The Kees to Smit-cess: From A to Z🔑 🏆

U19 Euro’s Player of The Tournament was the Netherlands midfield powerhouse Kees Smit. The AZ Alkmaar prospect is already being looked at by the likes of Real Madrid and Ajax.

The midfielder has superstar potential, here’s why…

[THREAD] ✨ Baller Review…
Kees Smit

Club: AZ Alkmaar
Nationality: Netherlands
Positions: CM, AM, DM
Preferred Foot: Both (Right)
Height: 6’1”/185cm
Age: 19

Strengths: ambipedal ability, athleticism, physicality, engine, ball-striking, finishing, weak-foot usage, ball manipulation, press resistance, composure, agility, carrying, passing range, long passing, through balls, strength, shielding, heading, 3rd man runs, box-crashing, tackling, pressing, counter-pressing

Development Areas: aggression, timing, fouls, pausa

2024/25 UEFA Youth League Team of The Season📈🔎

Juliano Belletti’s Barcelona were victorious in this season’s UEFA YL to win the tournament for a record 3rd time.

I’ve been following the entirety of the UEFA YL and here are the players who were the best performers.

[THREAD]

GK – Kiyani Zeggen (AZ Alkmaar, 18)

The clear standout GK by a mile. Zeggen’s distribution allows him to be almost a playmaker with some Ederson-like long passes, but also in build-up play he has so many different passes in his locker off both feet.

In addition to that, he has excellent reflexes and athleticism able to pull off some acrobatic saves.

In several games, AZ got through due to Zeggen making numerous saves and keeping them in the game. He was also the hero in penalty shoot outs or saving penalties in game too.

U17 EURO Team of The Group Stage

With the group stage ending, Italy top Group B with 3 wins and will face Portugal in the semi-final. France were unbeaten as they topped Group A and now face Belgium in the semi-final.

Here are some of the standout players.

[THREAD]

GK: Lucca Brughmans
(Belgium, Genk, 16)

Interesting profile and a higher-ceiling shot-stopper. 6’6” at 16 with some real speed for his size, spread wide and quickly in 1-on-1’s, good athleticism to pull off some eye-catching far corner saves. Decent composure on the ball.

Jérémy Jacquet: Rennes Rolls Royce RCB 🇫🇷

Stade Rennais academy is prolific. Their 2021/22 U19’s included Désiré Doué, Mathys Tel, Lesley Ugochukwu, Andy Diouf, Djaoui Cissé, Jeanuël Belocian and in defence... Jérémy Jacquet.

World football’s next highly coveted CB.

[THREAD] ✨ Baller Review…
Jérémy Jacquet 🇫🇷

Club: Stade Rennais
Nationality: France
Positions: CB, RB
Preferred Foot: Right
Height: 6’3”/190cm
Age: 19

Strengths: heading, aerial duels, anticipation, slide tackling, timing of tackles, pace, athleticism, 1v1’s, defending big spaces, defending wide channels, channelled aggression, physicality, long passes, composure, ball carrying, passing range, ball security

Development Areas: pass selection, creative pass frequency, blindside scanning, drawn to the ball, bravery on the ball

Ligue 1 CM Prospects 🇫🇷 🤩

It’s no secret Ligue 1 is full of talent. Throughout the league there’s particularly an abundance of CM prospects.

Yes, there’s the likes of Vitinha, Zaïre-Emery, Cherki, Doué, etc. but who are the other standout U23 Ligue 1 midfielders?

[THREAD]


Lamine Camara – Monaco, 21

The star do-it-all midfielder and for me, one of the best in Ligue 1 this season.

Camara is incredibly press resistant, an excellent line breaker, ball striker, top quality ball winner and has pinpoint crossing in open play and set-pieces.

https://twitter.com/ben_mattinson_/status/1866871454324900119

Jurriën Timber Profile Twins…

Timber has a unique and complete profile.

It’s rare for defenders to have such a good technical ability to progress the ball through the lines, be incredibly press resistant and also be a lockdown FB.

But who are others like Timber?

