The crossing ability. The long blonde hair. It made the somewhat lazy comparison inevitable, especially as it has been talked up by the man himself.
"Borna Sosa's said that David Beckham is his role model, and I think he has the same qualities," VfB Stuttgart sporting director Sven Mislintat told Bild last season.
"He puts in crosses from every angle: sometimes chipped, sometimes drilled, sometimes flat, sometimes in behind, sometimes to the front post, other times to the back post."
The key difference between Beckham and Sosa – purely as players we should make clear – is that the latter is left-footed. "His left foot is a real weapon," Mislintat added.
Sosa enjoyed a breakout 2020/21 campaign, his first in the Bundesliga. He helped newly-promoted Stuttgart to a ninth-place finish and contributed nine assists in 26 appearances from left wing-back or left midfield.
This campaign hasn't been as simple for Die Roten, who at the time of writing are 17th in the top-flight table and embroiled in a relegation scrap. Sosa hasn't been as effective either with his three assists thus far all coming on the opening day of the season against Greuther Furth.
There are mitigating factors as to why Sosa's output has tailed off, The first being that Stuttgart's Sasa Kalajdzic, the 6ft 7ins striker who netted 17 Bundesliga goals last season, has played just 287 minutes this term. Fellow striker Nicolas Gonzalez, meanwhile, departed for Fiorentina in the summer transfer window.
You may be asking at this point, where do Chelsea fit into all this? Well, the European champions were linked with a £25million January move for Sosa and while that never materalised, football.london understands he has been watched by Blues scouts this season and as recently as last month.
It is not unusual, of course, for representives of Chelsea to be taking in games across Europe; the Blues have a vast scouting network aimed at indentifying talent for the here and now but also the future.
Which camp does Sosa fit into? Given he is 24 years old, almost certainly the former. And Chelsea may well need a new left-sided come the summer.
When fit, Ben Chilwell is first choice. But unfortunately, the England international suffered a knee ligament injury in November and is set to miss the remainder of this campaign. So 31-year-old Marcos Alonso has become the default option to left wing-back and Malang Sarr has started to push him hard for a start at left-back when Thomas Tuchel moves to a back four.
Alonso is no fool but he is also no Chilwell. The Spaniard doesn't possess the same mobility, agility, quick feet and ability to drive beyond an opponent in the final third. Neither does Sarr and Tuchel has already ruled using him out as a wing-back.
"He can play a full back," the German said last month, "he can play centre-back and in the left position of a back three. That’s where he is at the moment, he deserves to play."
So could Sosa be an option for Chelsea? A big positive is that he has thrived in a wing-back role at Stuttgart, who have predominantly used 3-4-2-1/3-5-2 systems over the past 18 months, and is a consistent threat in the final third.
Since the start of the 2020/21 campaign, per wyscout, Sosa has registered 3.7 dribbles attempted and 6.9 crosses attempted per 90. Often, he gets the ball in space, drives forward and delivers a dangerous cross. That he can do this from a variety of angles makes it hugely difficult for an opposition full-back to stop.
His expected goals assisted in this period is 0.2 per 90. It's a solid return, especailly for a side expected to be near the bottom of the table, and highlights the creative burden placed upon him.
For context, Chilwell's expected goals assisted since the start of last season in the Premier League is 0.16. Yet it should be remembered the 25-year-old spent the first half of last season as a left-back and so wasn't as high up the pitch.
Chilwell is not direct as Sosa in possession, although part of that will be down to tactical instructions. He averaged 1.88 dribbles attempted per 90 in the 18 months prior to his injury and 3.79 crosses attempted per 90. However, he attempted more passes (52 to the Croatian international's 45) which is indicitive of Chelsea controlling matches through possession.
There is an area of Sosa's game that is still largely untested: his defensive work. At Stuttgart, he has such attacking licence that he isn't tasked with the burden of haring back and making the back three a back five.
In the Bundesliga this season, Sosa has averaged just 1.58 tackles and interceptions per 90, a figure well below that of Chilwell (2.67). He is also not as effective aerially as the former Leicester defender, who wins 55% of the three aerial duels per 90 he attempts compared to 45% of Sosa's 1.46 per 90.
"I wouldn't call it a weakness because I've not done so much of it," Sosa said in an interview with Bundesliga.com last season. "Because I grew up playing football at Dinamo, we always played offensively, always to win, in every game. And so you automatically have less defensive tasks.
"But I've been here [at Stuttgart] three years now, where it's completely different and I've certainly developed myself further in this area, which is also very important to me. But if you were to ask me about my characteristics: it's speed and my left foot.”
Sosa has a contract with Stuttgart until 2025 and the Bundesliga will be able to demand a significant fee for the 24-year-old should firm interest arrive from Chelsea or another European heavyweight, although were they to suffer relegation this season their stance may be slightly weakened in the summer.
A move for Sosa would, at this stage, be something of a gamble. He has been largely untested as a left-back and Premier League football would almost certainly highlight his defensive deficiencies. That being said, Alonso has played roles in Premier League title and Champions League wins and he is no Paolo Maldini.
Sosa is no Beckham either. He understands that. "Do we have anything in common in our crosses? We do. It's not easy to learn. You either have it or you don't. I like to hear it, yes, but I wouldn't want to compare myself with him yet because he's a football legend after all, and I still have a long way to go."
The step Sosa takes after Stuttgart will be a big one. Whether it's with Chelsea is another matter. But the Blues will almost certainly continue to keep a close eye on the Croatian and perhaps he may one day emulate Beckham in becoming a Premier League star.
