Your Hidden Gems or under the radar - Wanted Signings

Axe2401 said:
I watch a lot of Ligue 1 (french championship). So if u want i can report a lot of young players.

I start with Ayyoub Bouaddi.
French / Marrocan, 17 years old, Lille OSC. CM, DM. Right footed

+ : Passing, Ball Control, Stamina, Composure, Off the ball
- : Pace

Effective play time this season :
Ligue 1 : 1088'
ECL : 622' (including an amazing game vs Real Madrid in League phase)

Regarding his age i don't see a better prospect in miefield at the moment.
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I love this player. I think he is one the best talents at CM coming out of France. Similar to Warren Zaire Emery, he has such a great all round game that he can play higher up or deeper in midfield. I think he will evolve into being a DLP. I would love him at United. Even though he is young, he doesn't seem overwared, good defensive instincts and is physical.

He would do well next to Ugarte, Mainoo or Kone. He could adapt to anyone of them as his partner.
 
BeforeKeanetherewasRobson said:
While don’t doubt he may be a good prospect, I’d think that with Ugarte, Mainoo, Collyer (not saying he’s top quality), Kone and Bruno (when he plays deeper)… not sure it’d be high on our agenda. And that will depend on the outs come Summer.

I think it’s goalie, 9, RWB (though hoping Mantato kicks on next season), 10.

Any of those?
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I think Collyer could be the odd man out. Bruno does his best work forward and I feel Amorim only plays him deeper because he doesn't have a choice with no-one else able to play the ball forward well. If we land another CM who can progress the ball at a decent clip, I don't think we will see Bruno at CM.

The great thing about Bouaddi, is that his all-round game is so good that he can easily partner Ugarte, Mainoo or Kone. In fact, I think a midfield two of Bouaddi and Mainoo would be excellent with Kone and Ugarte in reserve. I wouldn't be surprised that by 2 years time, Ugarte is more often on the bench than not as he doesn't have the all-round game of the younger prospects.
 
Kingslayer18 said:
I think Collyer could be the odd man out. Bruno does his best work forward and I feel Amorim only plays him deeper because he doesn't have a choice with no-one else able to play the ball forward well. If we land another CM who can progress the ball at a decent clip, I don't think we will see Bruno at CM.

The great thing about Bouaddi, is that his all-round game is so good that he can easily partner Ugarte, Mainoo or Kone. In fact, I think a midfield two of Bouaddi and Mainoo would be excellent with Kone and Ugarte in reserve. I wouldn't be surprised that by 2 years time, Ugarte is more often on the bench than not as he doesn't have the all-round game of the younger prospects.
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Don’t disagree, but still not sure DM/CM is top priority, also noting the academy midfielders we’ve got. I don’t think we prioritise a 17 year old Mid (unless quite cheap) when we have options and 3, 4, 5 academy players around same age
 
Kingslayer18 said:
Definitely, and if you look at his Fbref comparisons, Zirkzee actually comes up. Might not make sense unless we do happen to sell Zirkzee and looking to bring in another player who has similar attributes but a better goalscoring touch.
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I saw links today to a dude I've never heard of before, a 24 year old Italian at Udinese called Lorenzo Lucca, and after two seconds of youtube clip scouting it was clear that he is another striker in this Zirkzee variety.

Lucca looks very similar in stature to Ben Sesko, actually, which is somewhat similar to Zirkzee and Nick Woltemade. But they are all tall and well-built strikers with impressive feet and good "touch for a big man", while not being blessed with rapid pace.

Needless to say, after watching a few clips I am on the Lucca train. Its about time we had a successor to the great Kiko Macheda.
 
Been watching a bit of the CONMEBOL u17 tourney and Henrry Diaz from Venezuela looks an interesting prospect in midfield. He is very small though so I doubt he'd be one we'd take a chance on at this point, if he does make his way to Europe in the next season or two I can see him going to one of the Portuguese teams first to develop a bit.

