Scout Report: Examining Joseph Paintsil's potential in the LA Galaxy's attack
The transfer saga looks to be coming to a close as the LA Galaxy is close to acquiring one of the best players in Belgium
After weeks of rumors surrounding K.R.C. Genk’s Joseph Paintsil coming to the LA Galaxy, there is a positive momentum that the Ghanaian soccer player will play for the SoCal team.
Multiple reports from Belgium and the U.S. have reported that the LA Galaxy will purchase Paintsil for $9 million. Paintsil has also reportedly been spotted in LA as his medical is rumored to take place soon. Everything is falling into place for this move to be announced within the next week.
If this transfer is completed, the LA Galaxy will have filled their two Designated Player spots with wingers. Unlike Young DP Gabriel Pec, Paintsil is in the prime of his career and an established star in the Belgian league.
How he got on the Galaxy’s radar
The Ghanaian finished the 2022/23 season in Belgium with 14 goals and 12 assists in 30 league games - the second-most goal contributions that season. In this current campaign, he has six goals and four assists in 23 games played. Paintsil spent the start of the calendar year with Ghana at the African Cup of Nations and has played a couple of matches with Genk.
With Pec being a development project with loads of potential, the signing of Paintsil is a win-now type of move. You don’t need to develop him or help him break out like Pec since he’s already a mature player who has his strengths and weaknesses.
The Galaxy has moved away from targeting veteran players who are past their best days (Douglas Costa for example) and is instead getting players in their prime. And like recent Galaxy acquisition Miki Yamane, Paintsil is regarded among the best at his position in the league he plays in.
Analyzing his Playstyle
Paintstil is a dangerous winger who provides elite offensive production. He’s not afraid to take on defenders and will test the goalkeeper by putting his shots on frame. I mean just look at this chart below - he can jumpstart an attack by putting the ball into the box and tends to be a consistent threat to goal. With LA having one of the best progressive midfielders in Riqui Puig, there is no question that Paintsil will get the ball in dangerous areas of the pitch. These elite percentile metrics are what you want to see in a player who is just starting to enter his prime.
With Genk, Paintsil played primarily on the right wing and would tend to cross the ball often with his strong right foot. As the heat map from this current season shows, the Ghanaian rarely ever got tocuhes on the left wing and does most of his damage on the right side of the pitch.
This is interesting as Coach Greg Vanney likes to play with inverted wingers. It wouldn’t surprise me to see Paintsil playing on the left and cutting inside more often if he completes his move to the Galaxy. Paintsil became one of the best players in Belgium playing on the right - will Vanney keep him there or move him to the left wing to stay consistent with his tactical philosophy?
One reason it makes sense to move Paintsil out to the left is to improve his effectiveness in the passing game. Most time when you play as an inverted winger, the passing options are simple and less risky. His passing stats aren’t amazing so an inverted role will the Galaxy should see these metrics improve.
As noted in the charts, the Ghanaian likes to cross the ball a lot. Vanney’s system isn’t built to play with lots of crosses and starting striker Dejan Joveljic isn’t a dominant aerial target. His Expected Assist at 0.34 per 90 minutes is impressive and shows he can make the right decisions when he’s got the ball at his feet in the final third. I’m fully expecting Vanney to make him an inverted winger to improve and maximize his efficiency in possession.
It’ll be interesting to see how the Galaxy will play Pec and Paintsil together. Diego Fagundez is having an excellent preseason and making it harder to justify dropping him for the new signings immediately. These are the tough decisions that Vanney needs to make as his new players begin to settle into a new team and country.
The Galaxy invested to get promising and younger wide players this offseason, now it’s about getting them to work together. LA needs to show they know how to use their shiny new toys to get back into MLS Cup contention as soon as possible.