The smarterscout ultimate second-tier XI
Some of them come up through local academies, some of them arrive on loan from big clubs – these are the top starlets in Europe's leading second-tier competitions, working their way through long seasons to gain experience before they star in the top flights. We've put together a starting XI of some of the most promising youngsters, especially those who might not yet be household names. Feast your eyes....
GK Alvaro Fernandez. Monaco picked up the Spain U21 international three years ago and eventually sold him to Huesca for €300k. He's only 1.86m but has been a very good shotstopper in La Liga 2. But what's more impressive is his composure on the ball, with link-up passing and ball retention that are a tika-taka team's dream.
RB Jayden Bogle. He moved from Swindon to Derby four years ago and has been a Ram ever since. He can pretty much do it all, though he's not particularly active as a crosser or in the air. At 19 he's got great skill in all sorts of duels and would have high attacking output for the Premier League. Did we mention he played 3,800+ minutes in the Championship last season, too?
RCB Tosin Adarabioyo. A towering defender on loan at Blackburn from Manchester City – where he started as a local boy – he has a strong all-around game and is almost unbeatable in the air. The main area for improvement is his tackling. Could he and Eric Garcia become the CB pairing that succeed John Stones and Aymeric Laporte?
LCB Nicolo Casale. The 1.91m Italian has very good ball retention even at a Champions League standard, and he's outstanding in the air as well. He's on loan at Venezia from Hellas Verona. Venezia have an option to buy, but Hellas Verona have an option to buy back. He'll have a degree in finance before he's 25, but he already has the playing style of a young Alessio Romagnoli in our "Search by similar player" results:
LB Christopher Rocchia. Sochaux borrowed the big dribbler from Marseille, and he's played in every Ligue 2 match. He's not big, but he's an extraordinary tackler enjoying a nice breakout season.
DM Niklas Dorsch. Heidenheim will probably receive their record transfer fee when Dorsch moves on. He moved from Bayern Munich's youth ranks on a free in the summer of 2018, and he's been a fixture in the 2. Bundesliga ever since. He's an aggressive defender who get his side playing as a passer or take the ball forward himself, which he tends to do most when he nears the flanks:
CM Giulio Maggiore. Coming up at Spezia hasn't stopped Maggiore from pushing his way into the Italy U21 setup. He's an excellent attacker who's good both ways in ground duels and gets into the box a ton. He's not shooting as much this season, but his passing has been picking up the slack.
AM Amine Bassi. He's been putting up big numbers as a passer for several seasons now, playing for a Nancy Lorraine side that's been stuck in the bottom half of the table. As his all-around game develops and he learns to involve his teammates earlier in plays, he's becoming a force to be reckoned with. Just imagine if he moved to a club with some other attacking assets!
RW Bakery Jatta. Hamburg's Gambian starlet can play on either side, but he's been more prolific and effective on the right. He may not have a ton of goals or assists to show for his season, but he's been involved in two thirds of his club's total expected goals while on the pitch. He makes things happen wherever he plays, but he sure looks better at RW in these stats at a Bundesliga standard:
LW Karlan Grant. The Huddersfield man often lines up as a CF, but he's also dangerous coming in from the left. He came up at Charlton and moved a year ago for £1.5m after a couple of loans in League Two. He's dangerous in the air and an outstanding finisher, too.
CF Luis Suarez. No, not that Luis Suarez. This one is Colombian, and he's one of the most remarkable marksmen in La Liga 2. He's a big lad who's strong on the ball and has 17 goals so far this season after moving from Tarragona to Zaragoza. He's actually on his fourth club in Spain since the Pozzo scouting machine picked him out at Leones four years ago. That's right, he started in the Granada system and now Watford own him. Could he be linking up with Joao Pedro in the Premier League soon?