Found this of all his touches in last nights game against Brazil.

 
redom said:
Been watching a bit of the CONMEBOL u17 tourney and Henrry Diaz from Venezuela looks an interesting prospect in midfield. He is very small though so I doubt he'd be one we'd take a chance on at this point, if he does make his way to Europe in the next season or two I can see him going to one of the Portuguese teams first to develop a bit.

Found this of all his touches in last nights game against Brazil.

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He looks tiny! And I would say reminds me a bit of the former lad Gomes.
 
Axe2401 said:
I watch a lot of Ligue 1 (french championship). So if u want i can report a lot of young players.

I start with Ayyoub Bouaddi.
French / Marrocan, 17 years old, Lille OSC. CM, DM. Right footed

+ : Passing, Ball Control, Stamina, Composure, Off the ball
- : Pace

Effective play time this season :
Ligue 1 : 1088'
ECL : 622' (including an amazing game vs Real Madrid in League phase)

Regarding his age i don't see a better prospect in miefield at the moment.
Click to expand...
He looks very good but our midfield desperately needs athleticism with Mainoo, Casemiro and Eriksen all well below average at this stage.
 
redom said:
Been watching a bit of the CONMEBOL u17 tourney and Henrry Diaz from Venezuela looks an interesting prospect in midfield. He is very small though so I doubt he'd be one we'd take a chance on at this point, if he does make his way to Europe in the next season or two I can see him going to one of the Portuguese teams first to develop a bit.

Found this of all his touches in last nights game against Brazil.

Click to expand...


Reeks of a Chelsea snap-up
 
Sea-Cow said:
I saw links today to a dude I've never heard of before, a 24 year old Italian at Udinese called Lorenzo Lucca, and after two seconds of youtube clip scouting it was clear that he is another striker in this Zirkzee variety.

Lucca looks very similar in stature to Ben Sesko, actually, which is somewhat similar to Zirkzee and Nick Woltemade. But they are all tall and well-built strikers with impressive feet and good "touch for a big man", while not being blessed with rapid pace.

Needless to say, after watching a few clips I am on the Lucca train. Its about time we had a successor to the great Kiko Macheda.
Click to expand...

Yeah, have seen the links. He seems like a late bloomer but I'm worried about him as looks like he's never had goalscoring record at any level till this season. Would prefer Woltenmade if we are going for the big man with good feet.
 
Bojan Djordjic said:
He looks very good but our midfield desperately needs athleticism with Mainoo, Casemiro and Eriksen all well below average at this stage.
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I'm assuming we would only look at Bouaddi if we happen to shift Case on. I think we will target an athletic 8 who will go in the starting lineup and partner Ugarte. Then if we get rid of Case, we will need to replace him and can then loan/sell Collyer. Bouaddi is an outstanding talent at midfield and we can bring him in without giving him the responsibility of being the main guy at 18. We don't have a great midfield composition and an allrounder like Bouaddi makes sense. He has great ability to get around the pitch and much better defensively oriented than Mainoo. People have mentioned us bringing back Angel Gomes but he's been displaced in the Lille team by Bouaddi.
 
BeforeKeanetherewasRobson said:
Don’t disagree, but still not sure DM/CM is top priority, also noting the academy midfielders we’ve got. I don’t think we prioritise a 17 year old Mid (unless quite cheap) when we have options and 3, 4, 5 academy players around same age
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I think CM will be the 2nd priority after striker, followed by RWB. We can't compare our academy midfielders to Boauddi. He's starting for Lille, bossed Madrid midfield in the Champions league and playing for the French u21s already as a 17 year old. He's levels above our academy midfielders.

I'm not saying we should go for him as a no 1 CM option. I think we get an athletic 8 who goes into the starting lineup, someone like Ederson. If we then happen to sell Case, then we go for Bouaddi. He's essentially replacing Case's role in the team, he will get minutes and be able to develop nicely. So we have an athletic no 8 and Ugarte as starting options and then Mainoo and Bouaddi to back them up. Kone as 5th option with Collyer on loan to get minutes. In a year or two's time, Ugarte is the one at risk of dropping to the bench from either Mainoo or Bouaddi.
 
