senior team. Norway already has Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard in their ranks but need other stars to step up if they want to make a team that can challenge for tournaments such as Euros and the World Cup.
That dream is still a little distant for Sahraoui but for now he has displayed all the signs that he can fulfill that dream.