Europe’s Elite Women: One Must-Watch Player From Each Of The Big Five Leagues

The 2024/25 season has begun, and plenty of promising talents are hoping to make their mark all over the footballing world this term.

In this tactical analysis and scout report, we will identify one talent to watch from each of the five top European leagues and provide some analysis of why they’re a top talent to watch closely.

Júlia Bartel Scouting Report At Chelsea Women

Júlia Bartel is a 20-year-old Spanish international representing the under-23 team.

She has just moved from FC Barcelona Femení to Chelsea Women, a move that could provide the midfielder with a decent platform to break through in a top league — the WSL.

Bartel is a promising midfielder who is already being compared to her older ex-teammate, Aitana Bonmatí.

Both players have similar playing styles and attributes.

Knowing that it was a bit complicated for her to get her chance at Barcelona, Bartel needs to prove her worth when she gets some playing time at Chelsea and ensure she becomes a must-start, even though that is not as simple as it may sound.

The Blues already have confirmed and reliable midfielders like Erin Cuthbert, Sjoeke Nüsken, and Sophie Ingle.

That being said, if the 20-year-old Spaniard gets her opportunity, she is believed to have the potential to become one of the best in her role.

She is capable of shining in the WSL this season and in the UEFA Women’s Champions League.

With an average passing accuracy of 88.8% and an ability to win 49.7% of the duels per game, Bartel can be considered a promising midfielder with powerful physical abilities and a lot of passing intelligence.

Moreover, being picked as the captain of Spain’s under-23 team means Bartel has a strong personality and is very mature as a player.

Bartel was also very impactful with the Spanish under-19 national team.

She scored the goal that helped them lift the 2022 UEFA Euro trophy against Norway just one minute before the end of extra time.

All this information can only confirm that Bartel is expected to become a crucial midfielder very soon, as she is also capable of scoring goals and contributing not only through playmaking but also by scoring goals on critical occasions.

In fact, what makes Bartel a key player and someone who has a great chance of succeeding as a player is her ability to play in different positions without really sacrificing much quality.

She has already played as a defensive midfielder, central midfielder, advanced playmaker and on the wings.

This means that Bartel can accommodate her head coach’s preferences and play in any midfield or attacking position except the striker role.

Her ability to score goals by exploiting second balls, like in the following example, and her goals scored thanks to her excellent positioning and runs from the back highlight her importance inside the final third in terms of goalscoring.

Also, Bartel can vary her passes depending on the situations she is put in while remaining very impactful, thanks to her high accuracy rate regarding key passing and crossing.

The following example highlights her ability to provide pinpointed crosses from the wing and create numerous goalscoring opportunities for her teammates per match.