Unicorn is thrown around far too often these days. It’s become proxy for ‘big guy that can dribble’ and we all know there are loads of them now. But Álvaro Rodríguez is a different mythical horse all together. I have proof he’s Pegasus. 🌃 Latest for @scoutedftbl.com:

Pegasus among unicorns

Monday Night SCOUTED presents the most extreme forward profile in Europe

scoutedftbl.com

I tried to translate @tomoc.bsky.social's storytelling and @moesquare.bsky.social's analysis into a single stat: Riccardo Calafiori is the only player across Europe’s Big Five Leagues this season that averages 10+ touches in each third, 2.5+ touches in each box, 2+ shots and 2+ clearances per 90.

Riccardo Calafiori, aura redefined

Milkshakes and meteors maketh the man.

scoutedftbl.com

Heading to my first Hudl Performance Insights Conference for @scoutedftbl.com today. Exciting stuff. Looking forward to learning a lot. But I am also going to be late. Thanks, weather.

My latest blog post "From Data to Wisdom: Playing Football’s Information Game at the Right Level" explores how football clubs can move from simply collecting data to making better, evidence-based decisions. janvanhaaren.be/posts/from-d...

From Data to Wisdom: Playing Football’s Information Game at the Right Level – Jan Van Haaren

From Data to Wisdom: Playing Football’s Information Game at the Right Level.

janvanhaaren.be

Kees Smit, quickly becoming one of the most talked about prospects, was on the @llewdavies.bsky.social radar well before the U-19 EURO this summer - the tournament that introduced me to the Dutchman. Whether you're yet to come across him or not, this is a must-read. Excellent, as ever.

Breaking down Kees Smit

A touch-by-touch analysis of the young Dutch midfielder's starmaking moment

scoutedftbl.com

Finally, I’ve put everything together to provide a primer on the @scoutedftbl.com Archetypes project so far. It’s not finished, it’s constantly evolving. But now there is a reference point for the Archetypes themselves and the methodology. Here you go:

A guide to Archetypes

A comprehensive primer for SCOUTED's player profiling project

scoutedftbl.com

If a player gets the @llewdavies.bsky.social ‘Introducing’ treatment, take note. Llew flagged Said El Mala during the U-19 EURO and I’ve piggy-backed off that ever since. This is one of the most destructive dribblers in Europe. It’s his first-ever top-flight season.

Introducing Said El Mala

A 317-minute breakdown of the German winger hell-bent on destruction

scoutedftbl.com

After noticing something different about Mike Penders' heat map against Lyon, @jakeentwistle.bsky.social investigated the reasons why it seemed odd. It turns out the Belgian was doing a Manuel Neuer impression and he's the youngest goalkeeper on record to do it in a Big Five League.

Falling down a Mike Penders rabbit hole

Learn about the Belgian's Manuel Neuer impression and Milton Delgado's Platformer clinic

scoutedftbl.com

So, @jakeentwistle.bsky.social wanted to revamp the stats section of the Monday Night SCOUTED newsletter and turn it into one in its own right. The Rabbit Hole is our new research-driven newsletter that will arrive in your inbox every Tuesday (if you like it, that is).

Sam Tighe@stighefootball.bsky.social · 12mo ago

Yeah…that’s very, very @scoutedftbl.com

On the same day I sit down to write my main piece of writing for the week, @tomoc.bsky.social is doing the same and producing this. This is writing. These are the foggin estandards. I’m extremely grateful he takes the time to use this mind to improve my work. open.substack.com/pub/redstory...

Winter arc

We run in void.

open.substack.com

Does modern football seem monotonous? Well, Morocco's U20 World Cup winners will make you fall back in love with the sport. If you're not up for rewatching that tournament, @jakeentwistle.bsky.social has tried to find the most direct young players in Europe as an alternative cure.

Antidotes for the monotony of modern football

Monday Night SCOUTED prescribes the following: Morocco’s historic Under-20 World Cup winners and Europe's most direct young players

scoutedftbl.com

I think staying up to watch the final fogged my brain. I had some really clear intentions for this newsletter, especially the second section, but I don’t think I’ve quite delivered on that. But I’m absolutely all in on Morocco. You should be too.

SCOUTED@scoutedftbl.com · 12mo ago

Does modern football seem monotonous? Well, Morocco's U20 World Cup winners will make you fall back in love with the sport. If you're not up for rewatching that tournament, @jakeentwistle.bsky.social has tried to find the most direct young players in Europe as an alternative cure.

The response to @tomoc.bsky.social’s RB Leipzig story on SCOUTED and his own Substack post about Eze’s move to Arsenal tells you everything about him. Two incredible pieces of writing created by an incredible person with absolute dedication and unwavering love for a craft.

Is Hugo Ekitiké an Alexander Isak regen? I profiled three iterations of both players alongside a set of elite centre-forwards to find out how similar they are, for @scoutedftbl.com. Dive in.

Is Hugo Ekitiké an Alexander Isak regen?