[THREAD] Firstly, what is the Jurriën Timber profile?

There are some key traits which make him such a modern day ‘total footballer’.

These include:
1. Press Resistance
2. Lockdown 1v1 Defending
3. Versatility
4. Carries Into Midfield
5. Line-Breaking Passes

Francis Onyeka: Bayer Leverkusen’s Brightest Prospect 🤩🇩🇪

Leverkusen’s next star isn’t just their biggest, but also arguably Germany’s.

Onyeka is primed for an explosion onto the biggest stage in the near future.

An amazing profile with world class potential.

[THREAD] 💥Academy Baller…
Francis Onyeka 🇩🇪

Club: Bayer Leverkusen
Nationality: Germany
Positions: AM, SS, CM
Preferred Foot: Left
Height: 6’1”/186cm
Age: 17

Strengths: iQ, weight of pass, final ball, crossing, long passing, creativity, pass variance, ball manipulation, carrying, dribbling, movement, spatial awareness, physicality, athleticism, pressing, ball striking, finishing, technique

Development Areas: selfishness, decision making, time of release, defensive positioning

Sudamericano Sub 20
🇧🇷 Brazil 0-6 Argentina 🇦🇷

A historic night as Brazil lose to rivals Argentina in a record breaking scoreline. Argentina were levels above them in the game. Here are my reviews of some of both nation’s players…

[THREAD]
🇦🇷 - Claudio Echeverri
AM | 19 | Manchester City

Echeverri was the star of the show. Constantly looking to receive the ball high up in the pockets on the half turn and drive at the defence, shields the ball well when he does so.

Straight after the kick-off from the 1st goal, Acuña forced the error from Brazil’s CM, won the ball then passed through to Echeverri. Echeverri turned, ran at the defence and shifted the ball onto his left as he entered the box, then struck the ball across goal with his weaker left foot.

Echeverri caused problems for Brazil every time he picked up the ball in the final third. He was relentless at diving at the defence, dribbling out tight spaces and creating chances.

Echeverri made some nice runs around the blindside of midfielders/defenders to create chances and he ended the match with 2 goals, 1 assist and also playing the cutback which led to the own goal.

Echeverri’s 2nd goal was a beauty. As the ball was passed across to him on the edge of the box by Carrizo, he stopped his run to receive the ball side-on, then whipped a shot into the net from distance.

Excellent strike to round off another Echeverri masterclass against Brazil.

Sverre Nypan: Norwegian Midfield Maestro 🇳🇴 🪄

Norway has several exciting young players coming through right now. Rosenborg’s Sverre Nypan is the standout player ✨

A world class potential all-phase CM wanted by big European clubs 👀

[THREAD] ✨ Baller Review…
Sverre Nypan 🇳🇴

Club: Rosenborg BK
Nationality: Norway
Positions: CM, AM, SS
Preferred Foot: Both
Height: 6’0”/182cm
Age: 18

Strengths: iQ, tempo dictating, build-up intelligence, spatial awareness, press resistance, vision, zero angle bias, shielding, ambipedal passing, scanning, line breaking passes, long passes, dribbling, instincts, maturity, final ball, clipped passes, creativity, time of release, weight of pass, work rate, tenacity

Development Areas: final ball refinement, explosiveness, physicality, long distance shooting, decision making

Nico Williams as a player is the ideal profile for what we need.

He’s not the finished product so he needs time and there’s others I’d prefer, but he’s a better fit than our current options.

The fact he can play either wing and brings fear in the defence is huge.

[THREAD] In our current system, we’re lacking a winger with 1v1 prowess. Someone who when isolated with their FB, they can burst past them either way. A devastating outlet.

Martinelli is more a player who thrived with the ball in behind the defence in more central areas, not to feet.

11 of The Best Championship U21 Talents🔍💫

The Championship is stacked with talent ready-made for the big time. Full of tenacious duellers, powerful carriers and box defenders.

So many undervalued high potential stars already adapted to the physicality of the league.

[THREAD]


Chris Rigg – Sunderland, CM, 17

One of, if not the best talents in the Championship. Chris Rigg is a phenomenal talent. A technically gifted midfielder capable of moments of brilliance.

