Players to Watch

I thought it might be kind of interesting to have our own type of 'scouting' thread so to speak. Maybe not and this can be closed, locked, and thrown in the trash bin. However, it seems like there are a fair number of posters in the Liverpool section that watch various leagues (some even ones like the Russian league and Potuguese league).

This could be a nice topic to have to just point out some talents across the globe that are either not yet too hyped up, are having good seasons, or players we might even just like to see come to Liverpool in the future (or we think would be good fits). It doesn't have to be extensive or anything, but even just a name with a video clip or suggestions to watch them in the future, etc.

If you have a service or a good way of watching these leagues as well (available on the internet preferably) you could also list them and I can add them to the first post.

For example, NGSN is a great new service: https://www.ngsn.com/

Okay I'll have a go. I have never seen this player myself but my buddy saw him in person this month at the Toulon Tournament in France and keeps talking about him like he's the next big thing. In fact, I didn't even know who the hell he was until he told me about him.

Younes Kaabouni. Wiki tells me he plays for Bordeaux. I guess I'll keep an eye on his career to see how he progresses.

A few big names to keep an eye on like Johannes Eggestein, Odsonne Edouard and Aaron Leya Iseka...good chances of being big time strikers moving forward, supposedly. Eggestein and Edouard actually have huge hype coming out of Germany and France respectively (Eggestein was referred to as a once in a century talent by his former trainer after leaving him for Werder Bremen).

As far as Dutch talents go three that probably haven't been talked about much on here are Rewan Amin (Heerenveen), Frenkie de Jong (Willem II) and Che Nunnely (Ajax) are all very highly touted right now and expected to do big things. Amin is coming back strong and is a very talented 8, strong, good on the ball, reads the game well and will likely feature quite a bit for Heerenveen this season (probably rotating with Boomen) so a good chance to get a look at him in senior play. Frenkie recently actually impressed more with his play and decision making than Nouri with the Netherlands youth team...really hard to say if he's at that caliber but he's always been highly rated in the Netherlands so it'll be interesting to see if he ends up moving sooner than later. Nunnely is just a beast...fast, great with both feet, can dribble, shoot, turn on a dime, and get into open space very easily. Hopefully he grows a bit, and as with any young player he needs to work on his decision making in the final third, but a very exciting talent coming up anyway.

Also Steven Bergwijn is going to be an absolute monster. With Lijnders and Klopp at the helm I'm hoping that we look more toward the Dutch/German youth markets.

http://www.tribalfootball.com/articles/why-rodgers-must-act-fast-to-land-liverpool-mad-kristoffer-ajer-4095849

Bit of an old article but apparently this Ajer guy is supposed to be huge in talent and in stature and he absolutely loves Liverpool.

“My ultimate dream is to enter the pitch against Manchester United and hear the fans sing You’ll Never Walk Alone before kick off,” he said in March.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3366215/Middlesbrough-youngster-Harry-Chapman-picks-Barclays-U21-Player-Month-November-winger.html

Who have you modelled your game on?
I always loved watching Steven Gerrard, but I’m a very different player to him. I supported Liverpool just because of Gerrard. But I am my own player and try to be as individual as I can.

http://www.gazettelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/harry-chapman-is-phenomenon-what-10497970

He has 2 goals and 7 assists in the u21 PL (as an 18 year old). He has 3 goals and 8 assists in 5 games in the UEFA Youth CL. Seems like a pretty exciting young player and he loves Gerrard/Liverpool. Sign him up.

Has anyone watched much of Anwar El Ghazi? I've heard great things about him as a talent, but haven't had the opportunity to watch much of him myself. Given our need for dynamic, goal-scoring wingers, he might be one to keep an eye on.

In more high-profile names, I would love to see us taking a closer look at Domenico Berardi. He's effectively what we all wanted Fabio Borini to be when he joined from Roma. Comparisons to Borini (in playing style) and Lamela (in end-product... at least in Serie A) suggests that he might be a perfect fit for us as a goal-scoring winger on the right.

donttreadonred wrote:Has anyone watched much of Anwar El Ghazi? I've heard great things about him as a talent, but haven't had the opportunity to watch much of him myself. Given our need for dynamic, goal-scoring wingers, he might be one to keep an eye on.

I can confidently predict Curtinho can and will tell you he's neither dynamic enough for a top winger nor as great a talent, apparently.

I've asked the same question before, and so did someone else recently
Can't find the exact posts due to the dysfunctional search.

As for Berardi, haven't Juve secured his services already?

Yeah El Ghazi is nothing special, and definitely isn't worth bringing in since Ibe, Markovic and Ojo are all better talents. He shouldn't even be a winger in truth but it is what it is.

I would take Sam Larsson or Maxime Lestienne over him if we needed someone that could make an impact now, but tbh the best talents in the Eredivisie are too young to go after right now (though Hakim Ziyech is great I'm just bitter he chose Morocco, and I would take Klaassen and Veltman).

