Ante Rebic

[spursn17]

its signings like this that get me excited, the hope we have unearthed a future star always exictes..if we sign him...

 

[Mouse!]

That's the thing, this would definitely be "a scout's signing." Not a player who is/was famed through the media. He didn't even have a youtube video until very recently.

The thing is not many of his games are televised. He doesn't play for a fashionable side. Not many clubs are willing to pay decent amounts for players who don't already play for Dinamo or Hajduk. That's why the natural progression is predominantly: perform well at "lesser" clubs, then get picked up by either Dinamo or Hajduk, and THEN get a transfer abroad. Some do get a move, but not for the transfer fees being quoted in this situation.

Again, Spurs aren't the only ones showing an interest or who have been attending the matches. But they are definitely among them. Do you trust your scouts? I guess that's a valid question.

The only recent signing we can really attribute to our scouts is Sandro, and he's turned out OK. I trust them, but either Levy doesn't, or they don't do much work.

 

[sammy j]

We must be in a great position , great new training ground and our youth teams have been brilliant this season . Should be easier to attract younger players

 

[Dinpomp]

http://www.vecernji.hr/sport/vijest...-toj-dobi-bili-boksic-mandzukic-clanak-551140

(^^^ in Croatian)

Ivan Katalinic (former goalkeeper, who played for Southampton and Hajduk Split) had some praise for Rebic today. He managed him at RNK Split in 2010/11.

- Ante is the best player in the youth NT's, he really is an outstanding player. Had he been playing in Dinamo or Hajduk he would have achieved even more. Particularly in Hajduk. With the atmosphere, the full stadium, he plays his best when he's motivated, when there are large crowds, or when he plays against the best, like Dinamo, Hajduk and Rijeka.

- He's not like Mandzukic or Boksic, he's really unique and there isn't anyone you can compare him with. He's excellent at dribbling, he can play two or three positions, as a center forward or as an outside forward. He fast, strong. He's better than any Croatian forward has ever been at that age! He's only 19, but he's already been a regular for over a year (he made his first appearance as a 16-year-old, scoring on his debut vs. Dinamo Zagreb).

His current manager, Zoran Vulic, has recently said he should already be in the NT. That they were treating him unfairly, that they were ignoring him. After a game against his NK Zagreb, Miroslav Blazevic (Croatia's former NT manager) claimed that Rebic was absolutely the best player in the league, a fantastic player, and worthy of a NT call-up.

 

[GetSpurredOn]

Looks a Unit, also ties in to what our head scout (that Australian guy) said, that he was looking at a young striker in Croatia.

Edit- Magrone's talent-spotting itinerary reads like a Contiki tour schedule: he was in Turkey last week, followed by Paris, Portugal, Spain and Croatia, where he is tracking a $3 million-rated striker for Spurs. http://www.totaltottenham.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1442&p=54675

This was my first thought too. Makes perfect sense to me. His remit was to find talented up and coming players, not just for academy/development squads, but also first team squad.

"I'm going to be travelling a hell of a lot and trying to find players for our Academy and under-21 team at Spurs, which has been almost unbeatable this season, and also players who we think can go all the way.

"My goal is basically to unearth the next big talent out there for this club. Tottenham have set me no specific targets but they will want a lot of in-depth information about who's out there and recommendations on players across the continent."

We have seen that having just two strikers this season has left us struggling if there has been an injury it suspension.
Question, how could we keep three senior strikers happy in terms of gametime.
Answer, have two senior strikers, and a younger prospect, even better if he can play in a couple of positions.
I had thought about three senior strikers, but being realistic, Damaio/Osvaldo/Higuain (from the players linked already), Defoe and then Rebic (or similar), maybe one of Kane/Couilbailly/Coulthirst as backup too, ideal.

I do wonder, if given his ability to play wide and central, if he is seen as an alternative to Son, seing as those rumours have gone off the boil a bit.

 

[nedley]

What put me off is that several times in the video the ball appeared to get stuck inbetween his feet or the defender would get a partial touch and the ball would luckily stay in his feet.

Like you've said, defenders will be a lot more talented wherever he moves next, and for the 5m you quoted in the intial post, would worry me.

Don't get me wrong, he looks pretty damn talented. Just not the type of player I would personally take a risk on at the 5m you suggested.

Lewandowski and Falcao went for similar when they signed for Dortmund and Porto respectively.

This is exactly the type of gamble we should be taking.

 

[GetSpurredOn]

Bang on the money Nedley, we talk about picking up some of these high calibre players, one transfer before they become out of our reach. Falcao before he went to Porto, to do that, requires the odd gamble on a relatively unknown/unproven player, based hopefully on some good scouting.
Hopefully this new guy is going to pull some real gems out of the bag.
A £3m punt on a 19yr old Croatian, highly rated in his homeland or another £6m Dempsey'esque signing, take you're pick.

