The Bedroom Soccer Scout

    Date of birth: 3rd September 2004 Country: South Korea/England Position: Central Defender Height: 195cm Preferred foot: Right Club: Flint Town United   The Welsh league hasn't been blessed in recent years with young talent, but that has changed with the emergence of Isaac Lee. A proper modern day ball playing central defender, turning heads with both his passing and dribbling ability. It is a little surprising to see him playing in central defence as he is constantly looking for the ball and once he does get it he is both calm and willing to run forward with around 1.1 dribbles per game at a 77% success rate. This is a risky strategy as it can be fantastic when it pays off, with his passes and runs often opening up the opposition's defence, but it can be costly. This is something that needs to be worked on should a move be on the cards, but I can see a player here.  His passing is certainly a strength of his, and in the modern era, his style of play is a perfect ...

  Date of birth: 31 December 2001 Country: Netherlands Position: Central Defender Height: 195cm Preferred foot: Right Club: FC Volendam   Normally, a former wonder kid that has been at big clubs during their youth and now end up playing in lower leagues are a "what could have been" story. But with Xavier Mbuyamba the story is "What is his ceiling". A move to Volendam in 2022 raised some eyebrows as he had been a standout in the Chelsea U23 squad, with many tipping him to be the next player to move up into the first team squad. But this move certainly turned out to be great for his development, really showcasing his ability on the defensive end.  Only 1 year in with the club, he was named club captain.  So what kind of player is he? To put it simply: he is a defensive monster. In the era of defenders dropping deeper and putting their hands behind their back, Xavier is the complete opposite. Often stepping forward, he is very good at using his strength to win the ball...

  By Brendan Hunter   With the summer transfer window fast approaching, it is only natural to look at potential recruits that are both interesting and realistic. Here are 4 transfer targets Celtic should be looking at this summer if they realistically want to make a run in Europe this forthcoming season.   Target 1: Michael Olunga Position: Striker/Centre Forward The big Kenyan might be a familiar name to those who watch the J league, with him playing for Kashiwa Reysol. He even scored 8 goals in one J league match in 2020.  28 goals in 32 games led to him making a lucrative move to Qatar with Al Duhail. The goals kept coming, and in just 4 and a half seasons he racked up an impressive 130 goals in all competitions. The 31-year-old was recently released and is available for a free. While Celtic will almost certainly struggle to match the salary offered in Qatar, taking a punt on the 6ft 4 striker is a no-brainer. Blessed with height, strength and pace, Olunga is a pl...

  Date of birth: 23rd March 2001 Country: Japan Position: Centre Forward Height: 173cm Preferred foot: Right Club: Shonan Bellmare Shonan have been the surprise package so far in the 2025 J league season, winning all 3 games and sitting top of the league. The football has been direct and one of the main reasons their attacking style of play has worked is due to the phenomenal play of Sho Fukuda. A complete forward build, Fukuda posseses all the traits that tick the boxes of the modern managers of Europe. Quickness, finishing, pressing and the ability to come short to pick the ball up are all on show each time he is on the park. However his biggest strength for me at least is his off the ball movement. Often finding himself wide open in the box is not a coincidence, it is a result of his constant movement, making him a complete nightmare for opposing defenders who are not sure whether to man mark him or guard their box. This makes him both a danger for goals but also assists, due to...

Josko Gvardiol cost Manchester City around £70 million. And at the time it was seen by many as a bargain. A 21 year old full Croatia international defender who can play with the ball at his feet, strong upper body strength, quick and keen to get forward seemed to tick all the boxes for a player in a Guardiola system. However the 70 million pound defender has a problem the data loving scouts cannot see. Josko Gvardiol actually can’t defend.  At the time of writing this Man City are in the biggest slump of Pep’s managerial career. 6th in the league and losing 2-1 to Aston Villa to make it 9 defeats in 12 is a huge difference to the norm. And yes injuries have played a huge part with Rodri out for the season not helping their causes. But City have the players to do well regardless. Not with Gvardiol in defence In todays match with Aston Villa he made a mistake early on. Instead of sending the ball forward he sent it back to his keeper. The pass was incredibly weak and Aston Villa were...

  Date of birth: 25 August 2006 Country: Scotland Position: Central Midfield Height: 182cm Preferred foot: Club: Motherwell Motherwell have been a fantastic club for young talent over the years, with James McFadden, Stephen Pearson, Allan Campbell and David Turnbull being just a few standouts. David Turnbull became the clubs record sale when he joined Celtic for around 3 million Euros. But young Lennon Miller looks set to net Motherwell an even bigger sum and by the way the youngster has stood out, that could be sooner rather than later. A modern central midfielder, Lennon posesses the traits needed in the modern game, from box to box skills to technical ability. Often found at the edge of the box when his team are on the attack, he is ready to hit a shot rather than work it around, averaging 2.1 shots per game. Although only managing 0.2 on target, he did hit the woodwork twice against the much more dominant Celtic.  His defensive work is pretty solid, putting up around 1 int...

  Date of birth: 16 August 2007 Country: Bolivia Position: RW Height: 169 cm Preferred foot: Right Club: Always Ready When we think of South American football talent our minds tend to instantly drift toward Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Uruguay and in recent years both Chile and Ecuador. Yet we almost always miss out on the Bolivian side. But with Moises Paniagua making a name for himself, that could all be a thing of the past. Listed as a right winger, Paniagua is currently active in the Always Ready under 19's setup, although he has made 19 appearances in the first league as well as 4 Conmebol Sudamericana competition which shows you just how highly valued he is by the club. Aged 15 on his debut with the first team he even managed to score. Also with his goal against Sporting Cristal of Peru, he became the second youngest player to score at the Copa Libertadores. Watching him play it is clear he is actually more suited in a traditional CAM role rather than a winger. His biggest sk...

  Date of birth: 29 March 2007 Country: Finland Position: Central Midfield Height: 173cm Preferred foot: Both Club: KuPS Scandinavia has always been a scouts goldmine with talented players constantly being developed by big and small clubs alike. In recent years we have seen many of such talents making the move to some of the biggest leagues in Europe or stepping stone leagues. Lucas Bergvall, Hugo Larsson and Sebastian Nanasi being some of those talents making the move overseas. 17 year old Matias Siltanen is no doubt going to follow in their footsteps sooner rather than later. Sometimes players just make the game look easy and make you sit back and enjoy the style of play. This is the case here with the young Finn. A central midfielder who could also play in the CDM role due to his physical style of play, Siltanen certainly does not look like a rookie and is vastly improving game by game. Starting 24 of the 27 games he has played this season, he looks more liek a veteran than a te...

  Scotland's national football team has been on a depressing struggle in recent times. Despite qualifying for 2 consecutive Euro's, the feeling around Steve Clarke has been diminishing in recent months. No competive win in 400 days, one win in 15 games (against Gibraltar) and the general negative style of play has led to many fans to question if Clarke should lead the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers.  But who should be the man to replace him, should the SFA pull the plug on the Clarke-ball tenure. A few names seem to regularly come up, with Kilmarnock's Derek McInnes and David Moyles being the names thrown up by fans, pundits and bookies alike. And whilst there are certainly arguments for and against these potenial new national team managers, there is one man who has yet to appear in the conversation to take over. That man is Japanese coach Toru Oniki. A foreign coach for Scotland? Well that hasn't happened since Berti Vogts, 22 years ago. This of course was a disaster appoin...