At just 22 years of age, Ibrahima Diallo has had a long and intricate journey to the English top flight. Diallo is another product of the famous AS Monaco youth academy which has produced some of the world’s most well-known players in the likes of Kylian Mbappé and Yannick Carrasco.   Despite being a fairly-rated…

Since Stade de Reims were promoted back to Ligue 1 in 2018, they’ve not been a particularly strong attacking outfit. In both 2019/20 and 2020/21, Boulaye Dia topped their league goal-scoring charts, with second place for Reims each season not scratching past four goals.   So, when Dia, and the manager who originally got them…

Nigeria are chasing their first AFCON since 2013 and one player who could be a hidden weapon for them is Frank Onyeka. Popularly known as “Frank the Tank”, the 24-year-old plays for the Premier League side Brentford F.C, who just recently gained promotion to the highest level of English club football for the first time…

Udinese has not produced much excitement in recent years as a team but the club from the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region in north-eastern Italy is still discovering its share of hidden footballing gems.   The Zebrette sold Argentines Juan Musso and Rodrigo De Paul to Serie A rivals Atalanta and Spanish giants Atletico Madrid respectively, continuing…

Mathias Normann had only played eight Premier League games for Norwich City before picking up a pelvic injury in his ninth game in the first half against Wolverhampton Wanderers.   In that short spell, he registered an assist on debut, scored one of the two goals in Norwich’s first victory of the season, whilst also…

Prince Buregeya was born on 17 October 1999 in the East African country of Rwanda. Buregeya has been part of Armée Patriotique Rwandaise (APR) FC’s first-team squad since June 2017. He made his first-team debut on 21 October 2017 in a 2-1 victory over AS Kigali.   He remained a regular first-team player before picking…

Due to the sheer spectrum of structures and philosophies displayed by such high-quality teams, the Premier League is without a doubt the most unforgiving league in world football for up-and-coming talent as things stand.   One week, you’re spending ninety minutes attempting to break through a brick wall Burnley back-four, the next you’re being pressed…

Aaron Hickey’s wonder strike against Sassuolo made the masses stand up and notice the Scotsman, his performances for Bologna impressive after swapping Edinburgh for Northern Italy.   Starting off in Celtic’s youth system before being discarded for Hearts – Hickey favouring first team opportunities over sticking with the Scottish giants – it looks as if…

When it comes to producing top-class footballers, Germany has always been a gold mine. Each country has natural characteristics associated with its players — Serbians tend to be flexible and hardened, Spaniards are elegant and associative, Brazilians use samba as a lifestyle on the pitch, and Germans are known for their intelligence and teamwork.  …

Eredivisie talents automatically command scrutiny nowadays. For every Frenkie de Jong and Memphis Depay, there’s a Davy Klassen and Justin Kluivert. Unlike those, and mixed successes such as Steven Bergwijn and Donny van de Beek, Jesper Karlsson hasn’t been made in Amsterdam or Eindhoven. This 23-year-old’s 14 goals and assists this season have come at…