Before the FIFA Youth World Cups were organised, the Maurice Revello Tournament was considered the most prestigious youth tournament at the international level.
Organised by Maurice Revello in the south of France, the tournament quickly established itself as the most important friendly tournament in world football and is held yearly.
In 2024, the 50th version of the tournament was held in six venues around the southern region of France, featuring many high-ranking participants, including Japan, Mexico, France, and Italy.
Despite the presence of big-name players competing in the tournament with their squads selected for the Olympic Games in Paris shortly after, there was a surprising winner from Ukraine, who managed to beat the Ivory Coast in the final in Salon-de-Provence.
Multiple trophies are handed out for individual performances during the tournament, with the most prestigious one being the best player of the tournament, of course.
Over the years, this honour has been bestowed upon players such as James Rodríguez, Héctor Herrera, and Douglas Luiz.
In 2024, after winning the final, Ukraine winger Maksym Khlan was named the best player of the 50ème Festival International “Espoirs”—Tournoi Maurice Revello.
Khlan scored two goals and provided two more assists on Ukraine’s way to the title.
Maksym Khlan is probably a name that most people have not heard before, and I believe it does not ring a bell for many people in professional football either.
The Ukrainian winger is under contract with Polish side Lechia Gdańsk.
He signed his contract there after seven matchdays in September 2024 and spent the entire transfer period as a free agent.
Before joining the Polish second division, Khlan started his professional career at Zorya Luhansk in his native Ukraine.
He came through the youth ranks there and made eight appearances for their first team, providing two assists.
Khlan did not take any time to adapt in Poland, earning his starting spot in his second week in the country and instantly assisting a goal in Lechia’s 5-1 win.
From there on, the season was a big success for the player and the team.
Khlan’s nine goals and six assists proved vital for the team’s promotion campaign, winning the league and returning to the Ekstraklasa after only one year down.
In this scouting report and analysis, we will examine the player Maksym Khlan, his 2023/24 season, what to expect from him in his first season in the Polish top flight, and where Khlan needs to improve to take the next step in his career.
Maksym Khlan Player Profile – Data & Statistics
The level of play in the Polish second division is inferior to that of the top leagues throughout Europe and even South America.
However, the profile of Maksym Khlan still appears extremely interesting.
His 15 goal contributions were good enough to put Khlan into the top 10 scorers of the league last term.
Considering he made his first appearance on matchday eight and missed the entire preseason with his team, that’s an excellent stat.
If we examine the statistics more closely, a few additional points will also become apparent.
While his goal contributions per 90 minutes only rank in the 61st percentile amongst comparable wingers, his expected goal contributions rank in the 70th percentile.
This shows that even though his output was already really good for a winger his age and even more impressive considering his overall situation, there is still room for him to grow in that regard, and it shows that his good season wasn’t just a statistical outlier with insane efficiency.
Examining the other key statistics for wingers, we can see that he ranks significantly above average in dribbles per 90 minutes and opposing area touches per 90 minutes as well.
This showcases that, on the one hand, Khlan definitely has the dribbling ability needed to play on the wing and can take on opposing defenders with ease.
On the other hand, it also shows that his movement into the box is good, and he often finds himself in dangerous situations.
His 70th percentile ranking in positioning also supports this.
Another aspect that stands out in Khlan’s statistical profile is his passing statistics.
Usually, wingers who play out wide are not that involved in their team’s passing game; with Khlan, however, this is different.
Khlan not only receives and plays a very good number of passes for a winger, but his ball security while passing stands out significantly compared to other wingers, ranking in the 85th percentile for passing accuracy.
It is also worth mentioning that he ranks in the 77th percentile of progressive passes, indicating that his secure passing does not solely result from playing the ball square frequently, but rather, he manages to be accurate with his passing while also advancing the ball effectively.
On the defensive side of things, the stats are trending slightly worse.
Still, Khlan ranks above average in defensive duels per 90 minutes and within the 66th percentile in terms of success rate in those duels; it’s clear from the radar that his strengths do not lie in this phase of play.
His aerial numbers look especially horrific, but when calculating those numbers, we always have to take the player’s height (1.70 m) into consideration, so there probably isn’t much room for development there anyway.
What’s standing out about Maksym Khlan in terms of output is his high expected goals value.
He ranked fourth amongst all wingers in the Polish second division last season.
The interesting part is that he does not take many shots to reach this value.
If we examine the scatter plot, many players take significantly more shots than Khlan but end up with a lower xG total.
This shows that Khlan often finds himself in good situations.
He does not pull the trigger without thought; he only takes shots in favourable situations, which shows good judgment and decision-making ability.
Overall, Khlan’s statistical profile looks very interesting for a winger. Not only does he meet the marks in the most important statistics for wingers, but he also shows great potential in terms of passing and even some promising signs on the defensive side of the ball.
Maksym Khlan With The Ball
Receiving between the lines.
When examining what Khlan does well with the ball, we must mention his ability to find space to receive it.
