The Summer 2024 scouting thread

mark87 said:

I thought Starting Price was back for a minute.

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It would be longer than a minute.

biscuit said:

Thanks for this, mate.
I can’t for the life of me remember where, but I’m pretty sure that someone/thing linked us to Semih a month or so back. I recall watching some footage on him and being impressed, for sure.

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Yeah I saw a few links to him in January but Turkish media doesn’t tend be right with these links often

Ghost Hardware said:

@rossdapep I know you follow Brazilian football quite a bit, what do you make of Estevão? I have heard it mentioned quite a few times that the kid is an absolute phenomenon and looks really special considering he is only 16. I also know people like to overhype young stars, Gabriel Mec being another one getting hyped up at only 15 recently but both are mega young and haven't had much game time at all. I've only seen highlight vids and read a few reports about Estevão so curious to know if he is the real deal and what your thoughts on him are.

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He's a special talent mate, absolutely.

No idea how it goes from now as we all know how these talents can end end up if they make bad decisions/let things go to their head etc.

He has a little bit of tunnel vision at times so can over dribble but he is a player who will attack the full back at any opportunity, he excells at it too can go either way, which makes him unpredictable.

Two extremely quick feet and close control make him an outstanding dribbler but he also possesses quality with inswinging crosses and fierce shots. Generates power for someone who looks light/skinny.

He has started to get significant game time for Palmeiras in the Paulistao (Sao Paulo state comp) so let's see if he can carry that into the Brazilian championship.

Palmeiras have been a hotbed for special talent.

Endrick, Kevin, Estavão, Edney, Luis Guilherme.

But Estevão may be the best of them all.

In other news, Victor Gyökeres has 50 G/A in 39 games so far this season for Sporting. Say whatever you want about the Portuguese league, but that is outrageous.

While I'm slowly becoming a fan of the new and improved Richarlison, Gyökeres would be extremely interesting to watch under Ange. Doubt we'd pay the 100m required though.

razzmaster said:

Great scout report, thank you.

We seem to have a few links to players from the Turkish league at the moment, although I do find Turkish media to be the most unreliable so not sure if any are genuine.

I know nothing about this League, so would be interested in hearing your thoughts on Szymanski, Yuksek and Kadioglu who all play for Fenerbahce and have all been linked in the past week or so.

They all seem to fit the profile of player we might look at and are in positions we need, so could be some truth in it.

Any thoughts?

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Thanks bud.

Tbh I’m not sure I’d take any of them. Ferdi (Kadıoğlu) is probably their best player and the one I’d consider most out of the three. He’s somewhat of an anomaly being that he is primarily a right footed LB. He’s extremely versatile tho and can also play RB and LW and even CM. He’s much better going forward then he is defensively. He’s fast and very good on the ball for a FB. He has low assist numbers but I think that’s more to do with the CF missing chances then the quality of his chance creation. His weakness tho is defensively, he’s just not a particularly great tackler and and his position needs work. He’s also short and I’m not sure how he would cope with the PL physically. He’s probably best suited to a WB role although he plays at FB. If he could improve his defensive output he could potentially be a good to maybe even very good option im just not entirely convinced.

Szymanski was somewhat unplayable during the first half the season, his G/A are crazy for that period. He was one of the best players in the league by some distance but this year (2024) he has completely gone off the boil. He’s a pretty versatile player who is naturally a 10 but has also played on the wing and in CM. He’s solid technically, has good vision and stamina. His finishing is probably a stand out trait. My mate says he thinks he’s best as an SS, which he has played this season, due to his goal scoring ability and movement in and around the box but I can’t say for sure ether way as he’s played AM when I’ve watched him. When he was in his purple patch I must admit I did think he looked good but watching him now I’m just not convinced he is good enough for the PL. I think he’d struggle with the intensity and lack of space in this league. I saw him linked with Milan recently and a move to Italy would be a good step for him I think. He looks a good player but I’m not sure I’d want us to go for him. Only 24 tho so there is time and if he can have a full season the way he started this one then he will become a much more interesting prospect. Personally I’d pass, if we wanted another AM I can think of a number of other players I’d pick first.

