Brian's Scouting Thread

[Devil-Dick Willie]

You weren't far off the mark to be fair. He would walk into the England 23. He just chose the other option

[Storts+]

9 hours ago, Danny said:

Harry Kane is definitely an anomaly, he burst onto the scene out of nowhere really.

Shaleum Logan:

Left Man City to join us, left us to join Aberdeen and is still there 

That's really not true.

He banged in goals for fun at youth level, he worked so hard at his game and consistently progressed. As a 17 year old he scored goals in League One for Orient. He won Millwall's young player of the year the following season. He needed time to continue developing but he certainly didn't come out of nowhere.

[Guest]

Jose Lujan

One of Peru's U20 central defenders and he looks a talent that has potential to play in a reputable league abroad, although by this most likely is Argentina, Brazil and Mexico.

Position	He’s a central defender, although he’s had times where he’s played as a fullback. He definitely has the ability and versatility to play there.
Style of play	If there is any player to compare him to in Europe, its Matt Hummels. They both play similarly. They win the ball back and run into the midfield to play it out and possibly start counter attacks. In FM terms, he’s a ball playing defender.
Strengths	Playing it out is a strength as well as his marking. He’s also well positioned a lot of the time and his anticipation isn’t too bad.
Future?	Peru has had a lot of top CB’s but they usually have to get lucky to get so far. I’d say he’ll end up in one of the top 3 leagues in the America’s or a development league in Europe (Portugal, Netherlands, France)

[Guest]

Amadou Diawara, one of the top young talents in Serie A. Not getting too much attention because he's not playing as often as say Schick, or Chiesa but he's been superb whenever he's come on. His game against Real Madrid was the highlight of his season. Sure they lost both but not everyone showed to be up to standard. He definitely did. I'll update it here.

Honestly though to the staff I think it would be good to have a section on this. We had it on the old forum, active or not. I could contribute to it and in the future we can flip through the section to look to see who came out and who didn't. It would all be a good laugh in case we find the next Freddy Adu. If I get it running perhaps it could encourage others? I think a trial would be nice.

Last time I request it though.

[Stan]

as @Cannabis said last week, we'll base it on activity in this thread

No point having a forum dedicated to something which has little activity.

[Guest]

3 minutes ago, Stan said:

as @Cannabis said last week, we'll base it on activity in this thread

No point having a forum dedicated to something which has little activity.

No worries, I just thought that having it on the old forum would help out as an argument 

[Stan]

I just looked on TFF and there is no Talent Scout sub-forum anyway. Got put in to the archive. 

[nudge+]

8 minutes ago, Stan said:

I just looked on TFF and there is no Talent Scout sub-forum anyway. Got put in to the archive. 

https://www.totalfootballforums.com/forums/forum/273-talent-scout/

 

[Stan]

Just now, nudge said:

https://www.totalfootballforums.com/forums/forum/273-talent-scout/

 

I know. It's in the Archive

[nudge+]

Just now, Stan said:

I know. It's in the Archive

Ups! 

[Stan]

Just now, nudge said:

Ups! 

I did the same when I was searching for it, don't worry. had to click on the link twice to find the location  

[Guest]

Pedro Aquino

I've been banging on about this lad to a couple people. I even wrote about him for a site. I'll talk about him briefly on here but won't go too in detail as I save that for my pieces.

Pedro Aquino is a 22 year old playing for Sporting Cristal in the Peru Primera Division. He is probably the best player in the league and will more than likely go abroad at the end of the season. Whether its to Europe or a top league in the America's will be discussed later on as its hard to tell at the moment especially with little rumours on the matter. What does Aquino excel at? The art of defence. He's a defensive midfielder who roams around the pitch. He tries to win the ball back when possible. His most notable strengths are his anticipation and his tackling. He has a gift for winning the ball back in clever positions or when needed. Some highlights to this

As you can see from the arrow, that's Aquino closing down. He's running at the opposition to put pressure on him and try to force him to misplace a pass. In this situation, it worked as one of the other defenders won it back from a bad pass and was able to start a counter attack. Also notice how deep he is sitting as a DM. This is not his rigid position, but rather he's covering one of the defenders who has gone forward. His off the ball movement is superb.