Another Great young player of Ligue 1

Maghnes Akliouche

French, 23 years old, Monaco. CAM, RW. Left footed

+ : Passing, Vision, Creativity, Dribbling
- : Aerial duels

Effective play time this season :
Ligue 1 : 1878'
ECL : 807' (great performances vs Barcelona or Benfica)

Huge playmaker, something we don't see often in modern football. The type of player who knows what he gonna do before he receives the ball. His best attribute is his one touche pass or dribble, very instinctive
 
Bouaddi wouldn't be able to join until January. If we have a limited budget I can't see them using a chunk of it on someone who'll miss half the season.
 
gajender said:
Would only turn 18 after Summer transfer window So will have to wait till January for registration.
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The best thing to do then would be sign him and loan him back to Lille so he can continue his development for another half a season whilst being in comfortable surroundings, is he not similar to Kone though ? I mean playing style rather than ability as I’ve heard ability wise he’s off the charts.
 
Sea-Cow said:
I saw links today to a dude I've never heard of before, a 24 year old Italian at Udinese called Lorenzo Lucca, and after two seconds of youtube clip scouting it was clear that he is another striker in this Zirkzee variety.

Lucca looks very similar in stature to Ben Sesko, actually, which is somewhat similar to Zirkzee and Nick Woltemade. But they are all tall and well-built strikers with impressive feet and good "touch for a big man", while not being blessed with rapid pace.

Needless to say, after watching a few clips I am on the Lucca train. Its about time we had a successor to the great Kiko Macheda.
Click to expand...
Lucca managed to completely flop at Ajax, I have severe doubts he'd be good enough even for the United bench based on that season.
 
Axe2401 said:
Another Great young player of Ligue 1

Maghnes Akliouche

French, 23 years old, Monaco. CAM, RW. Left footed

+ : Passing, Vision, Creativity, Dribbling
- : Aerial duels

Effective play time this season :
Ligue 1 : 1878'
ECL : 807' (great performances vs Barcelona or Benfica)

Huge playmaker, something we don't see often in modern football. The type of player who knows what he gonna do before he receives the ball. His best attribute is his one touche pass or dribble, very instinctive
Click to expand...
I posted about him after his performance against Benfica in the UCL.

Looks a great player, with dribbling, creativity and the sort of player we are missing.

I think he would add some real quality to our attack and help with chance creation.

He just screams a PSG signing sadly.
 
Pepelu and Barrenchea from Valencia.

I’d say Palacios from Bayer but he’s far too injury prone.
 
He's not exactly a hidden gem but maybe a little under the radar at this point but I think we should be in for Edon Zhegrova from Lille as he's only got 1 year left on his contract at Lille and multiple reports are that he's going to be let go this summer for not agreeing a new deal. He's been injured for the last couple of months but before that he was one of the best right wingers in Europe. All things considered he'd be a big asset to the squad and wouldn't be very expensive, can't imagine more than 15m unless there's a bidding war.
 
Mohammed Amoura is my shout. Can’t say I’ve watched him but his stats and highlights are really promising. Can see him suiting the left 10 role and wouldn’t cost a fortune
 
@Ekeke how's Guerra doing this season at Valencia? He always struck me as a Scott replacement - or more what I'd like Scott to have been within our side.
 
Axe2401 said:
Another Great young player of Ligue 1

Maghnes Akliouche

French, 23 years old, Monaco. CAM, RW. Left footed

+ : Passing, Vision, Creativity, Dribbling
- : Aerial duels

Effective play time this season :
Ligue 1 : 1878'
ECL : 807' (great performances vs Barcelona or Benfica)

Huge playmaker, something we don't see often in modern football. The type of player who knows what he gonna do before he receives the ball. His best attribute is his one touche pass or dribble, very instinctive
Click to expand...

