Mohamed-Ali Cho: Replacing Isak at Real Sociedad
This past summer, Real Sociedad experienced some squad changes as tried and tested attackers departed, with Alexander Isak going to Newcastle United, Adnan Januzaj to Sevilla, Portu to Getafe on loan, and Willian José joining Real Betis. This saw plenty of new additions to the squad along with the continuation of Alexander Sørloth’s loan from [...]
Nico Williams: Why the Athletic Club star earned a Spain call-up
Since 1912, Athletic Club de Bilbao have employed a unique policy of only using Basque players. Players can be recruited from other Basque clubs, but most are brought through the ranks at Los Leones. As one of the three Primera División founding members that have never been relegated from the top division since its creation [...]
Tetê: Why his loan spell at Lyon has been a success
In an effort to assist those affected by the Russia-Ukraine conflict, FIFA introduced various transfer policies to facilitate the movement of players in those areas. Shakhtar Donetsk, who had a significant number of international players, were one of the most affected teams. With numerous promising players, their squad slowly fell apart throughout the year. As [...]
Christian Eriksen: Adapting to a deeper role under Erik ten Hag
When Manchester United signed Christian Eriksen on a free transfer during the summer transfer window, few expected him to be starting week-in, week-out. For many, he was mainly regarded as a backup option for Bruno Fernandes in the No.10 position, a rare opportunity in the market that was worth a crack. Fast forward a couple [...]
Analysis
In the 2020/21 campaign, Celtic were on the hunt to secure the club’s tenth consecutive Scottish Premiership title. However, that plan blew up in smoke, and the season ended in turmoil for the Bhoys. Neil Lennon’s men ended up finishing 25 points behind eventual winners and bitter rivals Rangers, and a massive rebuild was needed — from the [...]
Analysis
Roberto De Zerbi Tactics At Brighton 2022/2023
Brighton have moved quickly to appoint a replacement for the departed Graham Potter — who became Chelsea’s new Head Coach on a five-year deal on September 9th — by hiring the promising young Italian manager, Roberto De Zerbi. De Zerbi has made quite a name for himself in his native Italy, with provocative football that has [...]
Anel Ahmedhodžić
Anel Ahmedhodžić has had an interesting path that has eventually taken him to Sheffield United. He began life at his hometown club Malmö FF, before joining the academy of fellow English club Nottingham Forest, which is now a Premier League side. He made his only appearance for Forest aged 17. He then returned to his beloved [...]
Analysis
Mohammed Kudus Scouting Report At Ajax 2022/2023 – Ajax’s Newest Prolific Goalscorer
In the summer, Ajax were the club that suffered the most extensive open heart surgery of any side in European football. The club lost 13 first-team players permanently, accumulating a transfer income of more than £200 million. It wasn’t just players either; the Dutch giants also lost their manager, Erik ten Hag, as well as his [...]
Óscar García: Exploring the Cruyff-inspired coach’s non-negotiable philosophy
When Johan Cruyff became Barcelona’s manager in 1988, he spearheaded a revolution at the Catalan club in several ways, none more significant than his impact on the club’s famed ‘La Masia’ youth academy. Cruyff’s vision for La Masia, from his intent to use the club’s youth system extensively to his demands on what kinds of [...]
Player Analysis
Like many other European powerhouses, Bayern Munich is a team that looks toward the future. The Bavarians have always been stacked with talent, both young and old, and their current iteration under the genius of Julian Nagelsmann is no different. However, some talents are just different from others. Mathys Tel, for example, the newest prodigy [...]
Analysis
Armel Bella-Kotchap Scout Report At Southampton 2022/2023 – Player Analysis
Armel Bella-Kotchap recently arrived at Southampton for a fee of around £9 million and has very quickly become a formidable opponent for Premier League attackers. The 20-year-old has been a part of a new recruitment process conducted by Southampton, with a focus on signing young, unproven players who they believe can gain first-team minutes instantly. [...]
La Liga 2022/23: How do the teams fare so far on xG and xGA?
The La Liga 2022/23 season is up and running and going into the first international break, there are not a lot of surprises at the top of the table. Real Madrid are top with six wins out of six and Barcelona are second with five wins and one draw. Real Betis are third in the [...]
Ivan Toney
Premier League 2022/23: Why Ivan Toney Fully Deserved His England Call-up
There is no story spoken about more right now than Ivan Toney’s rise from League Two to the English national team. The 26-year-old’s journey should inspire a lot of young players in the modern era. Toney, originally of the Northampton Town academy, signed for Newcastle United in 2015 and went on multiple loan spells before [...]
Stanislav Lobotka
Serie A 2022/23: Stanislav Lobotka’s Impressive Start To The Season At Napoli
Napoli have had an excellent start to the season so far. They are unbeaten in all competitions sitting top of the Serie A table as well as their Champions League group. We have seen some excellent individual performances that have helped Napoli to be in a position of dominance in most of their games so [...]
