Faniel Tewelde - Lommel SK’s Exciting Young Forward
Part of a growing trend of young players being acquired by MCOs, we use Wyscout data to analyze the Norwegian teenage prospect.
Belgian second division club Lommel SK acquired one of the hottest young talents of Norwegian football this summer when they bought 17-year-old Faniel Tewelde from Odds BK for nearly £2.5m. Now 18, the attacker, who so far in his career has played predominantly cutting inside from the left wing, was scouted heavily by various clubs in the last couple of years and it was no surprise to see him depart the Eliteserien.
That Lommel won the race was perhaps more of a shock and it will be interesting to see how he develops in the Belgian league with a City Group club. Just what type of player do Lommel have on their hands?
Tewelde played less than 2000 minutes for Odd BK in the Eliteserien, but he was always earmarked as a major talent, appearing for Norway U17s. He was given a spot on the Odd bench at the age of just 15 back in July 2022 and was eventually given his senior debut a few months later after he had turned 16.
He is very much a breed of the ‘modern’ attacker on the wings, operating as an inside forward or inverted winger. He has a strong right foot and his signature move is cutting inside, bursting forward with pace and looking to attack the interior of the defence.
Two of Faniel Tewelde’s biggest strengths are his ball control and quick bursts of acceleration. He’s a good dribbler and decent in a one on one situation. He has a high ‘kept possession’ % over the last calendar year following dribbles, and he is especially efficient facing right backs or midfielders. His progressive passes have been 68% accurate and this is an underrated part of his game.
Decision making is an area he must improve though. Sometimes he can be all ‘hot air’ and no end product. 75% of his progressive runs end in a loss. He impacts the game strongly but sometimes tries to do too much and get over-elaborate.
Tewelde has shown plenty of promise in the finishing department. His seven goals scored in the last calendar year have come from a mixture of locations. He’s shown he can score from outside the box thanks to his low laser-like strike with his right foot, but also demonstrated a decent positional sense by mopping up some chances inside the penalty area.
There has been a large proportion of shots attempted with his strong right foot (80%) and there is a suggestion he might be too predictable in this way. Possibly developing his left foot more could be an option or looking for the pass instead of a shot is another alternative. Just 36% accuracy ratio from shots inside the area is also something he can definitely improve with. At times he snatches at chances too much and tries to play the game at a million mile
Off the ball he has some work to do. He doesn’t rank particularly high compared to players in a similar position when it comes to ball recoveries. It’s not really his style to use up needed energy on getting the ball back, so he perhaps wouldn’t suit certain systems. He does have the physical attributes required to go well though, so with the right sort of coaching he could possibly develop.
He has just 0.44 recoveries in the final third per 90 mins which is an extremely low rate. He engages in just 10.87 offensive duels per 90 with a success rate of only 30.63. It is clear the main strength of this player is with the ball, but he's still quite raw mentally with decision making in this capacity.
The bigger and wider picture for Tewelde is that he’s now part of the City Group network. This vast network of nine clubs worldwide should ensure that he has a clear and progressive career path and if things go well then, he could potentially go right the way to the top.
He must be careful not to sacrifice first team action, or the right type of first team action though. He is still very raw mentally and only just turned 18 so his technical and physicals still need development as well.
Tewelde is an exciting young talent but must be careful not to get lost in this network and maintain development. It probably would have served him well to stay in the Eliteserien for at least the remainder of this season and possibly longer.
He now must adapt to a new country at such a young age although we have seen his potential ceiling is very high. Clearly described as a genuine wonderkid, his actual decision making both on and off the field will be the most important aspects in the forthcoming years.
