Why London clubs should look no further than Marcus Thuram from Borussia Moenchengladbach

Borussia Moenchengladbach 1-0 Hertha Berlin

By Alessandro Schiavone from Borussia-Park, Moenchengladbach [Germnany]

If scoring breeds confidence Marcus Thuram should have lived up to his hype when, left in acres of spaces, he missed a gilt-edged chance against Hertha Berlin on 17 minutes. And if the rumours are true that he wants to use this season to catch the eye of a top European side, that wasted chance made him a harder sell for potential suitors to speed up the process with AC Milan, Manchester United already keeping tabs.

Having already scored twice in only two Bundesliga outings, the son of legendary French World Cup winner Lilian, failed to guide home what would have been a scruffy goal as low effort didn’t generate enough power to trouble Oliver Christensen. On 82 minutes another chance went begging when he fired straight at the goalkeeper instead of chipping him. But apart from those two chances he didn't have an awful lot to feed off.

YET despite an inability to score, the physical and athletic 25-year-old striker led the line in impressive fashion in the first period. And his outstanding work-rate was worthy of mention. Around the half-hour mark he drew the applause of the fanatical Monchengladbach supporters when he helped his side regain possession after chasing Maximilian Mittelstaedt down the left.

That tenacity and clean tackle epitomised what the Thurams are all about. It’s in the DNA, it’s in the family. His dad, who was arguably one of the greatest defenders of his generation, made life horribly difficult for strikers playing alongside Fabio Cannavaro and Marcel Desailly in his pomp.

Against Hertha Berlin, the man who was born in the Italian city of Parma when father Lilian plied his trade in Emilia-Romagna during a glorious time for the Stadio Tardini outfit, rolled up his sleeves off the ball and his never-say-die attitude once again shone through. But he should have shown better quality on the ball to stamp his name on the game and put it to bed. However what he lacks in clinical edge at times he makes up for in industry, enterprise and good link-up play. And in his first two seasons at the club after joining from Guingamp he flourished, scoring ten times on his debut season and eight the following one before goals dried up at an alarming rate, courtesy of a knee injury which derailed a move to Inter Milan in summer 2021 and that limited him to only 21 Bundesliga appearances and a poor return of three goals. But the big-time ship hasn't sailed just yet. All Marcus needs to do is put the injury woes behind him and rediscover his finishing touch on a consistent basis. If he does that his dream of a move to a top European side can finally become reality. Arsenal, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Tottenham and West Ham could all do with an unselfish frontman like him who can play as a lone striker, off the main target man or on the left wing. Like Kasper Schmeichel, Federico Chiesa and Giovanni Simeone, Marcus is no longer "the son of..." but has made a name for himself. And when he is on his day it's hard for any defender to deal with him. So, which capital club wants to take a chance on him and give him a Premier League platform?

Borussia Monchengladbach

1 Yann Sommer- 3 Kou Ikatura- 6 Christoph Kramer- 10 Marcus Thuram- 14 Alassane Plea- 17 Emmanuel Kone- 23 Jonas Hofmann- 25 Rami Bensebaini- 29 Joseph Michael Scally- 30 Nico Elvedi- 32 Florian Neuhaus

Hertha BSC

1 Oliver Christensen- 5 Filip Uremovic- 8 Suat Serdar- 14 Dodi Lukebakio- 16 Jonjoe Kenny- 17 Maximilian Mittelstaedt- 18 Aka Wilfriede Kanga- 20 Marc Oliver Kempf- 29 Lucas Tousart- 34 Ivan Sunjic- 40 Ejuke Chidera