The Bundesliga has been Europe’s biggest talent-house since the last couple of years and has produced some remarkable players. It has produced players like Joshua Kimmich, Timo Werner, Kai Havertz amongst others. The next name to be added on that list is going to be Stuttgart’s 21 year old explosive forward Silas Wamangituka, with the youngster already gunning for the Bundesliga Rookie of the year for this season after scoring 11 goals and assisting four. Only a Stuttgart legend has scored more goals for the club after the first 20 matchdays, and that was Fredi Bobic in 1996/97.
Players with 🔟➕ goal involvements this season ⚽+🅰️
2️⃣5️⃣ Robert Lewandowski
1️⃣4️⃣ Erling Haaland
1️⃣4️⃣ Thomas Müller
1️⃣3️⃣ Andre Silva
1️⃣1️⃣ Wout Weghorst
1️⃣1️⃣ Lars Stindl
1️⃣1️⃣ Silas Wamangituka
1️⃣1️⃣ Vincenzo Grifo
1️⃣1️⃣ Max Kruse
1️⃣0️⃣ Andrej Kramaric
1️⃣0️⃣ Jonas Hofmann pic.twitter.com/ToZjJJJFgG— Bundesliga English (@Bundesliga_EN) January 12, 2021
He took a little bit of time to get going at Stuttgart and bagged his first Stuttgart goal in his seventh appearance – an otherwise disappointing 6-2 loss from the hands of the freshly relegated Hamburg in October 2019. His second goal for the club a week later was far more enjoyable as Stuttgart defeated Dynamo Dresden 3-1 and by the end of the campaign, he played a very significant role in securing Stuttgart’s return to the top-flight.
He first came into the limelight after converting an incredible 80 meter solo run into a goal followed by a brace against Borussia Dortmund this season. Having a brilliant start to the campaign, the Congo International picked up a knee Injury in March and is now set to miss the rest of the season.
PLAYING STYLE
Silas Wamangituka has really impressed many by his performances this season but lets take a closer look at his playing style. Many would compare his playing style with Nicolas Pepe’s but Silas’s work ethic and defensive work rate is way more than the Gunners winger’s. He is more direct and better technically as well.
Silas Wamangituka is well known for his pace, flair, agility, directness and technical ability on the ball. One of his underrated abilities is his positional awareness, where he somehow finds himself in the right spot at almost every instance.
Box-to-box 😲
Silas Wamangituka's incredible solo run for @VfB_int, recreated by @EASPORTSFIFA 🎮🔄#FUT #FIFA21 #BLGoalsRecreated pic.twitter.com/iCDW069JQK
— Bundesliga English (@Bundesliga_EN) February 5, 2021
With time, his goals will start increasing as he possesses all the abilities to be a top class finisher. He tends to play on the wings to completely utilize his skill-set but he has the ability to play as a center-forward as well, possessing the strength and movement required for it.
His flair and dribbling skills were seen against Mainz and he is not a player who is afraid to take on players with more than five attempted dribbles per game, completing almost half of those.
YOUTH CAREER
Born on 6 October 1999 in the capital city of Democratic Republic of Congo Kinshasa, Silas was first discovered at 12-years-old by Black Mountain Sport academy before going on to join local team Olympic Matete FC. Young Silas spent six years with his local team Matete before moving to France, where he first arrived at fifth-tier side Ales in the year 2017.
A year later, Silas made the move to Ligue 2 outfit Paris FC in the French capital, where he finally made his professional debut in August, 2018. Silas was largely used as a forward down the middle with the Paris outfit and he scored 11 times in 32 appearances in his debut season before Stuttgart came calling in the summer of 2019.
😱 Droite, gauche, droite, gauche… Silas Wamangituka était en feu dimanche à Charléty ! 🔥 #PFCRCL pic.twitter.com/rFmQRZXsQc
— Paris FC (@ParisFC) March 5, 2019
His rapid ascent took Silas from France’s fifth division to Germany’s First Division in just three years and top-flight football was yet another hurdle he took in his stride. He had played at centre-forward, wings and at wing-back on both flanks in the second division but he’s now made the right attacking side of Stuttgart’s attack his own.
Silas scored on his Bundesliga debut in the derby defeat to Freiburg on the inaugural day of the 2020/21 season and won the November, December 2020 and February 2021 Rookie of the Month awards after a stunning start to the campaign.
WHERE WILL WAMANGITUKA GO?
Silas’s play style would make him the perfect fit for many top clubs but he has not been linked to any top club yet. Everton and Fulham have both inquired about the 21 year old Congo International but with the latter most likely to get relegated, Everton would be Wamangituka’s preference.
Everton and Fulham are understood to be among the clubs keeping tabs on Stuttgart's Silas Wamangituka 👉 https://t.co/64pbjpVdyp. #VfB #EFC #FFC #Bundesliga
— Bulinews.com – Bundesliga News (@bulinewsdotcom) March 3, 2021
There have been rumours of Stuttgart offering him a new and improved contract with his current contract running down till 2024. One thing is for sure, Silas Wamangituka is one to watch for the future.