Khlan isn’t someone who is going to drop back deep into the midfield to receive the ball; he likes to find space up front, in between the opposing team’s lines and allow his team to progress the ball rapidly that way.
Here, we can see an example of Khlan moving into open space between the opposing players.
He does not move very fast or quickly, but he understands the collective movement of the opposing team and knows where space will open up for him.
From there on, he doesn`t just show that he wants to receive the ball; he also shows onto which foot he wants to receive it.
After receiving the ball on his right foot, Khlan instantly is able to turn towards the goal.
While doing that, he scans the field to find passing options in the box for a potential through ball, threatening the defensive line of the opposing team.
Situations like these occur quite often with Khlan and show that he is not just a traditional winger who receives the ball out wide and crosses it into the box quickly.
However, he is a winger, after all, and he is able to play out of wider positions as well.
Here, Lechia is playing in a very broad shape, forcing Khlan to receive the ball near the sideline.
His first touch is actually really bad in this situation, but he managed to be wide open by dropping back a couple of steps, so that was not that important here.
From there on, Khlan takes on the defender, cutting inside and looking for a cross to the far post.
Khlan shows that he is also very comfortable receiving the ball out wide and finds solutions there as well.
This, in combination with his ability to receive between the lines, makes his movement very hard to predict for defences, and Khlan is consequently very hard to grasp for defenders.
What makes Khlan really dangerous in possession is his ability to pick up the pace very quickly.
He is not only able to receive the ball in multiple positions, but his first touch always allows him to move towards the goal and threaten the opposing team’s defence.
While his pace and his dribbling ability are very good, which is important for a winger, we already highlighted his good passing stats earlier in the article.
Khlan is a very good passer, especially after receiving the ball in between the line or while dribbling onto the defensive line.
He is constantly threading through balls through the holes of the opposing defence, finding the deep runs of his teammates.
In this situation, when Khlan was still playing in Luhansk, his team was awarded a free kick in midfield.
Khlan moves in between the lines once again, asking to receive the ball right behind the midfield of Odense.
He doesn’t just receive the ball once again; he asks for the ball to be played onto his right foot and receives the ball in a half-open stance, allowing him to turn towards the goal with his first touch once again.
From there on, Khlan has two options because his teammates are running in behind the defensive line, and he plays a very nice pass right into the movement of his striker.
This shows why Khlan is so dangerous with his passing.
He already puts pressure onto the defenders while receiving the ball, picking up the pace with his first touch and then scanning the field for downfield runs, threading the needle to pass to his teammate.
These situations help him not just up front; Khlan is also able to use them to help his team progress the ball in build-up play, which makes him more valuable as well.
Maksym Khlan Off The Ball
As stated previously, defending is still an area where Maksym Khlan has the most potential to improve.
He will need to improve his ball skills if he wants to take the next step and potentially play in a higher league at some point in his career.
His problems in defending are explained rather quickly: he lacks physicality, and his timing while tackling is particularly poor, which leads to him being easily dribbled past. His positioning is also not great.
Still, a couple of positive points in his work against the ball showcase some potential to become a factor in those areas as well.
One thing that really stands out is his decision-making in counterpressing.
Khlan constantly checks his surroundings and makes good decisions on when to trigger the counterpress and when to drop back.
In this situation, Lechia has lost the ball after a set piece.
His teammates instantly go out towards the wing to press the opposing team.
Khlan scans the field behind and in front of him and makes the decision to stay put at first, cutting off a potential pass into the centre of the pitch.
This leads to the opposing team being caught in a 3v2 situation, which they play out in a very bad manner.
This forces them to play a bad pass into the centre to get out of the corner they locked themselves into.
Khlan now knows that he can aggressively try to intercept the pass and recover the loose ball right at the edge of the box for his team.
From there on, Lechia is well-positioned to launch a quick attack once again, with many players forward and the opposing team caught off guard.
These types of situations show that Khlan has a good defensive football IQ and is able to help his team in counterpressing situations, which is a very valuable asset in any of the top leagues in Europe.
Khlan also shows an excellent work ethic against the ball, covering a lot of ground to help out his teammates.
In the situation pictured above, Khlan makes a run deep into his own territory to help out his midfielder, triggering the midfield press.
After winning the ball in the 2v1 situation, Khlan instantly picks up the pace and progresses the ball into the opposition half quickly.
This shows his front-foot defending once again.
He is always ready for a sprint to help out his teammates and triggers the press often, so his teammates find themselves in better situations.
After winning the ball, Khlan excels in transition, utilising his pace and passing ability to initiate counterattacks within an instant.
Against better opponents, especially teams with very good wingers, Lechia has been and remains heavily reliant on their wingers to track back and assist the fullbacks, as they have struggled to defend in one-on-one situations this past season.
Khlan is no exception and is fulfilling his given task very well.
Here, we can see Khlan moving into his own box, helping out his teammate on the wing and preventing the opposing winger from cutting inside.
