The Summer 2024 scouting thread

bubble07 said:

We need to scout someone like Rodri

The guy is just immense at city. Always available for a pass and great at short passes and long passes with either foot

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Agreed, he is incredible. Big, strong, powerful and a bloody good footballer, if we could clone him it'd be ideal

If I could pick any type of profile for us it would be Rodri. @Ghost Hardware who are the players most similar to him? Thanks in advance

bubble07 said:

We need to scout someone like Rodri

The guy is just immense at city. Always available for a pass and great at short passes and long passes with either foot

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Scout someone like the best DM in the world?

Nick-TopSpursMan said:

Having seen him do it in the PL now I’d be up for this.

I think he could adapt to the wider role for us but also he is more than capable of covering the 10 role and upfront too.

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the key is to be able to see it before someone else buys him! His WC displays convinced me, and I wouldn’t have bought Kulu- as I said in the summer. Still, the ginger from Sweden has a lot of supporters so I ain’t gonna win this one.

Wasn’t there something from an itk at the time suggesting Kudus wanted an out clause and that put us off? If true, doubt we’d go back in…

TEESSIDE1 said:

A striker is essential. Son isn’t the player he was a few seasons ago and Richarlison despite his purple patch is average at best. Whether it be someone who can hold the ball up and read the game or someone who can break the line and get in behind the defensive line… we desperately need a natural striker.

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Only just seen this and had to respond - can't have that at all, i'd say Son is now more clinical than he's ever been and definitely our best player. Nobody is coming in that's better than him.

Ghost Hardware said:

There has been a lot of debate as to his best role but in our system I think he could certainly play DM. He probably needs another season as a starter but i would still put him near the top of my list of realistic targets as my personal feel is we should look for a young prospect rather then a more established starter.

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why? don't we already have enough midfield "prospects"? surely we need someone to come in and instantly elevate that position.

djhotspur said:

Scout someone like the best DM in the world?

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That no one else has noticed, so we can afford to by him.

joey55 said:

That no one else has noticed, so we can afford to by him.

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Yep

bubble07 said:

Yep

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We could actually do that for every position. I just don't understand why no one has thought of it before. I just wish you started pushing your philosophy before we appointed Lange. You are wasted here mate.

Blake Griffin said:

why? don't we already have enough midfield "prospects"? surely we need someone to come in and instantly elevate that position.

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I’d say two of our current best players were brought in as prospects in Udogie and Sarr. I wouldn’t be surprised if Bergvall joins that list. Given their age you could probably make an argument for VDV and Johnson also being considered prospects. A number of those players might realistically become world class in a few years. We would have zero chance of buying them if they were further developed.

My personal feeling is we can get a player who in long term will be of greater ability than we can a player already established. Also when taking into consideration the make up of our squad we have shifted towards a younger group who is growing together and in time I think that will pay off. Yes I do think it’s also good to balance that out with older heads but we already have that in Biss and Bentancur. Yes I think Bentancur is better as a CM but he can also play DM very well.

I also listed 3 other players in a follow up post to the one you quoted all of which are more developed and would likely move straight into the first team and all of which I like a lot. I listed them for a reason and would be very happy to get any of them. But for me Archie Gray, as an example, has the potential to be better than all of them. He has the potential to be one of the best DM’s in the world IMO but in the short term I don’t necessarily see him being an improvement on our first 11 or being a starter. It’s just a personal preference when taking into considering the options we currently have in the position but I’m not so attached to the idea that I would be upset to get a more established player.

Ghost Hardware said:

I’d say two of our current best players were brought in as prospects in Udogie and Sarr. I wouldn’t be surprised if Bergvall joins that list. Given their age you could probably make an argument for VDV and Johnson also being considered prospects. A number of those players might realistically become world class in a few years. We would have zero chance of buying them if they were further developed.

My personal feeling is we can get a player who in long term will be of greater ability than we can a player already established. Also when taking into consideration the make up of our squad we have shifted towards a younger group who is growing together and in time I think that will pay off. Yes I do think it’s also good to balance that out with older heads but we already have that in Biss and Bentancur. Yes I think Bentancur is better as a CM but he can also play DM very well.

I also listed 3 other players in a follow up post to the one you quoted all of which are more developed and would likely move straight into the first team and all of which I like a lot. I listed them for a reason and would be very happy to get any of them. But for me Archie Gray, as an example, has the potential to be better than all of them. He has the potential to be one of the best DM’s in the world IMO but in the short term I don’t necessarily see him being an improvement on our first 11 or being a starter. It’s just a personal preference when taking into considering the options we currently have in the position but I’m not so attached to the idea that I would be upset to get a more established player.

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Gray might not be ready to be a starter DM but he has the advantage of being a potential back up to Porro at inverted RB and filling in for Sarr as the box-to-box shuttler. Given that unique skillset I would go heavy for him if Leeds don’t go up.

danielneeds said:

Gray might not be ready to be a starter DM but he has the advantage of being a potential back up to Porro at inverted RB and filling in for Sarr as the box-to-box shuttler. Given that unique skillset I would go heavy for him if Leeds don’t go up.

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Playing now on sky in a big game against Hull for anyone that wants to watch him. Been linked to Philogene playing for Hull as well.

Sidenote: Leif Davis looked quite impressive for Ipswich just there against Southampton, he has brilliant offensive output. Would'nt be a terrible option as backup for Udogie.

I wonder if we will look at Marmoush for one of the WF positions. Having a great season for Frankfurt. He keeps getting a lot of comparisons to Salah (hopefully not just because he is Egyptian).

