AFC Bournemouth has shown a strong interest in signing a high-flying Ghanaian international, Abdul Mumin Suleman.
The 24-year-old has been on the shortlist of several clubs after his impressive performances for Victoria SC during the 2021/22 season. Lille, AS Monaco, Rayo Vallecano, Valencia, Galatasaray and Premier League side, AFC Bournemouth have all made an approach for the talented player.
According to Fabrizio, despite strong interest from Turkey, Bournemouth, who just returned to the English top flight are pushing to get the deal done before the end of the transfer window.
Galatasaray have approached Vitoria Guimarães with an opening bid for centre back Abdul Mumin. He’s one of the players in the list. 🚨🇬🇭 #Gala
Bournemouth are also interested and pushing to sign Mumin this summer.
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 15, 2022
The Portuguese club, however, have set a price tag of five million euros for the player.
What has Abdul Mumin’s career path looked like?
Mumin started his youth career with the Right to Dream academy in Ghana. He was a key figure of the academy’s U-18 side as they won back-to-back Gothia Cup tournaments in 2014 and 2015. His good run of games and developments saw him graduate to the Nordsjaelland team, signing a professional contract in 2016.
Just as has been the case, the player continued his development with the Danish Superliga outfit and as part of seeking regular playing time was loaned to HB Koge for the second half of the 2017/18 season.
A return to the red and yellow colours saw the defender nail down a starting berth in the team and earn himself a fan favourite tag. He then went on to sign for Vitoria SC in August 2020.
What does he bring to AFC Bournemouth?
With a €5 million price tag, Mumin would be a bargain buy for the Premier League side should they end up signing him. In terms of the transfer fee that could be involved, the Vitoria valuation is quite a fair price for the English team.
Among the centre-backs in the Primeira Liga last season, Mumin completed 34 interceptions, which was the 19th highest in the league. The Ghanaian’s ability to cut out passes and block danger makes him a standout among some of the players that the Cherries have at their disposal at the moment. Mumin has been used mainly in a back four but have also played in a three-man defence before. Hence, he shouldn’t struggle with Scott Parker’s 3-4-2-1 formation.
In terms of getting his tackles right, Abdul Mumin was ranked 12th among other centre-back as he won 25 tackles in his league appearances.
A modern central defender has got the ability to play the ball from the back and initiate attack with the slightest of passes. That is another area Mumin has upped his game over the years. The yet-to-debut Black Stars defender completed 1179 passes in the league last season – the 17th highest among central defenders in the Portuguese league.
For Bournemouth, signing Mumin will be a big deal and will be player that will highly improve their backline and get them laying to their best. The centre-back was hoping to help Vitoria qualify for the UEFA Europa Conference League but after failing to secure a group stage spot, the player’s departure has not been ruled out. In fact, many have suggested the signing of country, Maxwell Woledzi to Vitoria this summer, is an indication they are looking to trade Mumin while introducing Woledzi.
Despite his availability, Bournemouth will have to beat competition from all those clubs who have showed interest in the player.
