PFSA Talent ID Level 2 | Scout & Writer | Featured on @StarSportsIndia, @BBCworldservice and more |
Maresca played against Pep's Barca while at Sevilla & confessed to being blown away. His first job was as assistant at Serie B Ascoli to Fulvio Fiorin, who was convinced by Maresca's friend of 30 years Roberto De Zerbi to hire him. Pep & RDZ's vision of the game would mould his. 
Son of former Cape Verde international Nélson Veiga, Renato began his career at Sporting's academy. In Jan 23, he joined Augsburg on loan where he played predominantly at LB & CB (7 league starts.) Initially a year-long loan, he returned after 6 months & was sold to Basel. 
Part of La Masia and Spain U17's new generation alongside Yamal, Cubarsi, Fort, Hernandez, Marc Guiu was earmarked early on as one to watch by many. Over the past year, he has gone from playing for Barca U19 to top scoring at U17 Euros (tied with Yamal) & scoring in La Liga & CL. 
Before I begin, would highly recommend the Victor Osimhen special we did for @LondonBluePod detailing his journey in football, strengths and weaknesses in great depth. A leisurely 45 minutes of your time.
Before I begin, I would highly recommend this special I did for @LondonBluePod on Lavia, detailing his strengths/weaknesses in copious detail, right from being spotted by Pep at 14 in a tournament organised by Kevin De Bruyne to how he's developed so far –
After a dismal 22/23 season, Chelsea began preseason with new manager Mauricio Pochettino in a US tour. They played 5 games, winning 3 & drawing 2. This video thread takes a general look at what we learnt about Chelsea's tactical identity & ideas being implemented by Pochettino. 
Dubbed Senegal's Neymar for his dribbling wizardry, Jackson was born in The Gambia but plays for Senegal. After signing for Villarreal, he was loaned to Mirandes, played for the reserve team (helped get promoted) & made the first team, with Unai Emery an admirer of his talents.
At a young age, Gusto's father put him in rugby classes, but the young Frenchman wanted only football. He moved to Lyon's U14s the same year the club moved its stadium to his hometown, where he played with other prominent Lyon talents like Rayan Cherki and Amine Gouiri.
The youngest player to play in the Uruguayan top-flight this century at just 15, Manuel Ugarte started his career as a striker before being moved to midfield. At his first senior club, Fenix, he was named captain at just 18, before moving to Familicão and then Sporting. 
A disciple of Bielsa's, Mauricio Pochettino began his coaching journey at relegation threatened Espanyol by high-pressing Pep's Barcelona and coming away with a draw. Poch's teams (until PSG) have carried on in his image, a team of underdogs hunting like Wolves when in a pack. 
Chelsea welcomed Dortmund to the Bridge needing at least two goals, which they hadn't scored in a game all year. All eyes were on Kai Havertz, a man who has shown his brilliance in frustratingly erratic spells. But who better than Potter when it came to figuring out spells?
Marc Cucurella's recent performances have divided the Chelsea fanbase. After struggling with a serious bout of tonsillitis which led to him losing 5-6 kgs earlier in the season, Potter alluded to off-field problems which led to his erratic form. The conversation turned
After playing for Spurs' U18s at just 15, Chelsea, United & Leipzig came calling. He rejected them all to move to PSV at 16, debuting at 17. With Donyell Malen & Cody Gakpo, he developed into a key part of PSV's sparkling attack. Let's take a look at why top clubs were after him.
From going on loan thrice because of unfulfilled potential to a standing ovation at the Bernebeu, 22-y.o Mudryk's growth since his debut at 17 has been nothing short of exponential. Highly recommend our detailed analysis on him on @LondonBluePod – open.spotify.com/episode/2Y42xH…
Badiashile broke into Monaco's first team at just 17. Now 21, he has played 135 first team games, has featured for France despite its wealth of talent at CB & has a catalogue of impressive performances under his belt. So what makes the young Frenchman a promising talent?
21 y.o Enzo's rise has been meteoric. From winning the Copa Sudamericana on loan at Defensa y Justicia, he nearly joined Wolves, won the Argentinian First Division with boyhood club River Plate, joined Benfica and then won the World Cup & Best Young Player award with Argentina. 
25 y.o Nkunku notched 64 goals & 38 assists in all competitions for Leipzig since 2019. So what makes Nkunku such an exhilarating attacking force? If you'd like to hear a full 60 minute detailed insight into him, you can find my ep for @LondonBluePod here:
Fofana was one of the most sought after talents in all of Africa during his time at AFAD. He had offers from France & Belgium, but turned down 5x the wage for a move to Norway's Molde. An avid fan of former Molde CF Erling Haaland, Fofana made his debut for Ivory Coast aged 16.
Switch to WB/FB inside box: A switch is a near essential in helps alleviate opposition pressure in one part of the field and inflicts it in a different part. One of Pep's many tweaks was to amplify the benefits of the switch by using it in a certain way.