Ermedin Demirović

Anyone watched much of this guy?

King of the Lane said:

I wonder if we will look at Marmoush for one of the WF positions. Having a great season for Frankfurt. He keeps getting a lot of comparisons to Salah (hopefully not just because he is Egyptian).

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Decent stats this season, but pretty underwhelming over his career. Wouldn't be against the move. But not super exciting

Samuele Ricci & Alan Varella are two CDMs we should definitely be keeping an eye on.

Ghost Hardware said:

I’d say two of our current best players were brought in as prospects in Udogie and Sarr. I wouldn’t be surprised if Bergvall joins that list. Given their age you could probably make an argument for VDV and Johnson also being considered prospects. A number of those players might realistically become world class in a few years. We would have zero chance of buying them if they were further developed.

My personal feeling is we can get a player who in long term will be of greater ability than we can a player already established. Also when taking into consideration the make up of our squad we have shifted towards a younger group who is growing together and in time I think that will pay off. Yes I do think it’s also good to balance that out with older heads but we already have that in Biss and Bentancur. Yes I think Bentancur is better as a CM but he can also play DM very well.

I also listed 3 other players in a follow up post to the one you quoted all of which are more developed and would likely move straight into the first team and all of which I like a lot. I listed them for a reason and would be very happy to get any of them. But for me Archie Gray, as an example, has the potential to be better than all of them. He has the potential to be one of the best DM’s in the world IMO but in the short term I don’t necessarily see him being an improvement on our first 11 or being a starter. It’s just a personal preference when taking into considering the options we currently have in the position but I’m not so attached to the idea that I would be upset to get a more established player.

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100% agree with all of this.

He's made for that 6 role for the next decade.

I know it feels slightly insane to have an 18 year old playing in the most demanding lone 6 role in football.

But his ability, profile fit, temperament, and intelligence are all exceptional.

He'd challenge Bissouma immediately, and we're fortunate to have Bentancur for insurance.

Worth the gamble and investment of time and minutes if there's any possibility to get him.

Some clips here included from fans on the touchline for any doubters.

Now it's Spursonal said:

Can’t say he’s been on my radar at all, but this video is fairly impressive and the Twitter thread describes him as being a 6’8’ version of Onana that’s still a year younger than him. Could be an ideal cheaper option potentially

Have you seen him at all @Ghost Hardware ?

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The lad has only started 7 top flight games and been taken off at half time in 2 of them.

He is in the 39th percentile for pass completion and 37th percentile for % of dribblers tackled, 9th percentile for interceptions. We can do better.


Comments on him from a Lyon fan on Reddit:
"The issue is that for now he is quite nonchalant, lacks intensity and commitment in challenges. He doesn't always make the best decisions, and he also struggle a bit with the ball under pressure. So he can't really play as a DM, but he could thrive in a double pivot midfield with a DM alongside him. Which we couldn't offer him since we had no proper DM this season. So he was never put in optimal conditions here, even more so with our abysmal start of the season."

spurs9 said:

The lad has only started 7 top flight games and been taken off at half time in 2 of them.

He is in the 39th percentile for pass completion and 37th percentile for % of dribblers tackled, 9th percentile for interceptions. We can do better.


Comments on him from a Lyon fan on Reddit:
"The issue is that for now he is quite nonchalant, lacks intensity and commitment in challenges. He doesn't always make the best decisions, and he also struggle a bit with the ball under pressure. So he can't really play as a DM, but he could thrive in a double pivot midfield with a DM alongside him. Which we couldn't offer him since we had no proper DM this season. So he was never put in optimal conditions here, even more so with our abysmal start of the season."

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There is no doubt he is still very raw and needs more experience. But imo from watching him i think the kid has a lot of potential. He was one of the stand out young talents last season for Sochaux in ligue 2 and if you want to focus on stats he was in the 95th percentile for tackles, 83rd for interceptions, 94th for blocks, 76th for clearances and 98th for aerials won. He was also in the 91st percentile for progressive carries and 70th for pass completion.

I probably agree with the Lyon fan about him being more comfortable at present in double pivot as it takes away some of the defensive responsibility and allows him to play his game whilst he adapts to higher lever but from watching him I think long term he will move to DM as he has the skill set, hight and speed. This seems to be something Werder see as well.

Im not sure if you watched Werder’s game against Wolfsburg on the weekend but Alvero got his first start for them after some solid showings off the bench. He started as a DM in the game and put in a very solid performance especially considering Jung got sent off in 43rd min, he certainly didn’t look nonchalant and put in a good shift. I’d be surprised if he doesn’t start next weekend. Werder are on a terrible run of 5 straight losses with Frankfurt up next so this will be a very good test for Alvero to show what he’s made of.

I agree that he probably needs another season as a starter before we can consider him, much like Patrick Dorgu at Lecce who had a solid game against Roma yesterday. He obviously needs to work on his game, there is no question about that his positioning, decision making etc. Considering he is a young player adapting to a higher level and has now been moved on loan to Germany his stats aren’t even that bad across the board, he’s still 72nd percentile for successful take on’s and 68th for tackles.

As with all young players one needs to watch how they develop and how they deal with the mental aspect of adjusting to a tougher challenge. But if one moves away from the stats sheet and actually watches him, from the games I’ve seen i personally think he has a lot of potential. How good he can be I don’t know but I think he has the technical skill set and physical traits to become a very good player indeed, he just needs to match it with mental side. Ether way it will be very interesting to see how he does over the remainder of the season now that he seems to have broken into the first team.

What about Gourna-Douath @Ghost Hardware ?