Player Focus: Suitors Must Act Fast in the Race for Capoue

Although a whole host of teams across Europe have been credited with an interest in Toulouse midfielder Étienne Capoue over the last few years, it finally seems as though the Frenchman's future will lie away from the Stadium Municipal next season.

While there is no doubt that long-term manager Alain Casanova would love to keep the romance between player and club alive, with Capoue signing for le Téfécé as a teenager, financial restrictions have left the club needing to sell their big name stars.

There are certainly none bigger than Capoue - now a fully-fledged France international - who, at 25, has seen the time come to take the next step in a promising career. Interest has reemerged from the Premier League, with Man United now seemingly keen on the defensive midfielder who had previously been heavily linked with Arsenal. The Red Devils face competition, however, with Atletico Madrid working hard to strike a deal and PSG also touted with an interest.

Capoue is the type of player to guard the back line, capable of dropping into defence if need be, but he added goals to his game last season, finishing the campaign with 7 league strikes. He is the fulcrum to Toulouse's game and fans of the club are right to fear his departure.

The tall anchorman dictates the play from deep for the Ligue 1 outfit, averaging over ten more passes per game than any other teammate, with 63.9. That figure is in fact, only bettered by Lille's Florent Balmont in the entire division, indicating Toulouse's tendency to play through their star man.

It's good, then, that Capoue isn't the sort of play to shy away from the ball, and he's all-action on the field, breaking up play and using his body well to outmuscle opponents. His average of 2.4 tackles per game will certainly attract suitors, while a further 2.6 interceptions per match highlights his ability to read the play and take up the correct oppositions to nullify attacks.

It's no coincidence that since Capoue broke into the side in the 2008/09 season that no Ligue 1 team to have been in the top-flight for the duration of that period have conceded fewer goals than Toulouse (180). That's despite the fact that over the last 5 seasons the club's average league position has been 9th. The side are set up to be hard to break down and, as the shield in front of the back four, Capoue plays a pivotal role.

His height also helps to exert a sense of dominance in the midfield, and the 25-year old uses his 6'2" frame to great effect. Only the giant Sané brothers won more aerial duels than Capoue (118) in Ligue 1 last season, and an aerial success rate of 74.7% is better than the majority of centre-backs.

His aerial expertise also comes in handy when it comes to defending set pieces. Indeed, only 16 players made more headed clearances in Ligue 1 last season than Capoue (109), though all of those made the majority of their appearances in defence.

Nevertheless, the France international's stamina and energy has seen him develop to make late runs into the penalty area, firing off 1.3 shots at goal per game. It’s an average that is only bettered by two players (Estrada and Traore) to have made the majority of their appearances last season from defensive midfield.

All seven of his goals last season came from inside the penalty area, with one swept home from the spot. Five were netted via his favoured right foot, one with his left and one with his head. This ability to pop up in dangerous positions whilst still acting as an effective barrier in front of the defence is undoubtedly Capoue's USP.

In the 28 appearances he made starting as a defensive midfielder last season he was dribbled past just 0.43 times per game. That's a better average than any other player to make more than 13 appearances in the same position in Ligue 1 last season. His frame makes him extremely tough to pass, which will have attracted the likes of Manchester United, who have lacked the same protection in front of their rear guard for some time now.

If Moyes is to finally make a successful move in the market however, he'll have to act fast with Diego Simeone's Atletico Madrid seemingly stealing a march in their pursuit of the Frenchman. There is a bit of everything to Capoue's game, so it's no surprise to see that only top scorer Zlatan Ibrahimovic picked up a superior WhoScored rating to the Toulouse talisman's 7.50 in Ligue 1 last season.

With patience rarely acting as a virtue in the summer transfer window nowadays, the race for Capoue’s signature is most definitely on.