Nathan Ngoumou reminds Daniel Farke of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

Nathan Ngoumou (22) arrived at Borussia Mönchengladbach from Toulouse for €8m last summer but has failed to make an impact in his 172 Bundesliga minutes in the Hinrunde. But Die Fohlen head coach Daniel Farke has seen an improvement from the Frenchman during their training camp ahead of the resumption of the Bundesliga.

“Nathan’s natural position is of course more on the right side, but he played more often in the centre-forward position during preparation and did well in training,” said Farke. “It reminded me a bit of Aubameyang’s early phase. He also came from the flank, was surprising up front and scored almost 30 goals in Dortmund, simply because he put his pace into play.”

With Marcus Thuram’s contract expiring in the summer and an extension unlikely, Borussia Mönchengladbach may already have their successor. Per Sport1, Ngoumou is the second quickest player in the Bundesliga this season, behind Bayer Leverkusen’s Moussa Diaby, and impressed in a central position in their 4-0 friendly win against Arminia Bielefeld.

Gladbach resume their season against against Bayer Leverkusen on January 22 as they look to secure a place in next season’s European competitions. Farke’s side sit eighth, but are just three points behind Borussia Dortmund, who occupy the UEFA Europa Conference League spot.

GGFN | Daniel Pinder