Ouattara joined the Blues from Strasbourg for £17m over the summer (Image: Ross Halls)

THE STORY SO FAR

Most of Ipswich’s summer signings arrived with a clear track record. Fans knew of them before they arrived, for the most part, and were aware of what to expect.

Emersonn and Ouattara ended up as the exceptions, both brought in from Ligue 1. The former was easier to profile due to his position, and watching a couple of YouTube highlight reels helped.

But Ouattara’s arrival was a bit of an eyebrow raiser, kept quiet until rumours spread a few hours before it was announced. It was, in truth, overshadowed by the signing of Strasbourg team-mate Julio Enciso, which was confirmed shortly after.

Fans knew he was young - albeit with good experience in Ligue 1 and in Europe - and versatile, but beyond that, it was tricky to assess his strengths. O’Neil claimed that he had a position in mind for him, but that he could cover a number of areas on the pitch.

It didn’t help that he missed a chunk of Strasbourg’s pre-season through injury, so he was eased into Premier League action with a handful of cameo appearances, plus starts at left-back in the Carabao Cup against Leicester City and Arsenal.

Then came his big chance, away at Everton, where he was given his first league start at right-back. His performance up against Jack Grealish was good enough to keep him in for subsequent games against Fulham and Manchester City.

Across those three matches, you could make an argument for Ouattara being Ipswich’s top performer.

Ouattara scored a brilliant goal to equalise late on against Fulham (Image: Steve Waller)

THE GOOD STUFF

Ouattara isn’t an imperious defensive unit, but at 5ft 11ins, he can more than hold his own physically.

Crucially, he’s a true athlete. The same can be said of any Premier League player, of course, but Ouattara’s level of athleticism really makes him stand out.

That’s something that Ipswich lacked in their last season in the top flight, and now have in abundance.

In Town’s last three games, he ranks top for ground covered (20.9 miles), level with Leif Davis. That’s obviously vital for full-backs.

He consistently ranks highly for speeds reached, as well as number of sprints and distance covered while running. He’s anything but passive. He’s got a strong engine and doesn’t seem to run low on energy.

Going forward, he offers something different to the other right-back options - Darnell Furlong and Dara O’Shea. He can overlap down the right, but has looked even more comfortable inverting into midfield, sometimes even playing just off the striker when Ipswich have the ball.

Ouattara clearly prefers to use his right foot, even though he’s got a powerful strike on his left, as shown by his superb goal against Fulham. He’s certainly more confident with his right, and always looks to get the ball forward using it, such as his assist at Man City.

Defensively, he handles himself well in one-v-one situations. He limited Everton’s Grealish and held down his flank against Fulham with limited protection from those ahead of him. 

The Man City defeat was much tougher, up against Jeremy Doku for 77 minutes, but that’s to be expected.

He has adapted incredibly well in a short space of time. Ligue 1 is a good level to be playing at, but it’s still a big jump to come to the Premier League at his age. 

He doesn’t look at all out of place, and he doesn’t look like someone who has never had an extended run as a right-back in his career.

The former Strasbourg man is still getting to grips with being a Premier League right-back (Image: Ross Halls)

AREAS TO IMPROVE

Ouattara is still raw, despite his gaining valuable top-level experience at Strasbourg.

In a way, that adds to his game. He’s unpredictable at times. But it can cause some issues when Ipswich have to stay switched on and organised against strong Premier League outfits.

His tactical understanding still needs some work, which is natural, given that he’s still learning the right-back role. He needs to know when to press, when to stay back, and when to come inside. At times, he’s been caught out.

He got picked off for Man City’s opener at the weekend, caught high up the pitch as they pinged a ball into a huge gap behind him, which allowed Doku to set up Phil Foden. He does have to shoulder a fairly large portion of the blame for that goal.

At the same time, it was a different role for him as a wing-back, which allowed him more freedom to get up the pitch. He didn’t quite find the right balance in that game.

There are moments where I’d like Ouattara to be stronger. I’m not going to criticise him in the slightest for getting brushed out of the way by Erling Haaland on Saturday, but improving his physicality will help him against well-built attackers.

It’s especially tricky when teams double up on him with pacey wingers and attacking left-backs. At times, they can play past him with a couple of passes between them. 

Occasionally, he’s followed the ball instead of covering his space, which has allowed opponents to drag him out of position. Doing that at the wrong time can see your team ruthlessly punished in the Premier League.

He still needs support around him on the pitch to ensure he doesn’t get exposed.

Ouattara is one of the most exciting young talents at Town (Image: Ross Halls)

WHAT'S TO COME

The ceiling is sky high for Ouattara.

At 20, he’s got his whole career ahead of him. He could play for another couple of decades if he wants to. The fact that he’s taking on the Premier League at such a young age is really exciting.

And not just as a squad player. He has that right-back role nailed down ahead of Furlong, in my opinion, with O’Shea at centre-back giving the defence a much more natural feel.

Ouattara has key areas of his game that he has to improve to reach the next level. I think O’Neil is the ideal coach to help him do that.

He’s unique in the way he plays. His versatility is obviously a huge bonus, given that he can play at left-back, out wide or in a variety of midfield roles, but right-back has to become his primary position now.

He’ll learn from one-v-one battles against the best wingers in Europe, and he’ll have plenty of opportunities to show his athleticism against the top teams. 

With a goal and an assist to his name in just three league starts, there’s no reason why he can’t end the campaign with a healthy tally for a young defender.

Clearly, the hope is that Ouattara can become a star right-back for Ipswich in the coming years. But if he fulfils his potential, I think he has what it takes to make the Blues a healthy profit and play at the highest level.

These are still very, very early days though.