In August 2023, Ajax paid €16 million to sign FC Metz forward Georges Mikautadze. In doing so, Mikautadze became the most expensive Georgian player of all time, more expensive than the likes of Kakhaber Kaladze, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, and Giorgi Kinkladze. He became the third-most expensive Metz sale of all time, too, earning the club more […]
In January 2019, Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven took on FC Groningen. In the final minutes of the match, PSV, fighting for back-to-back Eredivisie titles, made an unusual substitution: despite leading by just one goal, they subbed off Uruguayan international Gastón Pereiro for a 16-year-old attacking midfielder. His name was Mohamed Ihattaren. Over the next few months,
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
Few clubs are more well-known for their youth development than Ajax. Many of the best players in the Netherlands came through Ajax’s famous academy, widely regarded as one of the world’s finest. Ajax also recruits foreign players at young ages — including many from neighboring Belgium. Three of Belgium’s most capped defenders — Toby Alderweireld,
Three years ago, I labeled Curaçao as a dark horse candidate for the World Cup. At the time, the Caribbean island was in just their second-ever Gold Cup (as Curaçao — they had previously played as Netherlands Antilles). Against all odds, they reached the knockout stages of the tournament and were looking better than ever.
A couple of days ago, I created a quiz about some of the top confirmed transfers. That quiz can be found here, and in it, I mention some of the more well-known players who have earned transfers, such as Leroy Sané and Timo Werner. However, there are many players that have been bought that have
It is finally July 4th weekend! If you aren’t familiar with July 4th, it’s a celebration of the day the United States of America (USA) became a free country. It’s wonderful. But this year, since no one can celebrate, so why not read about American players overachieving in Europe? And if you aren’t from the
In my last article, I discussed the top relegation candidates in the Premier League. That got a lot of interest, but since some people are more interested at races for first place, they might be looking at other leagues to watch. If that’s you or if you simply want to branch out, here are the