Dénis Bouanga, before LAFC signed the star forward last August, was viewed internally as a “player who could take this club to the top.”
That forecast, shared by LAFC co-president and general manager John Thorrington in a 1-on-1 conversation with MLSsoccer.com, is proving spot-on.
Bouanga has become a strong Landon Donovan MLS MVP candidate in 2023, tallying 11 goals and five assists in 11 games across all competitions. He’s keyed the Black & Gold into the Concacaf Champions League semifinals, and they’re the last undefeated team in MLS before Saturday’s Matchday 9 test at Nashville SC (8:30 pm ET | MLS Season Pass), sitting atop the league on points per game (2.43).
This form, Thorrington noted, is a continuation of what Bouanga showed late last year. Once Bouanga settled, after joining from relegated Ligue 2 side Saint-Étienne as a Designated Player, his true potential started to surface.
“He's getting a lot of attention now, but I don't forget that he scored the goal that won us the Supporters' Shield, he scored important goals in the playoffs and our team won MLS Cup,” Thorrington said of the 28-year-old Gabon international.
DP investment
Last summer, Bouanga arrived after two global stars – Welsh forward Gareth Bale (ex-Real Madrid) and Italian center back Giorgio Chiellini (ex-Juventus) – joined LAFC on non-DP deals. Most clubs would be more than satisfied with a transfer window where players of that profile signed, but LAFC felt another high-profile move, with out-of-pocket investment from their ownership group beyond the salary cap, would take them to another level.
“There was a lot of noise around did we change too much and why did LAFC do this in the summer?” Thorrington recalled. “But our conviction, and I have to say with gratitude to our owners for understanding, was this team is in a strong position. Now, what did we need to add to take us further?
“Dénis was one of those decisions, and the most significant decision we made – maybe not in terms of publicity because we added Gareth Bale and Giorgio Chiellini, but certainly the most significant investment owners made to invest in a player who, since Carlos Vela came, we didn't typically invest in that profile of player. But owners made the resources available.”
Those resources are certainly being repaid, with Bouanga spearheading an offense that lost Bale (retirement), Cristian Arango (transfer to Liga MX’s Pachuca) and Cristian Tello (free to Saudi Arabia’s Al Fateh) during the offseason. Bouanga, alongside Vela and youngsters Kwadwo Opoku, Stipe Biuk and Mateusz Bogusz, gives LAFC a slightly new-look attacking core that’s remained ever-dangerous.
Bouanga, who’s played over 200 games across France’s top two divisions and in several African Cup of Nations tournaments, was viewed as a transformative player amid a group that includes LAFC’s captain (Vela) and two recent signings: Biuk from Croatia's Hajduk Split and Bogusz from England’s Leeds United.
“We always felt with [Bouanga’s] physical capacity, trying to translate it from his team that had just been relegated and playing in that environment versus ours where our game model is different, how does that translate?” Thorrington said of the scouting process. “Can we turn a guy who scored once in every three games typically throughout his career into something more with our game model, with the work our technical staff does with the attack?
“All of those things went into the calculus of is this the right guy? But I won't forget the first time our scouts said, ‘John go watch this guy.’ When I got to it, we were all internally convinced this is the guy because we had the thought and conviction that we would see what we are seeing now.”
Choosing LAFC
Bouanga had options last summer across Europe, yet chose LAFC for the new challenge it presented. So far, he’s passing that challenge with flying colors – and doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon.
“Dénis is a great example of a player who I think would have made a difference at whichever European club he could have gone to,” Thorrington began. “He's a fantastic player, he's already shown he's got a European pedigree. That's not my unique opinion.
“What I think is different here is the position and status he holds within our group and our league has shifted. … The unique opportunity here for a player like Dénis is you can make a huge difference here. You can take this team from where it is, which is in a good position, to helping them win a title, you can play in Champions League here. It's just a different opportunity than the options he had and thankfully he wholeheartedly bought in.”
