All About The Beautiful Game
Recently, RC Lens has been on an upward climb — they will play in the Champions League next season despite having been in France’s second tier as recently as 2020. They have accomplished this thanks to strong tactics, a good squad, and, of course, excellent recruitment. Unlike many other clubs, Lens signs players from around…
Read More “Talented Prospect Abdukodir Khusanov Linked With Ligue 1 Side” »
After announcing Jude Bellingham, Fran García, and Joselu, Real Madrid continues to get deals done. Arda Güler, one of the top prospects in the world, is signing for the La Liga giants for a reported €20 million. He will be the third Turkish international to play for the club after Nuri Şahin and Hamit Altıntop,…
Read More “Turkish Star Arda Güler Signs With Real Madrid For €20m” »
In recent years, clubs have put more emphasis on finding talented players at younger ages. In addition to controlling a player’s development and finding the right loan moves, it can save millions of dollars in transfer fees. Look at Bayern Munich and Barcelona: Jamal Musiala and Pedri were both signed at 16 and are now…
Read More “Five u21 Talents Who Need a Move in the Summer” »
In terms of youth academies, few cities are better than London. Chelsea has one of England’s finest, with talents breaking through despite the ridiculous sums they pay for first-team players. Arsenal’s title charge this season has been heavily aided by players who came through their academy. Tottenham’s academy, too, has produced some fine players —…
Read More “Hammer Time: Ones to Watch on West Ham’s Trophy-Winning u18s” »
The Polish national team has traditionally been very dependent on its league, the Ekstraklasa. However, that is a trend that is gradually shrinking: in the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, just four and three players from the league made the final roster, respectively. In each of their prior two appearances at the tournament (2002 and…
Read More “One Prospect to Watch on Every Ekstraklasa Team” »
For years, I’ve written about u21 (or u23) talents either with expiring contracts or no contracts. In the first of these articles, in 2020, I chose four exciting talents: Angel Gomes, Malang Sarr, Abdul Mumin, and Luca Zidane. Nearly three years later, Gomes and Sarr are in Ligue 1, Mumin is in La Liga, and…
In 2021, German super club Bayern Munich announced a new project: the World Squad. The team was made with the aim of creating “an additional opportunity for talents from all over the world to realize [their] dream,” in the words of World Squad coach Christopher Loch. You can find the first episode here. The series,…
Read More “Where Are They Now: Bayern Munich’s Released World Squad Players” »
The MLS has established itself as one of the best development leagues in the world. I’ve talked about this extensively over the years, but it’s easiest to see right now. The latest season saw the MLS sell a whopping nine U23 players overseas, with the clubs ranging from Barcelona to Rosenborg. Even the Chicago Fire…
Read More “Five U21 Free Agents That MLS Clubs Should Be Looking At” »
Over the years, many of the Czech Republic’s finest players have featured in the German Bundesliga. Tomáš Rosický spent five years with Borussia Dortmund, having left Sparta Prague when he was 20. Jiří Němec spent nine years with Dortmund’s rivals Schalke 04, having also featured for Sparta. All-time top scorer Jan Koller spent five years…
Read More “Lukáš Ambros: The Latest Czech Talent Emerging in the Bundesliga” »
Roma is a club with a long history of promoting players through its youth academy. Look at club legend Francesco Totti, for instance. No player in the club’s history has scored more goals, made more appearances, or assisted more strikes than Totti. The Italian forward spent his entire career at the club, originally joining the…
Read More “Niccolò Pisilli: Roma’s New Gladiator in Midfield” »