Once again, he covers a lot of ground and helps out his teammates in a tough matchup.
However, he is unable to win the ball here because his tackling is really poor; he is caught flat-footed.
He does not stop to defend, however, and even moves out onto the wing once again to defend against the opposing fullback, intercepting the cross in this situation.
While his actual defending needs a lot of work, Khlan showcases the will always to track back and help out his teammates and is reliably working on his defensive tactical tasks, which coaches love.
If he cleans up his defending in a more technical way, he should be able to avoid being a deadweight for teams against the ball, even when they are defending out of very deep positions against good teams.
Maksym Khlan Strengths
As this article repeatedly highlights, Maksym Khlan’s biggest strength is his ability to move between the lines, receive the ball, and be on the front foot.
His passing ability really stands out compared to other wingers and will be his most valuable asset moving forward.
Here, we can see Khlan moving in the half-spaces once again, receiving the ball between the opposing team’s lines.
Once again, he can turn towards goal with his first touch, which threatens the defence here because they cannot press Khlan here at all.
In this situation, Khlan is able to play a through ball behind the defensive line, assisting his striker, who had started his run when Khlan was turning towards the goal.
This showcases his strength in passing and through balls once again.
In terms of both quantity and quality, not many wingers can provide Khlan.
His ability to consistently put the ball in behind the opposing defensive line and pick out his teammates’ runs is very dangerous for opposing teams, as it combines two of his strengths when cutting inside, forcing the defenders into rash decisions.
His second big strength is shooting after cutting inside.
Khlan has an elite shooting technique; he puts a lot of power into his shots but keeps them precise as well.
Most of Khlan’s goals do not come from tap-in finishes; he dribbles and cuts inside and curls his shot towards the far post.
Khlan is dangerous from pretty much every area on the pitch when he gets near the box, having scored goals from anywhere around and inside the box.
His shooting technique enables him to extend his shooting range, which forces defenders to respect his shot around the box and forces them to step up, which Khlan can punish with his great through balls.
Khlans’ strengths are particularly potent in combination, as they complement and enable each other very well.
Maksym Khlan Weaknesses
Maksym Khlan does not have many glaring weaknesses in his game, especially not compared to the level of play he faced last season.
Still, there are two things that we need to examine.
His first glaring weakness is his physicality, or, more specifically, his lack of it.
While Khlan plays bigger than his size, defenders can still easily push him off the ball, and he does not win many offensive duels, especially when his back is towards goal.
We talked a lot about his ability to receive the ball between the lines and his first-touch turn.
Still, if he is unable to gain a bit of distance between himself and the defender, his actions are relatively poor and are easily defended because he is unable to shield the ball with his body.
Standing at only 1.70 m and with a very small frame, Khlan has little potential to overcome this deficit, and given the way he uses his body, he simply is not clever enough to improve his technique.
One thing he should be able to do, however, is draw more fouls in these situations.
When hit or pushed, Khlan flies away metres, and it always looks like he has been fouled very hard. He needs to use that to his advantage to kind of fool referees into awarding him more free kicks.
Another glaring weakness in Khlan‘s game is his weak foot, so his left foot, to be exact, here.
Khlan has played a lot as a left winger for Lechia last season, playing out wide on that side for over 90% of the time.
Still, he refuses to use his left foot in a meaningful manner.
If we recap the situations with the ball we have analysed so far in this article, every single one of them involved Khlan only using his right foot: receiving the ball onto his right foot, using his right foot for the first touch, passing with his right foot, or crossing with his right foot.
This makes Khlan somewhat predictable for opposing defences.
He will always cut inside and try to shoot or pass with his right foot, which means you can leave the door open on the outside because he won’t take that route, simply because he can not cross with his left foot.
This will lead to many teams rejecting the idea of signing him because he sets boundaries for the ways coaches can use him in a very negative way.
Conclusion
Maksym Khlan had a stellar season in the second Polish division last season and managed to turn some heads at the Maurice Revello tournament this summer.
After not being able to make a breakthrough in Ukraine and spending the entirety of the summer transfer window as a free agent, nobody could have seen the ascent of the young winger coming.
Now, however, he has set some expectations for himself that he needs to fulfil, and even if the Ekstraklasa might not be the best league, he will definitely continue his development if he wants to achieve success again this year.
So far, Lechia Gdansk’s start to the season has been somewhat disappointing.
With the Maurice Revello tournament and the Olympic games, Maksym Khlan has not had a break yet and missed the entire pre-season that his teammates had.
This was evident in the first couple of games, but his talent and confidence were also on display.
Khlan is definitely not ready to take the next step yet.
The Ekstraklasa is a very fitting league for him at this stage.
Still, suppose he can maintain the trajectory of the last few months.
In that case, teams in leagues like the Eredivisie or the Belgian Pro League will likely show significant interest in signing the Ukrainian winger down the line.
Khlan used this last season and the summer to put his name on the map.
Now, he will need to make an even bigger impression this season. He has all the talent in the world to do so.
