Bazoumana Toure transfer news: Why Newcastle are spending £43m on forward
Toure’s positivity translates on to the field.
The rapid winger certainly tried to make things happen at Hoffenheim, who narrowly missed out on qualifying for the Champions League last season.
Of the forwards playing in the Bundesliga in 2025-26, Toure ranked first for successful crosses (39), joint-second for assists (nine), joint-third for dribbles completed (48) and fourth for chances created (45) and big chances created (11).
However, he is far from a maverick.
“You see his qualities with the ball, his speed and his hard work,” Besara said. “But the thing that amazed me was he could take directions from the coaches and the players, and do it directly on the pitch.
“I remember previously he had scored some goals for Hammarby, but he had not scored a header at the time.
“The day before a game, our coach [Kim Hellberg] said, ‘Bazou, I want you to go to the first post and head the ball’. He went on to score two headers in that game.
“He’s really adaptable at taking tactical advice.”
Toure’s ability to quickly process information has been key to the improvements he has made out of possession, too.
Toure came out on top in 152 duels and won the ball back 127 times in his final league campaign at Hoffenheim.
The Premier League is another step up, though.
Toure is still raw and needs to work on various areas of his game, including his finishing.
He will also need time to adjust to the league’s physicality and intensity, and the system Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe uses.
But the winger will be able to fall back on recent experience after repeatedly adapting to new environments over the years.
“I know he will be really successful,” Besara said. “Mark my words.”