 

 

This next example is his tackling and stamina. The ball is bouncing over as the arrow suggests, and he's racing one of the Brazilian players to win it back. Keep in mind this was Brazil's half, so he decided to run out of his position to win a dangerous counter attack should he have gotten to the ball and he did. His timing on the tackle was perfect in this situation, so he won it back and crossed it in to create a dangerous opportunity. He's very much a BWM but he can contribute to the attack ocasionally as well.

 

The next one is his ability to intercept the ball and some of his anticipation

He's able to surprise the opposition from where you least expect him to win the ball back. In this example, you can see that. He saw an opportunity to run and intercept the ball despite having his own man to mark and managed to successfully win it back. Its closing down as well but that just adds to his intelligence.

I have high hopes for Aquino. Hopefully he ends up having a good career. How he doesn't start for Peru yet is beyond me.

[Storts+]

4 minutes ago, Cannabis said:

This layout is brilliant for discussing new talent, much better then paragraphs. 

Fair play @LaSambadeStGermain 

Shame it's a load of crap.

Lujan is one of the worst defenders I've ever seen. So clumsy on the ball, always seems to be out of position, weak in the air and regularly done for pace.

If you'd been talking about Gianfranco Chavez I might have accepted your analysis, but think you're wide of the mark with Lujan. He won't amount to anything.

[nudge+]

The last Peruvian we were linked with was Édison Flores, as much as I'm aware, he joined Aalborg instead. He also comes from Universitario, doesn't he?

Anyway, when it comes to Werder, we haven't got any world class players coming up in our youth ranks I'm sure, but there are a few youngsters who are quite promising and could make good Bundesliga players in the future, at least. The first one is Johannes Eggestein, an 18-year-old striker who has been touted as a "mega-talent" by many for quite a while, and he's attracted interest of most top clubs in Germany, including Bayern and BVB, and allegedly Manchester United scouted him too. He's a sort of all-round forward with good technique, first touch and finishing, pretty intelligent too, but lacks somewhat in physical strength, and got a pretty serious injury which ended his season too early this year. He's supposed to be a part of our first team next season.

The other one is Jean-Manuel Mbom, a German-Cameroonian 17-year-old midfielder and the captain of our U17 team. Probably one of the most talented players I have seen in our youth ranks; a sort of box-to-box midfielder with great vision, leadership skills and ability to score goals. It certainly might take a while until he gets anywhere near the first team though. I'm quite eager to see how he does for Germany in the upcoming U17 Championship.

[Guest]

1 minute ago, Storts said:

Shame it's a load of crap.

Lujan is one of the worst defenders I've ever seen. So clumsy on the ball, always seems to be out of position, weak in the air and regularly done for pace.

If you'd been talking about Gianfranco Chavez I might have accepted your analysis, but think you're wide of the mark with Lujan. He won't amount to anything.

This is a bizzare post.

[Guest]

8 minutes ago, nudge said:

The last Peruvian we were linked with was Édison Flores, as much as I'm aware, he joined Aalborg instead. He also comes from Universitario, doesn't he?

He came from Universitario yes, and in all my years following football I've never seen such amazing development from any player that Flores has gone through. He started at Universitario, won the U20 Libertadores with his team and went to Villareal where he didn't learn a thing. He came back and he was so frustrating in his first year. He held onto the ball too long, he was horribly inconsistent and he took too many first touches. In 2014 and 2015 he was frustrating although class on his day. He really stepped up in 2016 and won himself a place in the national team and after an impressive Copa America he went to Aalborg. I thought he was wasting his time in Denmark at first but in the last qualifying round he's shown a massive improvement in strength and first touch. He plays intelligently now while keeping his ability from before. I wouldn't have wanted him to go to Bremen straight away after seeing what happened to Ascues at Wolfsburg but now that he's making a transition, he'd do well in the Bundesliga.

