Why Bazoumana Toure could be a great fit at Newcastle - but patience may be needed

Bazoumana Toure became our first outfield signing of the summer last week.

After the late gazumping of Victor Munoz by Liverpool, it was important that we moved quickly for another winger. The sale of Anthony Gordon has left us short and a statement of intent was required.

The Ivory Coast international is predominantly a left winger, but his preferred foot being his left means that he could be coached to play on the right side. Eddie Howe has always preferred using inverted wingers. Toure opens tactical options in the squad and at 20-years-old, he can be moulded stylistically to suit the needs of the team.

Career to date

Given he is only 20-years-old, he is still in the early stages of his career. Despite this, he has moved around a few times already. This highlights how he is comfortable transitioning to a new team and immediately making an impact.

During his time in Africa, he played for the ASEC Mimosas in his homeland and helped them to a league title. It was clear during his time in Africa that he was destined to play in Europe and it didn’t take long for Hoffenheim to take notice.

In February 2025, he made the move to the Bundesliga. Given his age, expectations were tempered and it was expected that he would take time to adapt, despite his obvious physical attributes. Toure made his debut before the end of the season and made his mark, contributing three assists.

Toure was then ready for a larger role in the 2025/26 season and showed his sky-high potential. It was his consistent level of performance coupled with his excellent physical attributes that caught the eye of bigger European clubs, including us. He ended the campaign with five goals and nine assists.

This summer, he was part of the Ivory Coast’s World Cup squad, but was only able to play a limited role.

Style of play

A lot has been spoken about Toure’s style of play and strengths as a play. He is well suited to the historical style of play used by Eddie Howe. The Ivorian is dynamic and thrives in one-on-one situations. He is very aggressive in his approach, as his acceleration allows him to beat opposition defenders on either side. Rather than use skill, Toure prefers to use his pace and feints to get past players.

Toure is a unique tactical weapon that his team can deploy, as he is able to carry the ball for long distances. This allows his team to turn defence to attack quickly, and this is perfect for the way Howe likes to play. We have thrived in transition when we have been at our best. Toure will fit in nicely with this approach.

Defensively, it is easy to see how Toure would fit into our style, as he enjoys his work without the ball. He is far from a passenger, and he is very good at winning the ball high in advanced areas. Toure will thrive in any team using a high press.

As an attacker, he is more of a creator than a goal-scorer, as shown by his numbers in the Bundesliga. In 18 months, he added 14 assists, while he scored only five. As he develops, it is likely that his own direct threat will improve.

The main areas of development for Toure are his decision making and physicality. He needs to bulk up more if he is to find life in the Premier League easy. Meanwhile, he can often take an extra touch or opt for the wrong pass in the final third. This is an area that will improve with coaching and experience.

A look at the stats

The underlying numbers from last season show promise, but there is also a rawness to Toure. He averaged 0.16 expected goals (xG) and 0.22 expected assists (xA), which brings his combined expected goal involvement to 0.38 per ninety minutes.

For a player of his age, this is impressive, but it is worth noting that the Bundesliga is a league that attackers usually do well in. It will be tougher to replicate these numbers in England.

An average of 1.86 successful dribbles per ninety minutes show how dangerous he can be when carrying the ball. However, a dribble success rate of 42.9% shows that he can try to do too much at times. This will improve with experience and coaching.

Toure wins possession in the final third 0.81 times per ninety minutes, while he averages 4.92 recoveries per ninety minutes. He works hard without the ball and can nick it in advanced areas. This will have stood out to our scouting team, as it is important in our game.

Verdict

Toure is clearly an exciting prospect, who has already done very well in Europe at a young age. His adaptability across a few different leagues should give us confidence that he can easily transition to Premier League football.

The African’s pace and direct style will suit the way we play football under Howe. With the right coaching, he could develop into a very exciting winger capable of producing huge attacking numbers in the final third. In matches where we are able to play on the counter attack, he will prove to be dangerous.

Despite his form in the Bundesliga, Toure remains raw and will require patience as he adjusts to English football. It is likely that Harvey Barnes will start the season as the first choice left winger. This will give Toure a chance to develop and learn how to be effective without the pressure of playing every match.

It is an example of the market that we now want to shop in and it is a new direction, but upon looking at Toure, it is easy to see why we wanted to sign him.

Stats taken from fotmob