How does he compare to Eliesse Ben Seghir? They both seem to be players that are good at 10 or on the wing. Ben Seghir looks to be the better talent but both are good young players
 
Kingslayer18 said:
How does he compare to Eliesse Ben Seghir? They both seem to be players that are good at 10 or on the wing. Ben Seghir looks to be the better talent but both are good young players
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Akliouche is more a playmaker, creative through passes.
Ben Segir is more a striking player through dribbles.

At the moment i would say Akliouche is more consistent in his games. But Ben Seghir is 20yo, and Akliouche 23yo, so it makes sense. But overall Akliouche have more rare qualities you want in a football player.
 
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Another Great young player of Ligue 1

Andrey Santos

Brazilian, 20 years old. CM. Rightfooted

+ : Passing, Duels, Leadership, Finishing, Athlecism
- : -

Effective play time this season :
Ligue 1 : 2 317' : 9 goals, 2 assists which is nice for a CM of his age.

Very nice midfielder. His second season in Strasbourg confirms the first one. He is a really talented and determined young player. He is now the captain of a very young Strasbourg squad which is one of the best teams in 2025, and can maybe access to the UCL next season. The main issue : he is on loan from Chelsea who still owns him. I don't know what is their plan about him, but this prospect is a solid one.
 
I think Moise Kean is a decent under the radar signing for someone. Restarted his career at Fiorentina.
 
Axe2401 said:
Akliouche is more a playmaker, creative through passes.
Ben Segir is more a striking player through dribbles.

At the moment i would say Akliouche is more consistent in his games. But Ben Seghir is 20yo, and Akliouche 23yo, so it makes sense. But overall Akliouche have more rare qualities you want in a football player.
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Interesting, thanks for the feedback. I actually though Ben Seghir was the more creative one. I will keep an eye out on Akliouche from now on. Which of the two is more likely to leave Monaco in the next window? Or is it more likely they stay on?
 
SilentWitness said:
I think Moise Kean is a decent under the radar signing for someone. Restarted his career at Fiorentina.
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He wouldn't be a bad bet if we are looking for a cheap striker who seems to have come good. I would actually take him over Mateta, as lower transfer fee, slightly younger and is physical enough. Interestingly, his game has gone from dribbles and to being more a goal poacher.
 
Kingslayer18 said:
Interesting, thanks for the feedback. I actually though Ben Seghir was the more creative one. I will keep an eye out on Akliouche from now on. Which of the two is more likely to leave Monaco in the next window? Or is it more likely they stay on?
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Akliouche is set for a move this summer, i would say 90%. PSG already had discussions last summer, and probably will come again. His contract runs until 2028, so he should be valued at 50M£ more or less
Ben Seghir i don't know if they will keep him one more year. Probably, regarding how bad Balogun did this season (injury prone). However his contract runs until 2027, so if he doesn't extend, his value could drop next summer. His current value should be between 30 and 40M£
 
Axe2401 said:
Akliouche is set for a move this summer, i would say 90%. PSG already had discussions last summer, and probably will come again. His contract runs until 2028, so he should be valued at 50M£ more or less
Ben Seghir i don't know if they will keep him one more year. Probably, regarding how bad Balogun did this season (injury prone). However his contract runs until 2027, so if he doesn't extend, his value could drop next summer. His current value should be between 30 and 40M£
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Ok I see. More likely then that the club tries to extend Ben Seghir given he's younger and then sell Akliouche. It seems there are a lot of attacking midfield talents now in Ligue 1. If you had the choice between Cherki and Akliouche as a attacking midfielder/winger, who is the better player and who do you think will have a better career in the long term?
 
Know nothing about him but Jeremy Monga at Leicester is meant to be brilliant and expected to leave before he signs his first pro contract.
 
I would say Akliouche by a mile.
Same talent, but more consistant in games, and better mindset.
But, according to medias, Cherki is a great financial opportunity if he has an agreement to leave for a 25M€ fee
 
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