In part one of this series, I explicated my thoughts on Mount as a personality, as the new face of Cobham, and as an icon of the new epoch that awaits Chelsea. Mount, according to reports from The Athletic, sets the tone in training both under his former boss Frank Lampard and now under his…

When Pescara won the 2011/12 Serie B title, it had done so playing with great panache under Czech coach Zdeněk Zeman and a crop of young Italian youngsters emerged under his tutelage.    Creative midfielder Marco Verratti as well as forwards Ciro Immobile and Lorenzo Insigne starred for the Delfini in Italy’s second division throughout…

For players in the formative years of their professional career, exposure to success is incredibly important. Therefore, it would be foolish to argue that the biggest clubs shouldn’t utilise their equally established youth setup to develop their talent pool right in front of their eyes. However, there are many strands of developmental success that cannot…

Despite such obvious talent, there was little complaint when Mattéo Guendouzi left Arsenal for Marseille in July 2021. With a reported obligation to buy for £12 million, the former PSG academy player had all but destroyed his reputation with the Arsenal faithful.   Following problems at a pre-season camp in Dubai and the infamous altercation…

From well before the commencement of the 2020/21 Premier League campaign, Chelsea Football Club had made their intentions clear in an attempt to aggressively rebuild and earn their place as contenders for the title. After a successful 2019/20 campaign riddled with adversity, Frank Lampard remained at the helm of the team to begin their push…

Guarulhos, a city in Brazil’s most populous state of Sao Paulo, has in recent times churned out talent in the footballing world from former Olympique Lyonnais captain Cris, to Arsenal’s current starlet Gabriel Martinelli. However, arguably one of the rawest and ripe talents could just be Claudinho, whose flair and eccentricity derives from the streets…

Felipe Anderson undoubtedly played his best football in a European league when he played for Italian club Lazio in the mid-2010s. The Brazilian midfielder spent five seasons with the Serie A team before English club West Ham United purchased him for £36 million in the summer of 2018. After three seasons away from the Italian…

“I don’t think he’s been consistent enough. He doesn’t stay with runners. He’s sloppy in possession… I can go on.” Those were the cutting words of Roy Keane in November 2019. His criticism was aimed at Declan Rice. But less than two years on, the Irishman has dramatically changed his tune: “He’s 22 and I…

When Vinícius Júnior was introduced to the Real Madrid faithful at the Bernabeu in 2018, he brought with him an unspoken change to Real’s typical “Galáctico” approach to success. At 18, he was not the typical Real transfer target, he didn’t come after sustained success abroad such as Cristiano Ronaldo or Zinedine Zidane who defined…

Argentine football has always exported great figures to the most important leagues in Europe, after having shown sufficient qualities to shine among the world elite. The last jewel to emigrate, after having made a huge difference, was Lautaro Martinez, to Inter Milan, in 2018.   In the same position, but with different characteristics, the great…