Serge-Philippe Raux-Yao is tailor-made to ride the current wave sweeping across football.
Football moves in tides, and physical football is king once more: a centre-back who towers over attackers and dominates the box is a necessity rather than a luxury right now.
But can Raux-Yao offer just as much in possession? Here's your two-minute scout report.
So… who exactly is Serge-Philippe Raux-Yao?
Name: Serge-Philippe Raux-Yao
Position/s: Centre-back
Age: 26 (Born: May 30, 1999)
Nationality: France
Height: 1.97m (6ft 6in)
Preferred Foot: Left
Current Club: Rapid Wien
After emerging with Auxerre in France, Raux-Yao didn't make a single senior appearance with the French side, moving instead to Cercle Brugge in Belgium, where he didn't fare much better with appearances; after making a name for himself back in Ligue 2 with Rodez, the Frenchman is now at Rapid Wien in Austria.
Left-footed centre-backs are a rarer breed, and Raux-Yao is a colossus of a defender now entering his prime at the age of 26. Having established himself as the most dominant aerial force in Austrian football, the centre-back has caught attention for his passing ability, too – despite a disastrous Conference League campaign in which Rapid finished 36th out of 36th.
Raux-Yao's strengths
Aerial presence and strength: At 6ft 6in tall, Raux-Yao is a heavyweight when it comes to aerial duels. He has excellent core strength, is adept at neutralising target men and can handle the rigours of a physical battle or a low block.
Ball-winning and positional sense: Raux-Yao is rarely caught out of position, with excellent awareness of where to be at all times. Often tasked with being the ‘sweeper’ rather than the ‘aggressor’ of Rapid's backline, he's good at mopping up, and uses those long legs to time tackles well.
Tactical and technical security: Primarily best-suited as the left-sided centre-back in a back four, Raux-Yao is calm on the ball, press-resistant and despite being primarily left-footed, doesn't have too much of an angle bias, meaning that can play centrally in a three, too. He can be trusted to build play from the back with composure.
Passing: Raux-Yao is an excellent passer in the back line, and his left foot is a valuable weapon in launching long-range diagonals to the right flank.
Raux-Yao's areas of development
Acceleration over five yards: Raux-Yao is comfortable striding forward on the ball and isn't slow by any means – but lacks explosiveness when faced with agile forwards. His build means he can't switch direction quickly and could do with adjusting how he defends in those situations.
Being too ‘ball-focused’: Though he reads the game well out of possession, Raux-Yao is sometimes guilty of ball-watching when it comes to long periods of games without the ball. He can lose blindside runners, which he needs to work out.
Goal contributions: Despite his immense height and power, Raux-Yao primarily uses his build to defend and hasn't yet begun converting chances at set-pieces with his heading ability. A little more work on his attacking movement, and he could be a serious threat in both boxes.
Raux-Yao's ceiling
DEFENDERS Mbekezeli Mbokazi, Victor Valdepenas, Marco Palestra
With recruitment geared towards younger and younger defensive talents these days for big clubs, Raux-Yao represents a major opportunity for a mid-table club in one of Europe's top five leagues to take a punt on. As the game evolves towards an even more physical style, the Frenchman would suit a side who still look to play on the front foot.
