Why Bournemouth should avoid signing Isaac Mbenza
According to claims from French outlet, L’Equipe, as cited by Bournemouth Echo, Bournemouth have been credited with an interest in out-of-favour Huddersfield Town winger Isaac Mbenza.
Championship promotion hopefuls Fulham are also in the race to sign the 23-year-old, who has started only once for the Terriers in the Championship so far this season. (L’Equipe h/t Bournemouth Echo)
Mbenza, who initially joined Huddersfield Town on loan from French side Montpellier back in the summer of 2018, scored only once in 22 Premier League appearances last season as the Terriers suffered an ignominious relegation back to the Championship.
Despite his lacklustre returns in the top-flight, Huddersfield opted to make the winger’s stay permanent at the John Smith’s Stadium but Mbenza has failed to make a positive impression in the English second-tier.
The 23-year-old, who featured for Belgium in the 2019 UEFA U21 European Championship, has clocked up a meagre 185 minutes of football in the EFL Championship for the Terriers so far this season, failing to add to the solitary goal that he scored for the club against Man United last May.
Having scored just 23 goals in 24 games so far, Bournemouth need to improve on their lacklustre scoring record in the coming months.
Callum Wilson, who was the club’s top-scorer in the Premier League last season, has only found the net 6 times for the Cherries so far this term while Ryan Fraser has looked like a shadow of his former self.
Influential playmaker David Brooks is yet to kick a ball this season and is still recovering from his long-term injury while other key attackers Joshua King, Junior Stanislas and Arnaut Danjuma Groeneveld have all missed large quarters of the ongoing campaign due to injuries.
Liverpool loanee Harry Wilson is amongst those to have made a positive impression and the Cherries need to add some valuable cover for their injury-ravaged squad.
Verdict
With that in mind, however, Isaac Mbenza is hardly the kind of player that the Cherries should be looking at, given that the Belgian youth international has failed to make an impact in English football – not only in the Premier League but also in the Championship.
The Cherries need more goals in the coming months to steer themselves to safety and Mbenza has only scored once in the last 18 months for Huddersfield Town. Bournemouth completing a move for Isaac Mbenza seems to have the recipe for a grave disaster and they need to avoid signing him at all costs.
