SCOUTED
@scoutedftbl.com
Stories from the future of football. linktr.ee/scoutedftbl
In the spring of 2019, a young man named Khvicha Kvaratskhelia lived alone at Lokomotiv Moscow’s training ground. All these years later, Khvicha's hustle has paved a new path for a faded icon: the Eastern European creator. The long read: bit.ly/dribbling-in...
I always wanted to be a writer growing up. Of course, I do write for a living, but working on pieces like this really emphasises the fact that I'm living the dream. Feature on Christ Inao Oulaï for @scoutedftbl.com: scoutedftbl.com/christ-inao-...
Christ Inao Oulaï can hear the music
A small Ivorian conductor has exploded out of Türkiye. Now in Serie A, can he sync a floundering Florentine orchestra?
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Christ Inao Oulaï can hear the music. Over the summer, the world was introduced to a diminutive Ivorian conductor. Now, one of Africa's most exciting young midfielders must synchronise a floundering Florentine orchestra. @shelatneel.bsky.social investigates: bit.ly/hear-the-music
Christ Inao Oulaï can hear the music
A small Ivorian conductor has exploded out of Türkiye. Now in Serie A, can he sync a floundering Florentine orchestra?
bit.ly
Super interesting stuff from @jakeentwistle.bsky.social on @scoutedftbl.com, not only on the PSL but also the Physicality Matrix in general: scoutedftbl.com/the-world-is...
The world is waking up to South Africa
Why the PSL pipeline to MLS is set to burst.
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If Givairo Read hadn't missed five months of football through injury last season, he would've been one of the most sought-after young players in the transfer market this summer. He has almost everything coaches and clubs want from a full-back in the modern game.
DISCORDANT SYMPHONY For years, positional play has had a stranglehold on football tactics. Inspired by his new mentor and invoking ghosts of the past, Fabian Hürzeler seeks the death of the orthodoxy. SCOUTED Festival, day three: bit.ly/discordant-s...
If you’re not into SCOUTED yet, we can’t be friends. Read this fantastic essay on Valentin Barco.
SCOUTED@scoutedftbl.com · last mo.🪈 PROVOCATEUR Valentín Barco was Argentina's great full-back hope. Now at Chelsea - and newly christened as a pantomime villain - the little magician must prove he has la pausa to cut it...in midfield. Day two of SCOUTED Festival:
🪈 PROVOCATEUR Valentín Barco was Argentina's great full-back hope. Now at Chelsea - and newly christened as a pantomime villain - the little magician must prove he has la pausa to cut it...in midfield. Day two of SCOUTED Festival:
The second form of Valentín Barco
Now at Chelsea with a freshly slapped head, the little Argentine must prove he has la pausa to cut it in midfield.
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Nathaniel Brown to Bayern. Marco Palestra to Chelsea. The full-back meta has ebbed and flowed through history like waves lapping against a shore; this summer, it's moving again. 🌊 CHANGING TIDES, by Caleb Gearty:
Full-backs are evolving again
Throughout history, coaches have used full-backs to solve problems and push the meta forward. This summer, the tides are changing again.
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Last month, we went looking for new football writers to support our next era. Next week, we'll be introducing them to you. Announcing SCOUTED's Festival of Football Writing: a week of free-to-read football essays by new writers to kick off your 2026/27. We hope you'll accept our invitation 💌
"Furthermore, his sale would be recorded as pure profit in financial calculations, as academy players have a book value of zero" may well be the single most depressing sentence in football.
Pablo Barrios deserves more recognition. Ice and fire, fire and ice: Diego Simeone’s best players and teams run on the little space between. In Barrios, he’s nurtured a midfielder capable of holding the balance, of managing chaos while maintaining the bite. Read more in Volume II: bit.ly/4gcwhAd
The J.LEAGUE, Belgian Pro League, Eredivisie, 2. Bundesliga, Ligue 2 and National Leagues all kick off their new seasons this weekend. What a time to be alive.
Bring back centre-forwards that trap long balls with their chest. Bring back those glory days.
Yan Diomandé was playing high school football in the USA four years ago and is now about to join Real Madrid for €135 million. That is one of the defining examples of what makes football special and incredible. No other sport produces such varied pathways and meteoric rises.
Caleb Yirenkyi looks to be joining Frank Lampard's Coventry City in the Premier League. Read this for an introduction to the exciting, do-it-all Ghanaian prospect set to become the biggest sale in Danish football history.
Introducing Caleb Yirenkyi
A touch-by-touch breakdown in which Phillip Billing gets boinged
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Konstantinos Karetsas, Joane Gadou, Kauã Prates and Justin Lerma all signed in the same transfer window. Have we go the old Borussia Dortmund back?
Victor Froholdt is a blonde blur of endless running. He is an über-intense, box-to-box midfielder that turns running into structure through clever third-man movement, simple passing sequences and constant box crashing. His movement without the ball is intelligent, well-timed, and his defining trait.
The monster: how Victor Froholdt redefines physicality
Scouting the off-ball animal we've been following for years
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Middlesbrough really like shopping MLS, don't they? We'll be seeing increasing emphasis on MLS as a buying market for European clubs in the coming years, and Middlesbrough getting promoted to the Premier League with a core of MLS-developed players would only expedite that.
We told you so about Mamadou Sangaré. Less than a year on from his move to RC Lens, he's already on his way to the Premier League for almost €50 million — as Llew Davies predicted last summer.
When Mamadou Sangaré moves for a mega fee to the Premier League, take note of who RC Lens replace him with. Good recruitment is often followed by good recruitment.
Staggered there hasn't been any substantial chatter around Giannis Konstantelias so far this summer. He was one of the most exciting young(er) players we watched last season. He does things that get you up off your seat.
Lech Poznań's Antoni Kozubal doing his best impression of that Raphinha meme.
Manchester City finally triumphed over Chelsea in their long-running rivalry to win the FA Youth Cup in the 2019/20 season. While only Luke Mbete remains on the books at City, three have since swapped side to Chelsea — Cole Palmer, Liam Delap, and now Morgan Rogers.
Goes without saying, but Jens Hjertø-Dahl would be some signing for Cardiff City if they manage to pull it off.
Bluesky! We're looking for new writers - particularly (though not exclusively) young or early-career journalists we can help develop, support and platform. And pay real money, of course. Help us in our search for sharing this, or apply yourself (but please read the guidance first!). Thank you 🫶
Pitch to SCOUTED
How to pitch your writing to SCOUTED
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Aston Villa are breaking their transfer record to bring in Johan Manzambi, everyone's new favourite player, following his breakout season and summer. This is what he adds to their midfield and the Premier League.
The Amazing Johan Manzambi
Johan Manzambi is a proper midfielder
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