Daniel Farke’s Noah Okafor claim has been emphatically debunked without the Leeds United forward kicking a ball since the Wolves game.
Leeds United have a number of attacking threats at the club for Daniel Farke to choose from, but Noah Okafor impressed and scored for Leeds vs Wolves last weekend.
Okafor’s goal against Wolves helped to break Leeds records, joint with Anton Stach and Dominic Calvert-Lewin. The versatile Swiss winger or striker will be hoping to build on that with a home display against Bournemouth.
The 25-year-old forward spoke post-match, with Okafor feeling bullish about Leeds and their chances after an impressive win away from home at Molineux. But not everything is perfect in Farke’s eyes.
Noah Okafor’s incredible dribbling statistics
Jon Newsome was not a fan of the lack of ball retention from Okafor against Wolves. However, it was revealed that Okafor’s dribbling broke Premier League records but Farke was more inclined to agree with the assessment of Newsome.
Farke was critical of Okafor ahead of Leeds against Bournemouth. “I don’t accept this [losing the ball]. It needs to be criticised. At half-time, I told Noah, great goal, well-taken goal, looks sharp in his dribbling. But with the back to the opponent’s goal, he has to be stronger.
“He comes from a different league, the Premier League is more physical. Sometimes he’s claiming he’s been fouled instead of adapting, being rock solid. It is physical. His success rate in his duels can be better.
“His end product and goal threat is good. He can keep the ball better. We speak about this. We’re honest about it. Naturally, he is a player who takes risks. Timing is key — when to take a risk, when to keep it.”
It’s true that Okafor turned the ball over on a number of occasions, including around the halfway line in the run up to the opening goal at Molineux for the hosts. He attempted 14 dribbles and completed six of them.
However, the claim around success rate in dribbling, as shared by BBC Sport’s Adam Pope, is far from fair. That’s because Okafor is only one of three players with as many successful dribbles per 90 in the Premier League so far.
| Rank | Player | Successful dribbles per 90 |
| 1st | Mohamed Kudus | 3.9 |
| 2nd | Estevao | 3.9 |
| 3rd | Noah Okafor | 3.9 |
| 4th | Iliman Ndiaye | 3.7 |
| 5th | Rico Henry | 3.5 |
The data comes via FotMob, with Okafor one of five players with 3.5 dribbles per 90 or more. Only Chelsea’s Estevao and Spurs’ Mohamed Kudus can match the Leeds forward in that respect. Even Man City’s Jeremy Doku cannot break the top five.
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Even if Okafor’s success rate is somewhat lower than some of the top five, he is progressing the ball regularly for Leeds to gain territory and get them up the pitch.
Failing a dribble is acceptable if a midfielder or Gabriel Gudmundsson is able to collect the second ball and to continue driving Leeds up the pitch.
If you take that away, you take a lot of Okafor’s best attributes away. In terms of his directness and pace and power, there aren’t many wingers of his skill-set in the Premier League.
Okafor is taking risks and attempting to be fun and direct, which is the kind of player fans also pay the price of a ticket for. Farke has been here before, but with Georginio Rutter.
Speaking via Phil Hay after Rutter’s excellent performance against Watford in his first season in charge, Farke criticised his flair and for Rutter not to ‘enjoy himself too much’.
Okafor and Rutter cannot be hamstrung too much in that regard, which is why Okafor can be a vital player for Leeds through his dribbling alone.
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