National League 2023/24: Five top talents on course for future EFL stardom – scout report

Year after year, the Vanarama National League and the leagues below it seem to go from strength to strength, with numerous players swapping non-league for the EFL via a transfer. League One and League Two clubs, in particular, have upped their efforts and attention in scouting non-league football, which is undoubtedly a massive motivator for players who want to progress to the EFL, with some playing in the Championship.

This season, there have been some excellent individual showings in the National League, and it is only a matter of time before the rumour mill starts for some of them in terms of making a move up the leagues. Using the data available to us at Total Football Analysis, we have highlighted five talents who have been monumental in their respective teams season so far, giving themselves the opportunity to be noticed by an EFL club down the line.

Many clubs at this time look to recruit younger players from leagues lower than their own with the idea of developing their current skills and potential into something greater. With that in mind, we have only selected players aged 25 and under at the time of writing – involved in this scout report will be one player from each of the following positions – goalkeeper, defender, midfielder, winger, and attacker. We have used our data to pinpoint their strengths in relation to their position, with the analysis discussing key stats that relate to their performance to see what they add to their teams tactics.

Of course, we are not claiming that the five players included in this tactical analysis are the best five in the National League – they have been selected due to data from their performances this season and their potential to play in a higher league later down the line.

Goalkeeper: Harrison Male – Dorking Wanderers

Harrison Male is a highly-rated young keeper, having impressed pre-Dorking during his time with Worthing last season in the National League South. During the summer, Dorking Wanderers were on the hunt for a new goalkeeper, and it is safe to say that they are in safe hands with Male.

The data above shows us how Male has performed this season against all goalkeepers not only in the National League (tier 9) and National League South but also GKs who play in tier eight and nine (other leagues from around the globe judged to be at a similar level). As we can see, he is excelling for the level he is playing at, particularly for a young goalkeeper. His save rate and clean sheet rate, in particular, are noteworthy.