The 17-year-old shifts the ball effortlessly from one side to the other to escape defenders and create separation.

Rigg is a good connector with midfield and attack as he carries the ball up the pitch and plays through balls in behind to the attackers.

Rigg is comfortable dropping into deeper areas and being a DLP due to his progressive nature and ability on the half turn.

Chris Rigg is a high intensity presser who works so hard off the ball.

He’s a highly associative player who likes to combine with those around him playing quick give-and-go passes/runs.

Callan Hamill: Scotland’s Academy CB Star Arsenal Beat Celtic & Rangers to Sign ✍️

St. Johnstone have produced an impressive CB prospect with all the tools to become a quality backline leader for club and country 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

He’s rumoured to be on his way to Arsenal 🔴⚪️

[THREAD] 💥Academy Baller…
Callan Hamill 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Club: St. Johnstone
Nationality: Scotland
Positions: CB
Preferred Foot: Right
Age: 15

Strengths: 1v1 defending, positioning, aerial ability, physicality, jockeying, timing, composure, ball carrying, channelled aggression, ball security

Development Areas: over-aggressive, mis controls, volume of line-breakers, timing of carries

Christos Mouzakitis: Greek Football’s Outlier 🇬🇷

It’s rare for Super League teams to trust the young Greek academy players, but the ability of Mouzakitis has forced Olympiacos’ hand to break the trend.

The DLP has quickly become a regular starter and for good reason.

[THREAD] 💎Hidden Gem…
Christos Mouzakitis 🇬🇷

Club: Olympiacos
Nationality: Greece
Positions: CM, DM, AM
Preferred Foot: Left
Height: 5’10”/178cm
Age: 17

Strengths: passing variance, line-breakers, long passes, through balls, weight of pass, press resistance, tackling, positioning, timing, defending 1v1’s, tenacity, ball-striking, carrying, composure

Development Areas: time of release, over-dribbles, explosiveness, acceleration, tactical intelligence in the press, slight angle bias, weak foot usage

Matteo Cocchi: Nerazzurri's Dimarco Understudy

Inter Milan’s academy has an exciting next generation and one of the best is Matteo Cocchi 🔝

A balanced profile but particularly excels as a final 3rd creator 🪄

Could he be Dimarco's competition for Italy & Inter? 🇮🇹

[THREAD] 💥Academy Baller…
Matteo Cocchi 🇮🇹

Club: Inter Milan
Nationality: Italy
Positions: LB
Preferred Foot: Left
Height: 6’1”/186cm
Age: 17

Strengths: crossing, passing, set-pieces, pass variance, time of release, ball manipulation, associative play, 3rd man runs, speed, weak-foot usage, game iQ, slide tackles, aggression

Development Areas: tendency to go to ground too early, body positioning in 1v1’s, channelling aggression, timing of when to ‘jump’, physical strength

Vitor Reis: Brazil’s heir to Thiago Silva

After the rise of Estêvão, Endrick and Luis Guilherme, the Palmeiras golden generation has now provided Brazil with their future star CB🇧🇷🛡️

An aerially strong, two-footed passer with fiery aggression & ice-cold composure🔥🥶

[THREAD] ✨ Baller Review…
Vitor Reis 🇧🇷

Club: Palmeiras
Nationality: Brazil
Positions: CCB, RCB, LCB
Preferred Foot: Right
Height: 6’1”/186cm
Age: 18

Strengths: composure, technical security, aerial duels, aggression, defending 1v1’s, defending wide areas & big spaces, tackling, anticipation, ball-carrying, ambipedal passing, line-breakers, long passing

Development Areas: timing of aggression, scanning blindside, physical strength, frequency of line breakers

UEFA Youth League XI of Players Who Impressed Me

With the #UYL GW1 over, I thought I’d shine a light on some of the most impressive performances.

(The players suggested are based on the games I personally watched and I was unable to watch several games.)

