Terem Moffi: The Star Leading Lorient to Safety

Written by Liam, @liamwlfc, on May 24th 2021.

Moffi arrived in Lorient from Kortrijk in Belgium for £7.2m, somewhat of an unknown quantity. Having only played a handful of games in the Belgian top-flight with the rest of his experience coming in the Lithuanian first division, some people were slightly perplexed at Lorient, a newly promoted club, for spending such a large fee to bring the Nigerian international to the club.

Since his arrival, these aforementioned people have been shown why the money spent by Les Merlus now looks like a bargain as Moffi is set to lead them to top-flight safety.

Moffi, 21, has been one of the standout performers in Ligue 1 this season, with him being in the top 5 leading goal scorers in Ligue 1 Uber Eats so far. He has managed to net 14 times in 31 appearances - which equates to 29% of the goals that Lorient have scored in Ligue 1.

Moffi has ultimately carried Lorient to what looks to be safety as thanks to the Nigerian’s impressive goalscoring record they find themselves in 17th place, 1 point clear of Nantes in 18th going into the final game. This contribution cannot be understated as Lorient were undoubtedly one of the favourites to get relegated this season after their promotion in 2020.

Whilst Moffi’s goal scoring record is one of the best in France, these numbers also put him on the list as one of the most prolific and efficient goalscorers in Europe this season. Moffi has scored 1 penalty all season, in a vital 2-2 draw with Monaco, meaning he has scored 13 non-penalty goals in Ligue 1 this season.

This means he has scored the 3rd most non-penalty goals in Ligue 1 this season ahead of the likes of Memphis Depay and Moise Kean. This transpires to 0.59 penalty goals per 90 and ranks him in the 88th percentile of all strikers in Europe’s top 5 leagues for non-penalty goals.

At just 21 years of age, he’s showing maturity and knowhow in front of the goal beyond his years, averaging more non-penalty goals per 90 than Luis Suárez and Mohamed Salah respectively, despite having fewer chances created for him.

His expected goals have him netting 12.5 times this season, in contrast to his actual record which has seen him net 14 times this season in Ligue 1. This is an overperformance of 1.5 in the xG department, showing he is extremely effective and prolific in front of goal. This is further exemplified by his 44% shot accuracy in front of goal meaning that just under 1 in 2 of his efforts are testing the opposition keeper.

The Nigerian international is obviously an excellent goalscorer but he is also one of his team’s key creative forces. Moffi has managed 3 assists in Ligue 1 this season. This isn’t a large number but when compared with the rest of the Lorient squad he ranks the 4th highest. He also ranks 4th highest for expected assists per 90 among the Lorient roster with 0.18. Moffi also plays 0.8 key passes per 90.

These aren’t outstanding numbers but they do show that he is capable of creating chances in a team embroiled in a relegation battle. They're very promising.

His 17 goal contributions mean he has had a hand in 41% of the goals that Lorient has scored this season, the highest goal participation percentage in Ligue 1 this season. This shows that much of the burden of securing top-flight status has been placed on his back - clearly he hasn't buckled under the pressure.

With an excellent mentality and an incredible ability to score goals, Moffi truly is a special talent and is without a doubt catching the attention of the leading teams around Europe.

Written by Liam, @liamwlfc.