Bayern Munich are facing a Bundesliga title challenge that might be the fiercest in their 11-year domination of the Bundesliga as Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen have simple outperformed them by quite a margin. This has prompted the Bavarians to dive into the winter transfer market and search for new players, especially defensive replacements. Their search for their right-back position ended with Sacha Boey, the 23-year-old Frenchman who has dazzled the crowds in the Turkish Super Lig.
Boey’s signing is massive as it is for an area of the pitch where the clubs are at their weakest. In fact, Bayern CEO Dresden had said buying a right-back was the club’s first focus on the transfer market.
With Boey now confirmed as a Bayern player, we take a look at what he will bring to the Bayern Munich squad.
Sacha Boey profile
Born on September 13, 2000, Sacha Gasto Boey started his career with the local club Romainville, where he stayed for one year before joining Red Star. His first real breakthrough, however, came in 2014 when he was accepted into Rennes’ youth academy.
For the next five years, he toiled in the youth academy before being promoted to the reserves. However, despite such a meteoric rise, Boey found it very hard to break into the senior team. After just making eight in two years, he was first sent on loan to Dijon for one season before being sold to Galatasaray.
It was in the Turkish Super League that he would finally get the chance to showcase his vast potential.
However, Galatasaray were cautious about slowly integrating him into the squad. So, in his first season, he played only 13 games. This helped him massively as he got used to the space of the league.
In the following season, Boey was given the staring right-back spot with huge expectations resting on his shoulders.
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Sacha Boey stats
Boey’s 2022-23 stats give us a glimpse of why Bayern Munich signed him. The youngster was the third-best player in the league on the Expected Threat (xT) metric. A major chunk of his xT comes from his passing like Liverpool’s Trent Alexander Arnold He was also among the top five players in the league on counterpressing actions, successful crosses, tackles won, and Open Play Expected Assists.
These stats are something that every modern-day fullback dreams of. Boey has been the most successful player this season in one opens, counter-pressing actions, and successful dribbles. He also has formed a deadly partnership with his winger where the two constantly alternate between using the right wing and the inside channel to confuse the opposition’s defenders.
This season, he has won the third-most duels in the league and is among the top dribbling defenders in the league.
🚨🔴✈️ EXCL: Sacha Boey, landed in Munich in order to sign as new Bayern player from Galatasaray!
Here’s the French fullback together with his agents from Stellar Group — Joshua Barnett, Thies Bliemeister, Bembi Vungbote.
The first pic as new Bayern player. 🤝🏻 pic.twitter.com/Py19OaMcCl
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 27, 2024
Sacha Boey style of play
Sacha Boey is the embodiment of the modern-day fullback. He is fast with and without the ball and has the attacking acumen that is comparable to a winger. His brilliant passing also makes him highly resistant to a high press, something every top team requires.
His heatmap of the current season shows his high involvement on either end of the pitch. However, one of Boey’s underrated attributes has to be his off-the-ball movement. The Frenchman knows inside out the art of being present in the right space at the right time.
Boey has also altered his game this season, putting some more onus on defending, which can be seen in stats as his tackles, blocks, and interceptions have risen. It is a result of more responsibility that has been assigned to him.
Sacha Boey at Bayern Munich
The main question in any transfer is whether a player can adjust to a new league. For Boey, this is the biggest challenge as he is going to a bigger team and a far more competitive league. And while Boey’s career trajectory has been impressive, he will need to be even better if he has to survive at Allianz Arena.
With Bruno Sarr and Noussair Mazraoui out of action for the foreseeable future, Boey has the golden opportunity to nail down the starting spot. Bayern are already four point behind Bayer Leverkusen and know that any slip ups could be disastrous for their title campaign.
There is also the question of the Champions League campaign where they would like to repeat the heroics of the 2023-24 season. Sacha Boey will find himself in a situation at Bayern Munich that either makes or breaks a player.
On which side Boey will find himself remains to be seen.