Leicester City have been on the crux of a dilemma all season. Previously the youthful, vigorous underdogs of the neutral. They are now a team of weary travellers, seemingly watching their time pass them by. Two successive years of failing to qualify for the Champions League has taken its toll.    It was in the…

A glance at any Monaco game suffices to understand the derivation of midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni’s nickname, “the Octopus”. He is a ubiquitous presence on the field, whose influence has only grown since Philippe Clement’s arrival in the Principality.    That is not to insinuate to any degree that the French international’s growth had stalled under…

After failing to secure a summer move to Manchester City, Harry Kane suffered a dismal start to the 2021/22 season, with his first goal coming on October 17 in a 3-0 win against then relegation battlers Newcastle. Having finished as the top scorer and assister last season with 23 goals and 14 assists in the…

The steepness of Joachim Andersen’s developmental trajectory has always been premised on his ball-playing ability. Although the Dane has other tools at his disposal, his talent for breaking the lines from the defensive third underscores his value tactically and individually.   Andersen, now of Crystal Palace, first caught the attention of scouts from Europe’s top…

You can read Part Two here:   As the climax of the 2021/22 Championship campaign fast approaches, every club has their sights set on their own respective prize. There are at least ten teams still hopeful of earning promotion with a handful of games to go, four clubs to fight out relegation with the rest…

At 20 years of age, Karim Adeyemi has established himself as the next young forward to break onto the scene at Red Bull Salzburg following the explosions of Erling Haaland, Patson Daka and Takumi Minamino.   With 19 goals this season, he could be set for a summer move to Borussia Dortmund to replace Haaland…

At 24 years of age, Christopher Nkunku is delivering the best football of his young career under Domenico Tedesco at RB Leipzig this season, leading the charge during Jesse Marsch’s ill-fated spell before going up an extra level following Tedesco’s appointment in December.   After joining Paris Saint-Germain’s academy at 13 years of age, Nkunku…

Six months ago, you would’ve been forgiven for thinking that England needed to address their situation at left-back. Ben Chilwell was in the form of his life, playing in perfect harmony with his English counterpart Reece James at Chelsea.   Whilst Luke Shaw, despite a slight dip in form, was coming off the back of…

“Managing him was a dream. Every time he played, he was affecting things positively. The flair he had didn’t mean he did things for show. He just had it.”   Those were the words of former Wigan Athletic coach Nick Chadwick, discussing the development of striker Joe Gelhardt with The Athletic.   Including penalties won,…

It’s 2018. A young Luka Jovic has just taken the world by surprise, scoring 5 goals in a single match in the Bundesliga against Fortuna Dusseldorf.   He scored a total of 17 goals and got 5 assists in 32 games that season, something that was enough to fetch him a dream move to the…