What could unlock Elye Wahi’s potential at Marseille? | OneFootball

Olympique de Marseille supporters are still waiting to see the club’s investment in Elye Wahi (21) pay off.

Coming to OM during the summer transfer window from RC Lens for €25m, the man who scored 19 times in 33 appearances at Montpellier HSC in 2022-23 is still looking to find his form at Marseille.

Seven matches into the Ligue 1 campaign, Wahi has faced plenty of criticism for his lack of efficiency in front of goal, scoring just once.

On Rothen s’enflamme, there were varying opinions about Wahi’s potential at the Stade Vélodrome. For Jérome Rothen, it’s early days for the 21-year-old, who may just need some more time to get his feet wet in a new environment.

“Maybe he (Wahi) needs a motivation or a trigger”, says Rothen. He adds that no one is better equipped to talk about Wahi today than his manager, Roberto De Zerbi, who’s come out publicly supporting his striker.

De Zerbi has said that they need to help him a little more, with the striker starting as the lone striker in two of their previous three fixtures.

However, former Marseille striker Christophe Dugarry has doubts about what Wahi can bring to the table.

“You take or you lose confidence. It’s the mind. We must regain confidence. But what is the best way to regain confidence? We need to do more. And that’s where I have a doubt. Is this boy able to do more?” he questioned.

Dugarry also made a good point regarding strikers and how we cannot judge them purely on goals, but the bottom line is that’s how most outsiders assess a No.9’s capabilities.

While he’s not finding the back of the net much these days, Wahi’s improving in other areas, such as ball recoveries, and he has been better in aerial duels.

Defensive responsibilities are not often thought of for an attacking player with Wahi’s profile, but a good attacker will excel at that, and Wahi has developed defensively.

Another angle is that Wahi has been asked to fill the shoes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who banged in 17 goals for this club last season.

That’s a massive ask for a player who is Wahi’s age to replace a veteran who’s been a prolific goalscorer (almost) everywhere he’s gone.

Then there’s the fact he’s at Marseille, and while Lens was in the UEFA Champions League during Wahi’s time there, the pressure at OM is simply higher, and not everyone could handle that.

Perhaps the best thing he needs is for De Zerbi and OM more generally to be patient with him and keep building him up, especially given how fragile a striker’s confidence can get when they aren’t finding the back of the net.

GFFN | Joel Lefevre