Who is Loïs Openda? Meet the RB Leipzig star who models his game after Didier Drogba

Loïs Openda has been at RB Leipzig for less than a season and is already being linked with a transfer to several top clubs. Newcastle United, Chelsea, and Liverpool have recently been linked in the rumor mill with a move for the 23-year-old center-forward. Manchester United, always on the lookout for a new striker, are another club that showed interest in the past. This week, Openda spoke to Transfermarkt as part of a media roundtable about his hitting the ground running, modelling his game after Didier Drogba and his future with Leipzig.  

Looking at the way Openda started the season, it isn’t surprising that major Premier League clubs are interested in the forward. After all, Openda hit the ground running after he joined Leipzig for a club record €38.5 million from Ligue 1 side RC Lens. Openda has scored 15 goals and four assists in 25 games across all competitions this season. Only Harry Kane (22 goals) and Stuttgart sensation Serhou Guirassy (17 goals) have scored more goals than Openda in the Bundesliga this season (overview). Indeed, Openda quickly became Leipzig’s leading man, ahead of the likes of Timo Werner, who has since left the club on loan to Tottenham. 

What has been the secret to Openda’s success? The striker credited head coach Marco Rose’s preseason work for giving him the confidence to succeed. “If you want to go to a new club [and do well], I need confidence,” Openda said when asked about hitting the ground running in the Bundesliga. “The connection with the new teammates was directly good. The trust of the coach and the club was there. I trusted my new teammates; everything was good right away, resulting in good games.”

Openda – Inspired by Drogba, Leipzig star is looking for some long-term stability 

As mentioned, those good games have not been lost on other clubs. But what sort of player is Openda? “Didier Drogba was my idol,” Openda said when asked which player he modelled his game after. “When I was young, I always watched his games with Chelsea and the national team to see how he scored goals, gave assists, and protected the ball. I want to play like him and one day be a top striker like him. Maybe I will be better than him and work on that, but definitely, when I was young, he was my idol, and I learned from him. But now I am a professional and have to learn for myself.” 

It is a comparison that only makes sense at a second glance. After all, Openda is just under six feet tall and far less physically imposing in person than the former Chelsea star. But watching Openda on the field makes you think he is larger than his physical appearance. Although he isn’t as tall as Drogba, something powerful and elegant about his game makes him very difficult to handle by opposing defenders and makes him look larger than his actual measurements suggest. 

Perhaps those clubs will have to wait for a bit, however. After two seasons with Vitesse Arnhem in the Eredivisie, Openda spent just one season with Lens in Ligue 1 before moving on to Leipzig. “Yeah, moving every two years isn’t the best thing, to be honest,” Openda said. “Of course, it is never easy; when you have the opportunity to go to a better club and perform somewhere better, you have to do it. I think the one year at Lens was perfect, but now I signed a five-year contract. I am focused on this season and my progression and then next year. I don’t want to say anything about leaving because I feel really good here.”