Everyone, including us, keeps saying the Frenchman is a mini version of the Swede - let’s use data to figure out the truth

scoutedftbl.com

The best decision of my adult life has been to commit full time. Not just on a work level, but it has transformed my personal life. Thank you so much to everyone that has made this past year possible. But to keep it going, we need even more support.

SCOUTED@scoutedftbl.com · last yr.

Since we went professional in 2019, our small team has toiled endlessly to turn SCOUTED into a sustainable, totally independent outlet. We’re closer than we’ve ever been - but we’re still not quite there. Join us on our journey to 1,000 paid subscribers. The Summer of SCOUTED has arrived.

Three weeks of curating this newsletter now :-) hope people find it fun and useful. Would love more feedback!

SCOUTED@scoutedftbl.com · 2y ago

Explosive strikers scoring goals across Europe, a Scottish starlet that you need to know about, even more changes of international allegiance, and the delightful talents of Désiré Doué. All that (and more) in The Shortlist, our bitzesize youth football review that drops every Friday.

Explosive strikers scoring goals across Europe, a Scottish starlet that you need to know about, even more changes of international allegiance, and the delightful talents of Désiré Doué. All that (and more) in The Shortlist, our bitzesize youth football review that drops every Friday.

Three explosive striker prospects and a new Scottish starlet

The Shortlist, March 14th 2025

scoutedftbl.com

I try v hard to shout out independent publications where possible, because they need all the help they can get. @backheeled.com, @scoutedftbl.com, Not The Top 20, Ranks FC & Gegenpressing Newsletter all bring life to my inbox and pod feeds. Thanks guys.

Just another weekly dose of brilliance from @jakeentwistle.bsky.social.

Mika Biereth Madness

The mind-blowing stats behind the Monaco man's match-ball collection

scoutedftbl.com

Mika Biereth has more Ligue 1 hat-tricks (3 in 7 games) than Rasmus Højlund has Premier League goals (2 in 22 appearances) this season. Plenty more where that came from in Monday Night SCOUTED.

Mika Biereth Madness

The mind-blowing stats behind the Monaco man's match-ball collection

scoutedftbl.com

Picked him out in the Durán article as a potential homegrown record sale in the future. Good to see he’s kicking on again.

Tom Bogert@tombogert.bsky.social · 2y ago

🇺🇸 Philadelphia Union's Quinn Sullivan (20) has had an excellent start to 2025, tied for an MLS-best 3 assists. Over the last 365 days, look at his per-90 numbers. I know he plays a unique role in this system to compare him with all midfielders... but, man. He's leveled up.

I put Mika through the Osimhen Test, explored a new way to evaluate strikers inspired by the duality of Denmark’s February 2003ers and found a mountain of stats to show just how mad his start at Monaco has been. Really enjoyed this one.

SCOUTED@scoutedftbl.com · 2y ago

Mika Biereth has more Ligue 1 hat-tricks (3 in 7 games) than Rasmus Højlund has Premier League goals (2 in 22 appearances) this season. Plenty more where that came from in Monday Night SCOUTED.

I tried to create way too many ‘custom’ metrics and apply them to way too many players before taking way too long to make decisions. Technically, this was still published on a Monday... so I made it, just. I hope it’s ✨ fascinating ✨

The most fascinating U23 players in the Big Five Leagues

Redux.

open.substack.com

This includes a link to an interactive Scatter Plot and a searchable table for all of the key poacher metrics from 2020/21 to 2023/24. Have fun.

SCOUTED@scoutedftbl.com · 2y ago

As the transfer window shuts, Monday Night SCOUTED arrives. Introducing the Victor Osimhen Test for the next generation of goal-hangers...

MNS tonight includes the Osimhen Test and a closer look at some titanic teenage performances since the last post. It will arrive in your inbox after the Chelsea game. Subscribe via @scoutedftbl.bsky.social to get it first.

Using @fbref.com, I make that the second time two teenagers have scored a goal in the same league game against a team managed by Pep Guardiola. The other match? Tom Davies and Ademola Lookman in that 4-0 Everton win.

MLS is the big-game left-back. Calafiori is the game-breaking left-back. I love that balance and variety.

Narrator: the Egyptian did not continue on the left and we did not have to wait until Rodri is back.

Two goals for Orri Steinn Óskarsson in Real Sociedad's 2-0 win against PAOK in the UEFA Europa League last night. Both were headers, peeling and hanging off the back to disengage from his marker – and he should've scored a third. It could be the little jolt his first season in Donostia needs.

I was inspired by something @jakeentwistle.bsky.social wrote about for @scoutedftbl.bsky.social (yes, again) and took it in a slightly different direction www.linkedin.com/pulse/findin...

Finding balance: using per90s to assess output distribution among playing units

Our Head of Content, Alex Stewart, shows how using per90 metrics can provide some insight into squad balance Once upon a time, if you wanted to data scout in the pre-clever-alogorithm, post-eye-test-o...

linkedin.com