Junior Diouf is a Senegalese freshman phenom in NCAA Division I for Grand Canyon University. The striker won both Freshman and Player of the Year from TopDrawerSoccer and was a MAC Hermann Trophy finalist. Diouf added to his laundry list of awards by winning his conference’s (WAC) Freshman and Offensive Player of the Year while being named to the All-WAC First, Freshman, and Tournament teams. Bagging 18 goals in 21 matches (20 starts) and recording 6 assists, he dominated to an extent that is rare for a first-year player. After coming to the United States from Senegal, Diouf played youth football at nearly the highest level in New Jersey, attending St. Benedict’s Prep and playing club for Cedar Stars Bergen.
Grand Canyon’s breakout star stands around 6’1” with a wiry frame, around average for the position, with room to get stockier as he matures. He is already quite strong for his age and has long, powerful strides that give him elite explosiveness and pace over distance. Diouf’s profile is already superior to his peers, with promise to become even stronger and more explosive, making the transition to a higher level of play potentially easier.
In possession, his strengths are in off-ball movement, attacking instincts, athletic ball carrying, and creative link-up play. Diouf has a competitive nature that makes him highly effective and decisive in the box. He stays composed, especially from the penalty spot, while having the mentality to keep working for chances despite misses. He consistently times runs well with spatial awareness, particularly up the left half space, to exploit gaps between defenders and use his pace to stretch the middle channel on counterattacks. Diouf has quick reactions to burst forward and get ahead of attacks while maintaining enough separation from the back line before trying to break in behind. Once in the box, his awareness and timeliness are still good to run at the near post, early or delayed, and be in strong position for rebounds. Due to this, Diouf generates valuable finishing in volume by getting into high percentage areas. His first time finishing of crosses and cutbacks is borderline elite, though he must improve placement to match the level of power. He is right-footed but finishes with either foot nearly equally. Diouf is a strong presence on counters and the direct buildup, mostly because of body positioning and on-ball strength to take advantage of his elite athleticism for this level, turning with ease on reception into progressive carries, mostly with long dribbles and strong press resistance. He also holds up play effectively using his strong frame and balance to seal off, making him capable in link-up. Despite being somewhat selfish and having a striker’s mindset, Diouf still lays it off in one touch, creates with ground passes to split defenders, or chips balls through to runners. His first touch can be heavy or not clean, inviting pressure, but his athleticism makes up for it most times. He must work on the weight of his distribution and decision-making under pressure, as he can hold the ball too long, get tunnel vision on counters (trying to beat one defender too many), or get too ambitious with his distribution.
Diouf plays with a high work rate, pressing aggressively from the front line. His explosiveness allows him to closeout on opponents quickly and force rushed decisions. He willingly engages in duels with physicality, having the strength to disrupt centre-backs building up. Diouf can be overly aggressive in the high press, though, arriving late when chasing from behind, getting called for fouls too often, pushing or grabbing. He must also work on taking better angles when closing out, relying on his pace and lacking control.
After passing on a Generation adidas contract to make himself MLS SuperDraft-eligible, the belief is that Diouf will test his abilities in Europe. The rumored interest is from RSC Anderlecht, and I believe he possesses the athletic and finishing potential to thrive in Belgium after acclimating to the second division. European coaching to round out his development could take his game to new heights. Diouf has the confidence and profile of a striker who could eventually play in a top 5 league, such as Ligue 1 or Bundesliga.
Target Scouting 