Three upcoming U23s you need to know from Europe’s summer leagues – scout report

Quite often, many conversation topics I see at this time of year centre around ‘the season being over’. And indeed, this is true for many of Europe’s most popular leagues. Still, if you’re in a similar situation, and you or people you like spending time with have been lamenting the end of the season, perhaps this article could spark some interest.

This summer, in international football, we have the FIFA Women’s World Cup, the U21 European Championships, and the U19 European Championships — not to mention the FIFA U20 World Cup, which Uruguay won. On top of that, you can catch top-quality talent from around the world in North America, South America, Africa and Asia, with football life still ticking over in those corners of the globe.

There’s plenty of analysis on the Total Football Analysis website that’s worth checking out if any of the above peaks your interest, but those specific areas won’t be the focus of this article. Instead, we’re going to highlight Europe’s ongoing club football.

While the majority of Europe’s top leagues have finished competing for the summer, taking some time to bolster their squads to try and reach their respective goals in the 2023/24 campaign, there is still quality club football being played in the continent for lovers of the beautiful game to enjoy.

This tactical analysis will provide a brief rundown on three players we’ve enjoyed watching within their respective teams’ strategies and tactics in Europe’s summer leagues this year. Our analysis will aim to shine a light on some upcoming names from Europe’s summer leagues that deserve some recognition and could be worth a watch if you’re so inclined.

All stats and data used in this scout report have been sourced from Wyscout. Without further ado, let’s get on into the first of our five players to watch.

Emerson Deocleciano, 23 years old, RFS

The first player on our list is Emerson Deocleciano (174cm/5’9”, 69kg/152lbs) from RFS, in Latvia’s top flight, the Virsliga. Full disclosure, I initially turned my attention to the Virsliga quite recently, and it is still not a league I’d be comfortable saying I have great familiarity with.

However, with talents like Belgian Pro League side Genk’s Tolu Arokodare, Parma’s Gabriel Charpentier and Spezia’s Raimonds Krollis, who played minimal minutes in Serie A last season, among the talents to have come through Virsliga in recent seasons, it’s undoubtedly a league worth paying some attention to, especially when European club football is more limited in the summer.