I was one of his doubters but he's shut me up.

 

[Guest]

7 minutes ago, Storts said:

Shame it's a load of crap.

Lujan is one of the worst defenders I've ever seen. So clumsy on the ball, always seems to be out of position, weak in the air and regularly done for pace.

If you'd been talking about Gianfranco Chavez I might have accepted your analysis, but think you're wide of the mark with Lujan. He won't amount to anything.

This post seriously confuses me. Did you watch the U20's?

I ask because you've heard the name Gianfranco Chavez, can't possibly be you reading my Twitter either because you would have tried to wind me up in other ways. If you wanted a bite, you've won it 

[Storts+]

14 minutes ago, LaSambadeStGermain said:

This post seriously confuses me. Did you watch the U20's?

I ask because you've heard the name Gianfranco Chavez, can't possibly be you reading my Twitter either because you would have tried to wind me up in other ways. If you wanted a bite, you've won it 

Yes - thought Lujan was awful. Really impressed by Chavez however

[Guest]

Just now, Storts said:

Yes - thought Lujan was awful. Really impressed by Chavez however

I was more impressed by Chavez as well. To be frank though the coaching that tournament was awful. The players only lasted a half and were dead tired in the second. Lujan was ok in the first match but then declined, I agree. However he's been impressive in the league itself and that's why I see a future in him. I have more faith in Chavez but he's not getting game time in the league so I thought it was more appropriate to write about Lujan.

What made you decide to watch it out of curiousity?

[Storts+]

24 minutes ago, LaSambadeStGermain said:

I was more impressed by Chavez as well. To be frank though the coaching that tournament was awful. The players only lasted a half and were dead tired in the second. Lujan was ok in the first match but then declined, I agree. However he's been impressive in the league itself and that's why I see a future in him. I have more faith in Chavez but he's not getting game time in the league so I thought it was more appropriate to write about Lujan.

What made you decide to watch it out of curiousity?

Makes sense - hopefully Chavez gets some more game time as he has potential.

I watch all sorts of football - real life FM scouting

[Guest]

1 minute ago, Storts said:

Makes sense - hopefully Chavez gets some more game time as he has potential.

I watch all sorts of football - real life FM scouting

Gianfranco Chavez definitely has potential. Most of us first heard of him in 2013 because he was part of u15 Peru team that won the South American Championship. I thought he was very good in the U20's in a team that was largely awful and was poorly coached. As a prediction, Chavez will become a starter sometime late this season or the next. Sporting Cristal don't have a very good defence so he could easily make his way into the RB position, or central defender replacing Luis Abram. The only game he's played this season he's played as a right back and did well in his few minutes. I like him more as a central defender though

Jose Lujan has a bit of an advantage and that is because he plays for USMP who probably have the best academy in the country. Because of their philosophies, he can get playing time a lot easier and with less expectation. He's been getting starts this season and been doing relatively well. Some errors here and there but nowhere near as it was in the U20. Can also play as a full back like Chavez.

 

[Guest]

Amadou Diawara

 

He hasn't played in a few games, so my memory may not serve me best here. This is what I remember on him anyways. 

 

Name, Club, Nationality	Amadou Diawara SSC Napoli Guinea
Position	He’s a defensive midfielder. Unless I’ve missed it, he usually only plays there and not higher up as a midfielder. He may need to learn some versatility especially considering some of his qualities.
Style of play	Amadou Diawara is a ball winning midfielder who likes to move forward. He’ll close down and when he wins it back he always plays it forward to try and start an attack. He sometimes dribbles through the center of the park as well like a ball playing defender would play it out.
Strengths	His primary strength is closing down to intimidate the opponent. He has a pretty accurate passing ability and his tackling is good.
Future?	I can see him ending up in the Premier League. Napoli usually does well to hold onto their players for the club that they are, but Diawara won’t be a Real Madrid or Barcelona player. At only 19 years of age he was one of the few players who was able to perform against Real Madrid and that certainly can imply that he’s got a bright future ahead. He was very composed in those 2 legs.