As for Ismail (Yuksek), he is a bit of a odd one. In general he has improved dramatically this season. Statistically he is impressive in the key defensive areas, he is a very hard worker both in attack and defence, his tackling ability is good, he is good at intercepting the ball, he's reasonably quick and in general he has improved on his positioning a lot which used to be pretty poor. I do think he is significantly better defensively then with the ball. I don't find him technically particularly remarkable, or at least I think his ability on the ball suits the league he is in but in the PL I would have doubts. He is a decent dribbler and will actually look to move past a player when taking the ball on the half turn and he does succeed with it but in every phase in possession he can be a little inconsistent IMO. His distribution isn't particularly remarkable ether but he will sometimes try to play adventurous passes that amount to nothing. Ultimately I think he is a solid enough player who has improved to the point that he has become an important part of the team, on his day he can be very impressive and a defensive rock, but I also find him a little inconstant and a little limited in possession and I don't think he would be good enough for us. I would add tho considering his age and how much he has improved this year that if he moved on to a better league he might well continue to develop. Supposedly Marseille are interested and I think that would be a good move for him.

I say all this but I am no expert on Fenerbahçe, I just watch them from time to time due to my friend being a fan. This season has been particularly entreating tho due to how close the league is, Fenerbahçe are only two points behind their bitter rivals Galatasaray and there is a very good chance it might all come down to a winner takes all match between the two on the 19th of May which is the penultimate game of the season. It should be a fascinating match, if the two teams manage to keep pace until then, for anyone interested as the teams have a bitter rivalry and it will probably be an explosive affair. In general the fact the league is so tight this season is of great satisfaction to Fenerbahçe fans given how much money Galatasaray' have spent and how star studded their team is this season in comparison to Fener's.

rossdapep said:

He's a special talent mate, absolutely.

No idea how it goes from now as we all know how these talents can end end up if they make bad decisions/let things go to their head etc.

He has a little bit of tunnel vision at times so can over dribble but he is a player who will attack the full back at any opportunity, he excells at it too can go either way, which makes him unpredictable.

Two extremely quick feet and close control make him an outstanding dribbler but he also possesses quality with inswinging crosses and fierce shots. Generates power for someone who looks light/skinny.

He has started to get significant game time for Palmeiras in the Paulistao (Sao Paulo state comp) so let's see if he can carry that into the Brazilian championship.

Palmeiras have been a hotbed for special talent.

Endrick, Kevin, Estavão, Edney, Luis Guilherme.

But Estevão may be the best of them all.

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Thanks bud, much appreciated. Pretty much backs up what i've read on him. Looks an incredible talent indeed. I wonder where he ends up, i'm sure teams are already falling over themselves to try and sign him. I know i read Chelsea have an interest but thats fairly standard, I'm guessing RM given their deal for Endrick. I need to make an effort to watch him.

It looks like De Ketelaere is blooming at Atalanta. I believe they have a buy option unfortunately. Lovely player.

Mediocrates said:

It looks like De Ketelaere is blooming at Atalanta. I believe they have a buy option unfortunately. Lovely player.

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It just goes to show that you shouldn't write a young new player off like some people do. He started very poorly at Milan and now look at him.

Mediocrates said:

It looks like De Ketelaere is blooming at Atalanta. I believe they have a buy option unfortunately. Lovely player.

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That didn’t stop us signing Romero. In fact it helped immensely in that respect.

Now it's Spursonal said:

Teun Koopmeiners
Probably one of my favourite players in world football atm. He can just do everything to such a high level and does so with a certain finesse that I love. Would be perfect at taking the ball off the defence and beating the press, both through dribbling and passing. He has a wicked long shot which would be massively beneficial against low-block teams, similar to how Rodri massively helps City in this respect. Defensively his stats dont pop off the screen, but that's what you'd expect of a player playing for Gasperini's Atalanta and so its no surprise that before moving to Atalanta, Koopmeiners was a defensive monster in the Eredivisie and has actually even filled in at CB a few times over his career. He has a never ending engine and is a leader on the pitch, being made captain at Az Alkmaar at only 22 I believe. Although I'd admit that Zubimendi definitely has the higher floor of the two players, having already shown his ability to play as a single pivot, I think that Koopmeiners 100% has a higher ceiling and could potentially be transformative for the team.