 

[Dharmabum]

I am starting to warm up to this player (partly because Dinpomp recommend him) even though I've never seen him play - except, of course, one youtube (where many players can appear world class as we know very well). He's young, tall (185) & strong, fast, technical and versatile and a seem to have a decen shoot as well as an eye for passes and, coming from a "smaller" club, one would presume he's extra hungry to prove "something".
But then again, it's hard to predict the development of any young talent, particularly when playing in league outside of England.
However, Spurs must take risks as they can't compete with the big clubs for the "ready made" talents. It's always hard to predict the development curve of a player - and if it wasn't so, then big clubs wouldn't spend a fortune on scouts.
Like 1-2 years ago Spurs had 2 Polish strikers on trial: Mariusz Stepinski (Widzew Lodz) and Akardiusz Milik (Leverkusen).

 

[leonspurs]

yes please, exactly the player we need to start getting again.

 

[Sandro30]

I agree that we need to take risks and should do, I just believe that there are better options out there. Someone like Massimo Bruno

 

[EJWTartanSpur]

Not understanding the worry about 5m on this guy. 5m is just what you have to pay at the very least these days to procure highly regarded young talent. We can't afford to splash mega cash on established players, so this is exactly the type of player we should be looking at to add depth and potential to our forward line. Personally, I would trust the scouts to have done their job well and be very happy with the 5m investment if it does come to fruition. Sadly, figures like this are just what is required these days unless you pull an absolute blinder. We just spent a good few million on a young CB/LB who isn't even anywhere near first team ready by all accounts

 

[Barry Mead]

This could be interesting, AVB searching out some lesser known options like this and Sergi Roberto to fill some of his needs comparatively cheaply that DL could buy into and that would maybe give him a bit more leverage to try and get one or two more expensive additions that he would like maybe one or two of the likes of Leandro, Moutinho or Coentrao

Sergi could very well prove a good creative CM option this lad a decent second striker, both with the potential to become regular starters with the benefit of experience and a bit of opportunity in a decent team

Sounds like a plan anyway

 

[GetSpurredOn]

That may have some legs. I'd imagine there is only a set amount of cash put aside for summer transfers, so assuming we need a LB, CM, winger and two CF's, downsizing on a couple of targets, like Roberto and Rebic, leaves the balance to allotted towards the remaining positions.

 

[AB27]

How has nobody made an 'up the ante' joke yet?!

 

[not_tenth-again]

He's an odd (in a good way) player. I like the look of him but he doesn't remind me of anyone, which is the oddity..... he also looks bigger than the weight and height mentioned.

Interesting player, for anything under 4m I say he's worth a crack

 

[Paolo10]

He appears quite like a rawer version of Higuain in the video from the way he plays.

 

[Mouse!]

He appears quite like a rawer version of Higuain in the video from the way he plays.

Always wanted to see A rawer Borriello.

Spoiler

 

[EnfieldYiddo]

!

A secondary look at him.

Nice to have some ITK to confirm/deny this but hope it's true... Surely worth the risk. Could be a gem or a dud.

 

[Karlinho]

This was my first thought too. Makes perfect sense to me. His remit was to find talented up and coming players, not just for academy/development squads, but also first team squad.


We have seen that having just two strikers this season has left us struggling if there has been an injury it suspension.
Question, how could we keep three senior strikers happy in terms of gametime.
Answer, have two senior strikers, and a younger prospect, even better if he can play in a couple of positions.
I had thought about three senior strikers, but being realistic, Damaio/Osvaldo/Higuain (from the players linked already), Defoe and then Rebic (or similar), maybe one of Kane/Couilbailly/Coulthirst as backup too, ideal.

I do wonder, if given his ability to play wide and central, if he is seen as an alternative to Son, seing as those rumours have gone off the boil a bit.

Your last sentence seems more like it to me.

I think we need to stop the obsession with central strikers and do what the scum, Bayern, manu and Chelsea do. We will get a central striker who will score 17+. It's the support goal scoring that sets the best teams apart. The bulk of our goals ought to have come from Defoe and Ade this season, with support scoring coming from wide and central midfield positions. With our profile, we'll attract someone like Benteke or Michu or someone else or both who can improve on what we had.

Support goal scoring though from areas other than centre forward is where the difference is made. If you can get a tall, quick and powerful player that is adept at scoring from wide areas to provide that supplemental scoring, we should try to leave him there.

To challenge at the very top and assure an easier path to CL qualification, we have to look at getting closer to 85 goals per season than the 65 or so we've achieved in recent years. And we get there, assuming we can get decent production from CF, by trying to unearth excellent prospects or proven players with a knack of scoring from positions other than CF.

 

[Snarfalicious]

To me, he looks like he would be a guy to buy and loan. If he's cheap enough, we can afford to do that. Get him a loan to a PL side and in his age 20 season he could be looking like a more established option to provide depth. Or, we could elect to keep him, start him in the lesser Cup matches, utilized him as a sub and also get him games with the U21s. Or, maybe we will have enough faith in him to be a little more than that.