Montreal Impact: Dominic Oduro's Impact

As I previously mentioned in one of my previous article, the Montreal Impact was in need of another striker to be effective. I have full confidence in Jack McInerney but there is little talent beyond him. The addition of Dominic Oduro is exactly the kind of move I was expecting.

I do not think like many others that a Designated Player as a striker is a must for the Impact. If it happens and the player is as professional and as good as Marco Di Vaio, it would be great but it is not always the case. The other point is that Jack Mac needs some time to reach its full potential and as a 22-year old ,with already over 30 goals in MLS, he has a bright future. Let's not waste it !

That being said, Montreal was looking for someone to support McInerney and that’s exactly what they found in Dominic Oduro. The speedy forward from Ghana will bring different skills on the field and has proven that he can score with seasons of 12 and 13 goals in the past.

To know more about the player, I have reached out to David Rowaan from Waking the Red.

Oduro is certainly a character who is going to stick out in just about any dressing room.  He has a big, outgoing personality and the hair styles to match it having sported colourful mohawks and pizza on his head over the years.  As a player he is willing to take on defenders and has shown that he can find the back of the net when used in a more attacking role but we did not see very much of that with Toronto.

The club tended to use him out on the wing and that really limited his impact on games as he never really proved himself to be a good crosser of the ball.  His best seasons in MLS have been when he got to work as a secondary striker and use his speed to cause problems for slower central defenders.

In fact, we quickly saw that Oduro was a character himself when he did not waste time to get close to the fans. If his comment matches his hair style,  I think the fans will love him.

Bonjour Montreal fans. The first person to brings me #Papa Johns pizza after practice anytime this week will get my first home game jersey.

— Dominic Oduro (@Freakyfast8) January 28, 2015

His speed is clearly his best asset and like David mentioned earlier, he is better as a striker. The Impact fans know him well since he managed to score 4 goals in 7 games against Montreal since 2012. Let’s hope he does the same against Toronto or Columbus now!

We all know that Oduro is a speedy striker but beside speed what is his best asset? Here’s what Rowaan had to say about it:

Speed really is the only above average asset that Oduro brings to the game.  He is not a strong passer, his finishing is average at best, his vision is by no means exceptional, and his positioning is not even that strong.  He makes up for all of those deficiencies with one thing and that is his speed.

Those skills remind me a lot of another speedy player we had the chance to watch in Montreal: Sanna Nyassi. I’m not saying that Oduro is another Nyassi but from a skills point of view, they both look similar. Though, Oduro is a proven scorer in MLS something that Nyassi was not able to do in Montreal on a regular basis.

Am I happy with the trade? Yes, because now the Impact has two MLS strikers up front . It might not be as sexy as Alberto Gilardino or Antonio Di Natale but both of them can do the job. Was I hoping for someone like Oduro? The answer of that question is no!

Oduro is a small striker and already with Jack in the lineup, I was hoping for Klopas and Braz to get a little more height and physicality. His 6' height is not negligible but he is not a big physical player who makes room for teammates.

With the big defenders in MLS and how the Impact had difficulties against physical central defenders in the past (Aurelien Collin for example), I thought that a big forward was needed. McInerney had success in the past with someone like Conor Casey who was able to make space on the field for the young striker.

With that said I’m very happy of the acquisition. I think that his speed and his MLS experience will benefit the Bleu-Blanc-Noir. The fans will also love him because he's spectacular on and off the field.

If he can manage to score around 10 goals, we will have to say '' Mission Accomplished'' but I think that management needs to add another player who can brings more physicality in the lineup to be effective against every defense in the league.

I want to personally thank David Rowaan for his precious help. You can follow him on twitter @soccercanada.