[THREAD] GK: Vuk Draškić - Crvena Zvezda (17)

Benfica really dominated this game for large spells and if it wasn't for Vuk Draškić the scoreline could've been much worse.

The 6'2" keeper showed a comanding presence and didn't ever get over excited.

Several moments where he pulled off an excellent save or two and then would stay focussed and alert for the following attack.

Draškić's weight transfer was outstanding.

A real athletic keeper who was able to throw his body down into the corners so quickly and bounce up to react in case of a potential follow up shot.

Several big saves throughout the game enabled Crvena Zvezda to stay in the game on paper despite having minimal possession until late.

Leeds United Rebuild⚪️🟡🔵

No club ever had that strong a squad in the Championship and NOT go up. A big failure.

Now Leeds pay the price with exits of Rutter, Summerville, Gray & Kamara

Make poor decisions and they risk getting stuck in the Championship, again.

[THREAD]





Manager Daniel Farke is a good communicator and man manager who brings experience.

But in today’s era of tactical managers, there are arguably better tacticians than him in the Championship.

Last season, he relied on individual brilliance to get the result - a risky approach.

Internal Solutions👀

Clubs are constantly looking externally to address issues in their squad💰

Signing players to solve problems is logical but there’s some who can solve their needs internally through the young players at their disposal📈

Here’s some of the best🔍

[THREAD]





Team: Arsenal
Problem: Partey & Inverted LB Depth
Internal Solution: Myles Lewis-Skelly

Myles Lewis-Skelly is an example of a versatile profile who can solve several needs for Arsenal.

At youth level he played as a 6/8 as an aggressive dueller, ball-winner, exceptional ball-carrier and would break the lines with his passing.

Often last season, Arsenal missed the line breaking passes from midfield and LB through injuries to Thomas Partey and Oleksandr Zinchenko. Another issue with Zinchenko has been his defensive liability. Lewis-Skelly is much better in this area.

Defensively, Lewis-Skelly is a very front footed tenacious player and with some positional coaching, he could be the ideal profile to excel as an inverted LB.

With an aggressive style, low centre of gravity and strong core, Lewis-Skelly has a high 1v1 ceiling.

Also from the inverted LB position, it’ll allow his progressive passing to shine.

Whenever in these deeper midfielder areas, Lewis-Skelly looks to pass over the top of the defence or through the lines. He’s a true press breaker as he can carry over big distances too due to his tight turn radius.

Long-term, Lewis-Skelly will play LCM/DM but breaking through as an inverted LB will help develop him defensively but also in terms of his tempo passing to be a more secure and effective pivot in midfield.

Low-Cost, High-Reward Squad CM’s For Arsenal💰

With the transfer window open and Arsenal in need of midfield reinforcements, there’s some solid options out there who’d provide quality depth for minimal cost🤔

Here’s are some of my favourites - all genuine options💭

[THREAD] In the past, Arsenal attempted to find a bargain 6/8 high-volume and progressive passer in Albert Sambi Lokonga.

Now although this didn’t work out, they were along the right lines.

If this had paid off they’d have saved lots of money on a valuable squad member.

The Emergence of the LB/LCB Hybrid Carrier

Football is an ever-evolving Sport with tactical trends growing from various sources. Patterns cycle around with new iterations arising.

Formations a thing of yesterday and positional fluidity is the innovative adaptation.

[THREAD] Football is evolving. More academic and rational decisions being made.

At the core of this - more complex roles that players are being tasked with fulfilling.

🎥: @stirling_j

‘Ready-Made’ for Europe XI from South American Leagues (21-26)

🇧🇷🇦🇷🇺🇾🇻🇪🇨🇱🇵🇾🇨🇴🇵🇪🇪🇨🇧🇴

South America is home to some of the best players in football. There’s a lot of attention on the prospects, but there’s guys in their prime or about to hit it, ready for a bit move.

[THREAD]



GK: Bento | Athletico Paranaense 🇧🇷 | 🇧🇷

Already a Brazil international, Bento is the best keeper in South American leagues right now and someone ready for a big move to Europe. With Inter Milan and Chelsea both looking at Bento, his move could happen soon.