FPL New Signing Sessions: Is Kalimuendo a threat to wood?

Nottingham Forest’s expenditure continues quickly after their conquest of Rennes Forward Arnaud Kalimuendo (£ 6.0 million).

The 23-year-old has agreed a five-year deal and moves for a first £ 26 million for add-ons.

Kalimuendo’s arrival is hot on the heels of the weekend signs of James McATEE (£ 5.5 million) from Manchester City and Omari Hutchison (£ 5.5 million) of the city of Ipswich. We will look at those two in another article.

But how does Kalimuendo fit into the fast -growing strike force of the forest – and is it a threat Chris Wood (£ 7.6 million)? Here we look in this reconnaissance report.

Short history

Kalimuendo came through the youth academy of Paris Saint-Germain, but like many young attackers in the all-victory club of the French capital, the first team found opportunities hard to find.

Two loan spells at RC -Lens followed, who produced a total of 19 goals from 60 runouts.

These were impressive figures for a player in his late teenage years. He scored 0.49 goals per 90 minutes, of an XG of 0.40 per 90, in his first two seasons in senior top football football. In other words, Kalimuendo exceeded his expected goals with more than three in two seasons – early signs of a player with elite finish.

A permanent step to Rennes followed. His output got better and better in the course of his three years in Brittany and last season turned out to be his outbreak year. His 17 goals placed him third in the Ligue 1 Scorers’ charts.

Kalimuendo, who is of Congolese descent, has also represented France at youth level. He played at the World Cup under 17 and at last year’s Olympic Summer Games, where he scored in the group phase and was shown in the final when France lost 5-3 in extra time for Spain. He also scored 11 goals in 33 performances for the French under the age of 21.

Playing style

So far, Kalimuendo has mainly been used as a center-forward, with 58 of its 65 goals in leading the line.

The 23-year-old, however, has the pace and ability to extend defenders and to play wide, a characteristic of a number of recent signing sessions by Nuno Espirito Santo.

Indeed, we saw more of Kalimuendo’s versatility among the new Rennes manager Habib Beye (via to elect):

Standing at 5ft 9 in and not particularly skilled in the air, the new forest is not Chris Wood clone forward. However, he has the skills to supplement the New Zealander. His low gravity means that he is sharp in busy areas, where he likes to play fast One-Twos or turns defenders to get shots with one of the two feet.

Kalimuendo, capable of all types of finishes, from the curl in the corner to the low angular drive, also has a good game consciousness and plays in a teammate with a square pass or a cut if they are better placed for scoring. He is also skilled in winning property in the last third part.

The statistics

Statistics with thanks Whoscored

Kalimuendo produced a variety of finishes with his right foot, left foot and head last season. All 17 goals came from the penalty area.

Ousmane Dembele and Mason Greenwood were the only players who surpassed him in the Ligue I 2024/25, but Kalimuendo’s shot-to-target conversion rate of 22% was superior to both.

At Premier League level you have to clinical his-so-kalimunedo’s goals-per game ratio of 0.59 and the ability to send presentable opportunities is striking. Last season he put 72% (13 out of 18) away from his great chances, a figure that was improved by only one regular scorer in Ligue 1.

Statistics thanks to Footystats

It is worth pointing out that five of his goals came from the penalty spot. He is confronted with a struggle to dispose of wood from the fine order, but on the other hand, if the Kiwi striker does not play, he can get the chance to perform.

However, he missed three of his eight Spotkicks in 2024/25!

Where Kalimuendo fits in the forest

After a convincing 3-1 victory in Gamweek 1, it can be argued that Bos needs no offensive reinforcements. Wood grabbed a brace, Ndoye scored on debut and Morgan Gibbs-White (£ 7.5 million) was excellent.

But Forest will not play Brentford every week and they also have a Europa League campaign to manage this season, which means that the minutes are shared to keep everyone fresh.

On Sunday, Wood led a 4-2-3-1 formation, where he was supported by Gibbs-White in the No. 10 Rol with Ndoye on the Right Flank and Callum Hudson-Odoi (£ 6.0 million) on the left.

Kalimuendo can be used as a replacement or replacement for wood – such as Igor Jesus (£ 6.0 million). Alternatively, it could also be used on the flank, probably on the left instead of Hudson-Odoi, whose injury record suggests that it should be used sparingly. Hutchinson and Ndoye seem to have locked the right flank.

Is Kaliminuendo worth buying in FPL?

We end all our reconnaissance reports with the same question and in this case the answer is a clear ‘no’ – in any case for the time being.

It is suspected that Kalimuendo will be reserved for a role in advance instead of wood in the early matches of the Europa League, and as an impact replacement in the Premier League, with a view to keeping the 33-year-old striker fresh. One of the reasons why the Kiwi was so effective last season was that he only had to play once a week.

Playing the Frenchman, who already has 12 Europa League performances, in Europe will enable him to familiarize himself with his teammates and try to prove his value as the most important striker.

It is also possible that Espirito Santo is planning to play Kalimuendo on the flank, perhaps instead of Hudson-Odoi, whose injury record is so used to be used sparingly.

This is a good time to bring forest players to your FPL team (if you didn’t have it yet), given their luminaires look attractive at Gameweek 6. It is too early for Kalimuendo, unfortunately, and by the time he insists at a Premier League spot, that favorable run will probably be over.

The FPL impact in the short term can be on the minutes of Wood, if not its start. With Jesus and Kalimuendo to call, Nuno has something that he does not have in 2024/25: viable alternatives from the bank. The different skills (wood the aerially strong goalkeeper, Kalimuendo de Speedster, Jesus somewhere in between) means that Nuno can also adjust his striker accordingly to the game plan.

Although the damage had already been caused on Sunday, Wood’s Gameweek 1 replacement was only the second time in 2025 that it was removed before the 80th minute. There may be more of it in the coming weeks.