[Guest]

Something I'll do for my own website is something I could also try on here. I might not be able to commit, but I'll give it a go. Under the name of the original talent scout on TFF, let us begin. The only rule here is to avoid obvious talent. So players like Rashford, Coman, Mbappé, etc.

Keep in mind this thread is open to anyone who wants to share talent they caught in June or they want to in the future, but its something I'll try to keep up with. 

In June, the U20 World Cup was being finalized, so this makes the first edition of this easy. 

 

Federico Valverde: 18 years old - Uruguayan (Real Madrid)

 

Backstory and position	Federico Valverde was born in Montevideo. He’s participated for Uruguay at all youth levels since the U15. He started at Peñarol and quickly made an impression having made his debut at a very young age. He’s played a full Libertadores game and has made 1 professional appearances in the Uruguayan Primera.   He plays as a CM
Style of play and strengths	He’s an energetic central midfielder who runs the team. What could be described as Box to Box, he’s found anywhere on the pitch. Attacking and defending he contributes. He offers energy to the team and gets starts attacks by driving the whole team forward.

 

Ricardo Orsolini: 20 years old - Italian (Juventus)

 

Backstory and position	Ricardo Orsolini is an Ascoli man. He was born in that area and started at the club. He was signed by Juventus and was loaned back to Ascoli. He played for Italy’s U20’s in the U20 World Cup hosted in South Korea, where he finished top scorer with 5 goals. He plays on the right wing although could play anywhere as an attacking midfielder.
Style of play and strengths	Ricardo Orsolini in terms of playing style can be compared to Eden Hazard. His main strength is cutting in and getting a shot. Perhaps more of a goalscorer than the Belgian but he excels at doing what he does best and is also a good finisher.

 

Wuilker Fariñez: 19 years old - Venezuelan (Caracas FC)

 

Backstory and position	Wuilker Fariñez has been part of the big surprise that is Venezuela. Not many had expected Venezuela to qualify for the world cup, let alone reach the final. Wuilker was born in Caracas and plays for Caracas FC, although after the international performances at youth or senior level, a change could be expected.   Wuilker plays in net. He’s a goalkeeper
Style of play and strengths	There generally isn’t as much versatility in goalkeeping roles as there is in some other positions. In terms of his strength, he’s always focused and is ready to make that save. Good shot stopper with quick reflexes.

 

Roberto Siucho: 20 years old - Peruvian (Universitario

 

Backstory and position

Roberto Siucho was born in Lima and currently plays for Universitario. Not liked by many fans of the club due to his poor development since he’s made his debut, although that could be blamed on the poor management at the club throughout the years. With Pedro Trolio being more competent than the rest, Siucho has improved and some of the criticism towards him in recent times has been harsh.   He plays in left wing.

Style of play and strengths

He’s a quick and dynamic winger. He’s fast and he’s an excellent dribbler. There is one thing that hugely lets him down and that’s his end product. His crossing and finishing are poor, although the latter is more important for him as he does well to get in the box.

 

 

[Stan]

I saw Facundo Colidio's name get mentioned the other day on Twitter. Can't remember who or where but think Juve were linked with him.

Here's how he turns out on FM which is obviously the most trustworthy...

[RandoEFC+]

An upvote for taking the time to do this.

What would really fascinate me is seeing posts like this over the course of the last decade referred back to so you can see when players like Lukaku (just an easy example) were starting to receive attention on a wider scale, and which people are good at identifying players at the earliest stages.