Michaël Cuisance

Like compatriots Houssem Aouar and Tanguy Ndombélé – who are both excelling at Olympique Lyonnais – Cuisance is a midfielder of almost boundless potential. He has the ability to do so much: he can pass, he can defend, and he can dribble. His skillset is that of a hybrid between a number six and a number eight; a blend of a ball-dominant passer from deep, an expansive creator, and a tenacious defender. 

His wide range of abilities enable coaches to deploy him in a number of roles. With France, for instance, he has played as the deepest midfielder, as well as in a three-man midfield as the most balanced of the trio. Under Dieter Hecking at Gladbach, he has been used predominantly as a defensive-minded pivot.

The 19-year-old’s most captivating asset is his left foot. With it, he manipulates the ball in a multitude of different ways with eye-catching grace and distinct nonchalance. 

The variety of his passing is very good: he can continuously execute passes – varying from simple ones that intend to keep the ball moving, to expansive ones which aim to exploit space, isolations and overloads – with relative ease. He is capable of making a difference going forward from deep positions with his passing.

Supplementing his qualities as a passer is a strong ability to dribble and drive from deep positions. Cuisance combines traits of the aforementioned Aouar and Ndombélé in this regard. Similar to Aouar, he can create separations from opponents with delicate touches and deft body movements; similar to Ndombélé, he can switch the ball from foot-to-foot to escape compact spaces before driving away from opponents with an effective burst. 

Being able to carry the ball to extend his time in possession makes it harder for opponents to defend against Cuisance. He is fairly inefficient in such situations – completing just over half of all dribbles attempted in the Bundesliga to date – but the raw ability to beat players, escape pressure and, in the process, break open defensive structure is a tremendous asset.

There is plenty to like about the Frenchman during defensive phases too. He works hard to retreat into defensive positions or to press opponents when his team cedes possession, while his tenacity is an endearing attribute. 

That tenacious approach is clear when he tackles: he shuts down players quickly, engages in physical contact, stabs a foot in or wraps a leg around; often regaining possession. 

Cuisance’s very solid physical attributes contribute to his defensive game. He looks a couple of inches taller than his listed height of 5’9”, he has good balance and can run fairly quickly over short and long distances.

All that said, Cuisance is by no means a flawless prospect. There are aspects to his technical and mental skillset which are legitimate causes for concern. 

One such issue, and probably the most pronounced, is his inconsistency from situation to situation. The 19-year-old is a gifted technician, as alluded to above, yet too often his performances are punctuated by erratic mistakes and lapses of coordination. 

Be it making a decidedly poor decision, dramatically under-hitting or misplacing a pass, struggling to gather or maintain possession, or failing to position himself correctly in both build-up and defensive phases, he commits errors which will be exploited by top division teams.

It must be stressed that these mistakes largely occur when he appears as a substitute. He struggles to adapt to the pace of games when coming off the bench, an unsurprising trait given his style, age and inexperience. Cuisance is a player who needs confidence to find consistency and the primary way he can obtain both is being trusted to start games.