Hapless_Hans wrote:I can confidently predict Curtinho can and will tell you he's neither dynamic enough for a top winger nor as great a talent, apparently.

I've asked the same question before, and so did someone else recently
Can't find the exact posts due to the dysfunctional search.

As for Berardi, haven't Juve secured his services already?

Thanks for the update on El Ghazi. I'd heard his name in a few circles, but I'd never seen much of him. However, I would be somewhat hesitant of anointing Ibe at this point. He has stagnated badly since last season, and he may be in danger of not reaching his incredible potential. I believe Markovic is well his superior, and Ojo may overtake him should he be able to add some weight and adjust to the speed of the PL.

As for Berardi, Juventus sold his rights to Sasuolo last summer. Therefore, he is Sassuolo's player at the moment. The one murkier aspect of the situation is the potential existence of a buy-back clause for the Bianconeri. I didn't follow the situation closely enough over the summer to know the details (price, specific clauses, etc.) to tell you exactly what would need to occur. However, I'm not sure Berardi fits exactly how Juve prefer to setup at the moment. While he can certainly play as a forward, I believe he prefers to play(and operates best) in space off to the right, as an attacking winger/wide-forward. Now that's not to say that they won't bring him in and/or change their approach. It's merely to say that in the current setup, I don't think he fills a need for them.

Yes I was misinformed, I thought I had read Bernardi was set on joining Juve next summer when the opposite is true, he was actually sold even if there's a buy back clause.

Funny enough, our Juve faction discussing this as we speak http://www.goallegacy.net/t39049-shall-we-buy-berardi-this-summer

What's going on with Ibe at the moment? Is he injured? I thought he got quite some decent gametime one or two month or so ago and did quite well?
With so young players I feel it's never possible to safely judge the state, progress, or lack thereof, of their developments, especially if one doesn't see them in training.

Well most of our squad was plagued by injuries a few months ago so many players got game time who might otherwise not seen any.

Ibe doesn't have much end product at this age and Klopp prefers Sturridge, Firmino, Coutinho, Lallana as they are all fit now.

I don't think this can be blamed on Klopp's selection. Ibe simply hasn't warranted selection. At the moment, he offers very little other than natural width. He seems to have lost some of his confidence, started running down blind alleys, taking only safe options, and actually slowing the play down.

Ibe seems to have hit a wall in his development. I don't think it's a lack of ability or even intelligence. I think it's confidence as much as anything. However, the result is that he looks a shell of the bright young talent we have seen over the past few seasons. I hope he can shake it, and a full preseason with Klopp may be exactly what he needs. However, at the moment, I might be more inclined to use Ojo for his speed, creativity, and the fearlessness that only comes with youth.

Back on topic:
Another one to watch for me would be Ruben Neves from Porto. I'm not sure if he counts as low-profile, seeing as I believe he's the youngest ever captain of a side in Champions League football. However, he's a massive talent, and would pair exceptionally well with Can as a double pivot in Klopp's 4-2-3-1. Neves has a bit more defensive tendency than Can and one heckuva passing range. He's also not afraid to get stuck in. Buy him in the summer and he could be starting for us by January, moving Henderson wide or to the bench.

Ousmane Dembele is the next big thing coming out of France. Absolute phenom ripping up L1 at the tender age of 18.

Curtinho wrote:Ousmane Dembele is the next big thing coming out of France. Absolute phenom ripping up L1 at the tender age of 18.

There are rumors that some of Europe's elite are looking into him, now. Barcelona and Bayern are supposed to have interest in him at the moment.

Strong rumors that we're looking into Lucas Alario, the River Plate forward, as a replacement for the departing Benteke. I won't claim to have seem much of the young Argentinian. However, from what I have seen and read, he's stylistically similar to Fernando Torres, albeit much more raw and (as of yet) without the clinical finishing.

To be honest, this is a transfer that feels like Klopp's Dortmund days: a relatively low fee, a more-or-less unknown player replacing an outgoing "name", and a seeming developmental project with an eye for the long-term benefits.

Now, as enticing as this transfer seems given those criteria, I'm not sure that I wouldn't look elsewhere for Benteke's replacement. One thing that worries me about the Alario rumors are his goal record. Even in the Argentine League, he's only managed 22 in 77 games. Granted, 10 of those have come in 19 appearances since joining River Plate last summer and being moved to a more central position. That, of course, bodes well for his future as a central striker and for his continued development. However, for a rumored fee of 9.5 million, I would expect a little more or at least similar production against a slightly higher level of competition.

Given my preferences, I might suggest pursuing other targets. My personal preferences would be Michy Batshuayi (Marseille), Breel Embolo (Basel), or Arkadiusz Milik (Ajax) to replace Benteke. Granted Batshuayi and Embolo will likely command a higher fee than what we are expecting for Alario. However, Milik might be available for a comparable price.

Just my thoughts. What does everyone else think of the Alario link?

I don't know anything about Alario, but we should be looking at Janssen from AZ.

This Leon Bailey guy looks pretty damn class, especially for his age in a fairly good league.