Player Tracker: Mohamed Camara

Thomas Wardle (@MezzalaFtbl) tracks Centre-midfielder Mohamed Camara of Red Bull Salzburg over a 4-week period — providing a detailed scout report at the end of the 4-weeks.

Age: 21
Date of Birth: 06/01/2001
Nationality: Mali
Club: Red Bull Salzburg
Contract Until: 30/06/2025
Previous Clubs: FC Liefering, TSV Hartberg (Loan)
Youth Career: AS Real Bamako
Position: Centre-midfield
Height: 1.74m
Preferred foot: Right

Who is Mohamed Camara?

Red Bull Salzburg is the current hotspot for potential in Austria and Europe, with a conveyor belt of talent coming out of the club in recent years, and they look to have another gem in Mohamed Camara, a defensive/centre midfielder and a Mali International, which is no mean feat in itself, as the majority of the Malien squad feature for a club in one of Europe’s top five leagues.

Camara was part of the youth system at AS Real Bakama who play in the Malien Première Division. This is where he was spotted by Red Bull Salzburg’s scouting network — and signed for the Austrian clubs development team FC Liefering who play in Austria’s second division, with a clear pathway to first team football.

The 21-year-old’s first stint of first-team football came in the 2017/18 season for Salzburg’s development team, featuring in 15 league games. He continued to get game time in the opening half of the 2018/19 season before being loaned out to First division side TSV Hartberg, starting just seven games with an injury hindering his time at the club.

Camara returned to FC Liefering for the opening of the 2019/20 season, but slowly started getting chances in the first-team set up. His first start came against Austria Vienna and was deployed in a midfield two. He featured in seven of Salzburg’s final nine games last season.

He’s continued his progression this season, and has become a key component of Jesse Marsch’s side, featuring 22 times across all competitions, including five of Salzburg’s six Champions League games.

v Austria Wien — 06/02/2021 (Austrian Cup)

81 Minutes played (55 minutes watched)

Camara started in the right centre-midfield spot of a four man midfield. The 21-year-old was the one sitting deeper used as the pivot when in possession. What stood out for me immediately was his passing range and ability, albeit not under too much pressure. A diagonal long pass from the centre over to the right was his most regular and most efficient progressive pass, although under hit a few diagonal passes to the opposite side.

The midfielder would rarely keep hold of the ball for more than two touches, playing short quick passes, which was very effective against a low block outfit in Austria Wien.

In-possession, as previously stated Camara wouldn’t tend to keep hold of the ball, meaning he didn’t carry the ball forward too much. This is something to look for in games to come, does he have the ability to carry the ball? Both of his attempts at goal, albeit first-time were wild and overhit.

Defensively, whilst not tested a lot he was quick to react on two scenarios and on both occasions coming away with the ball. His positioning was key, as he didn’t venture forward meaning he was always there with the threat of a counter-attack possible.

Over the next 4-weeks I’ll be watching Mohamed Camara and updating this piece weekly to provide a detailed scout report.