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Now it's Spursonal said:

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Juve have had a long standing interest in him. They have been in regular contact with Atlanata and his camp about him joining for a good while now. If Carlos Alcaraz doesn't get bought, which I very much doubt he will, I would expect them to go back in for Koopmeiners. I know Juve are seriously strapped but they will look to sell Soulé and probably Chiesa amongst others to fund a move. Its one reason we should be keeping an eye on them come summer as they do have some very good players that will likely be put on the chopping block in order for them to straighten in other areas. With Rabiot likely off on a free due to him not renewing his contract Juve's top priority will be a quality CM come summer. I don't see him extending his contract ether due to him being on 170k p/w. Obviously we are hoping they come back in for PEH which they might but we shall see, im not convinced they will. Ether way they will need to sell but they have enough players that they can cash in on. It will be a juggling act for them. Of course I think we could certainly compete with them for him but I don't see us doing so.

Follows on your previous point @Ghost Hardware

We’ve been linked with a few of these lately

Ghost Hardware said:

Juve have had a long standing interest in him. They have been in regular contact with Atlanata and his camp about him joining for a good while now. If Carlos Alcaraz doesn't get bought, which I very much doubt he will, I would expect them to go back in for Koopmeiners. I know Juve are seriously strapped but they will look to sell Soulé and probably Chiesa amongst others to fund a move. Its one reason we should be keeping an eye on them come summer as they do have some very good players that will likely be put on the chopping block in order for them to straighten in other areas. With Rabiot likely off on a free due to him not renewing his contract Juve's top priority will be a quality CM come summer. I don't see him extending his contract ether due to him being on 170k p/w. Obviously we are hoping they come back in for PEH which they might but we shall see, im not convinced they will. Ether way they will need to sell but they have enough players that they can cash in on. It will be a juggling act for them. Of course I think we could certainly compete with them for him but I don't see us doing so.

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Yeah I'm aware of Juve's interest but honestly think we could beat them out if we go for him, assuming we get Champions League.

He'd give us serious tactical flexibility as he's able to play comfortably in all three midfield roles while also being a style of player that we're currently severely lacking i.e. someone who can sling passes all over the pitch from range.



With the talk of our interest in going big for a midfielder, I'd personally be surprised if we're not one of the prem teams interested

Koopmeiners defo got that deep passing range we lack currently. Haven’t seen enough of him to be able to judge the rest of his game though. How mobile is? Can he cover a lot of ground?

Seeing links online to Ben Johnson at West Ham, a 24 year old, right back. Apparently he's Ledley's cousin, available on a free this summer and a CAA Base client.

mill said:

NXGN 2024: The 50 best wonderkids in football | Goal.com UK

The annual NXGN lists are back for 2024, ranking 50 of the most incredible footballing talents to have been born after January 1, 2005

www.goal.com

We’ve been linked with a few of these lately

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So many of my FM24 wonderkid signings.

danielneeds said:

Koopmeiners defo got that deep passing range we lack currently. Haven’t seen enough of him to be able to judge the rest of his game though. How mobile is? Can he cover a lot of ground?

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Struggling to find a source for his average distance covered, but certainly on the eye test he covers a tonne of ground.

Would liken him to Eriksen in that sense, where he’s probably a bit one-paced but he can go at that one pace all day

Trix said:

He's a real quality player. I was desperate for us to sign him when we were showing interest a couple of years ago and his spell at Milan hasn't put me off one bit. Would love us to go all in for him personally.

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I've watched quite a bit of Italian football since I got TNT cheap with my broadband and he's a quality player, definitely operates in the spaces that would suit us and has that spur of the moment magic about him, deceptively quick feet, not overly greedy either just a solid team player.