Bundesliga 2022/23: How Sheraldo Becker has started this season strongly
Union Berlin are top of the Bundesliga table going into the first international break of the season with 17 points — two ahead of second-placed Borussia Dortmund. If you thought that was surprising, there is something else that stands out in the Bundesliga season so far. 27-year-old Sheraldo Becker leads the goalscoring charts so far, [...]
Ligue 1 2022/23: Lionel Messi’s return to form
Lionel Messi’s first season at Paris Saint-Germain did not go as planned. There was too much drama on and off the pitch at the French club. Messi struggled to play consistently and failed to create an impact whenever he did play. The Argentinian finished with six goals — joint third-fewest in his career. Messi played [...]
Analysis
Sheffield United have started the 2022/23 season well. The Blades sit top of the Championship table going into the first international break of the season with 23 points from 10 games. One player who has stood out so far for Paul Heckingbottom’s side is 22-year-old Iliman Ndiaye. The Senegalese international signed for the Blades in [...]
SSC Napoli
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia Scouting Report At Napoli: Why Neapolitans Call Him “Kvaradona”
After failing to finish where they wanted last season, Napoli’s 2022/23 campaign started impressively with them sitting atop the league at the time of writing and winning back-to-back UEFA Champions League games against Liverpool and Rangers. Their successful start is a result of their settled tactics and improved connection, but also a result of their [...]
Udinese: Enjoying their roaring start to Serie A
Udinese have enjoyed their best start to a Serie A season. The Bianconeri have won their last five games — a run of fixtures that includes two impressive victories over Inter Milan and Roma. They are currently lying third in the league and are the most in-form team in Serie A. New boss Andrea Sottil — [...]
Data analysis: Finding Leicester a new goalkeeper
Leicester have hardly set the world alight since winning the Premier League in 2015/16. However, their start to the current season has been worrying. They currently sit rock bottom of the table with one draw and six losses after seven games. Their defence, and in particular goalkeeper Danny Ward, has come under extreme criticism. Former [...]
USWNT
Savannah Demelo Scouting Report: The “Standout Midfielder” On The Brink Of Her USWNT Debut
Who Is Savannah DeMelo? Whilst many leagues around the world are only just starting up again, the NWSL is rapidly drawing to a close, with the regular season having just concluded and the playoffs set to take centre stage. As a result, every team, coach and player is fighting to secure as many points as [...]
Analysis
Premier League Data Analysis – How New Signings & Transfers Affect Table Position (Part 1)
In a wild summer that saw FC Barcelona pull lever after lever, part of me wondered if an Emperor's New Groove joke was getting lost in the shuffle. The other thought that came to mind was one of squad continuity and cohesiveness. "Can they make this work? Between the January signings and seven new arrivals, [...]
Jelena Čanković: Why Chelsea picked up the Serbian this summer
Jelena Čanković has just moved to Chelsea Women, transferring from Rosengård to the Blues. She is a 27-year-old player who has got a fairly valuable footballing experience with various teams across Europe. She started her senior career at Spartak Subotica in Serbia before moving to Barcelona from 2013 to 2014. Indeed, she did not remain [...]
Player Analysis
Following their promotion back to Sweden’s top flight in the 2021 campaign, Helsingborgs IF have struggled in 2022’s Allsvenskan. With just four wins from 23 leaving them in the drop zone, they find themselves a single point away from the relegation play-offs, and seven points adrift of total safety. Some of you may remember that [...]
Player Analysis
Who Is Willian Pacho? At just 20 years of age, William Pacho became one of the most interesting and promising signings of Royal Antwerp last season, following a quality professional debut campaign with Ecuadorian team Independiente del Valle — probably the best team in Ecuador in terms of youth player development. The Belgians didn’t hesitate [...]
Olympique Lyonnais
Malo Gusto Scouting Report At Lyon – Tactical Analysis
Lyon have long been lauded as one of the most efficient and effective talent developers in French football. The list of French footballers who developed at the club's academy before achieving success in European football is extensive. This is, of course, in line with the marketing of French football as a whole, as Ligue 1 is marketed [...]
Riccardo Sottil: The Italian winger at Fiorentina
Development within football is never linear. There is no one way for footballers to develop to reach the top of the game and, at times, players do not show their true ability or potential until they are in an environment, with the right club and coach, to allow them to do so. This was famously [...]
Carl Hoefkens: Finally getting his managerial chance
After another successful season in which they won a third consecutive Belgian Pro League title, Club Brugge were once again on the hunt for a new permanent manager. After Phillipe Clement left to join AS Monaco at the beginning of the year, the club brought in Alfred Schreuder for the second half of last season. [...]