Name: Allen Obando	Date of birth: 13/06/2006
Position: ST	Preferred foot: Right
Nationality: Ecuadorian	Club: Barcelona SC
Contract until: 31/12/2026	Competition: Liga Pro
International: Ecuador	Agency: –

Report:

Allen Obando stands at around 1.87m with strong legs and an average upper body build. He generates a lot of strength from his legs, as shown in his physical strength in duels with his back towards the goal. He sporadically loses a physical duel, even against senior-level opponents. His height in combination with his good jumping reach helps him win almost every aerial duel, although he often loses balance in the air. He could work on his core strength to improve this. Obando has a good burst of speed and displays good speed over longer distances. 

He has a decent first touch under pressure, although his touch could sometimes be better. Obando inconsistently scans before receiving, which leads to mixed results under pressure. He tends to turn into his opponent after failing to scan but makes better on-ball decisions after he scans, seemingly adapting to the situation quickly. He holds up play well due to his physical strength and his passing over short distances is also clean, although he can sometimes be too casual on the ball. Obando sporadically does not make the right decisions on the ball, picking out the wrong pass. However, he is showing a lot of promise in his hold-up play, also because he tries to get on the ball often by dropping deep and moving into space between the lines well. Obando tends to lean into his opponent and look for contact but sporadically dribbles past his opponent on the turn. He sometimes looks relatively quick turning away from his opponent but can also look slower trying to change directions, especially in attacking 1v1s from a relative standstill. 

Obando’s ball-striking from distance is fairly inconsistent. He often leans over the ball too much, failing to get a lot of power and accuracy on his shots. His shot locations are not always perfect either. He is quite composed in 1v1s against the goalkeeper, being capable of scoring with both feet. However, Obando could get into these situations more often if he would use the space in behind more efficiently. Obando’s ball-striking from close range is slightly inconsistent, as he does not always connect well with the ball. His headed finishing is fairly average as he often fails to direct his headed attempt towards the goal. Obando sometimes gets under the ball too much and does not connect with the ball well. He could be a lot more efficient with his heading, potentially scoring more goals as he wins aerial duels easily. His headed passing can also be improved. Obando’s movement in the box is decent, he can sneak away from his opponent but does not often try to get in front of his opponent in the box. 

I think his profile is extremely exciting, although Obando needs a good coaching staff to be able to fulfil his potential. He needs to improve his heading desperately to become more efficient in the box. Obando could also score more goals if he uses the space in behind more often – he has the speed and timing for it. If he can do this, in combination with becoming more consistent technically (ball-striking, first touch, short passing), Obando is on his way to potentially becoming a striker who can play for good clubs in the top 5 leagues such as Borussia Dortmund.