Since joining Inter Milan for a club-record €80 million on August 8, 2019, Romelu Lukaku has cemented his place as one of the best center forwards in Europe, shattering expectations with 34 goals in all competitions in the 2019/20 season and equalling Ronaldo’s record for most goals in his debut season at Inter.   The…

Chelsea have established a reputation for boasting one of the finest academies in Europe, with a collection of triumphant youth teams and a constantly expanding crop of young talent. But due to the demand for immediate success and the competition for first-team spots, many prospects have had to depart Cobham to get a chance at…

It is July 4th, 2020. Leicester City are competing in a home game against Crystal Palace in one of the final matches of the 2019-20 Premier League season. League games in England do not usually take place in the height of summer, but this campaign is an anomaly.    For this is no ordinary season.…

It’s been 3,433 days since Kyle Lafferty’s early brace led Rangers to a 5-1 victory over Kilmarnock, sealing the Glasgow club’s 45th league title and third consecutive league. In the nine seasons that have passed since that glorious conquest on the final day of the 2010/11 Scottish Premier League season, time, always based in immoral…

Nine months ago, it would have been easy to look at Dominic Calvert-Lewin as just your typical old-fashioned English centre forward. Standing 6ft 2in tall, with what could only be described as quite a modest goalscoring record, you’d have been forgiven for putting him in the same bracket as Duncan Ferguson, the man who he…

Since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement, Manchester United have struggled to find a center forward with the ability and consistency to lead the line for an extended period of time. Robin Van Persie and Wayne Rooney played leading roles in United’s 2012/13 Premier League title conquest, but both players found themselves on the physical decline after…

Three games into the new Premier League season, and it looks as if Manchester City are still trying to shake off the same problems that haunted them all through the last. Persisting injuries to key players. Baffling wastefulness in front of goal. Infuriating defensive mistakes. Ever since Pep Guardiola’s men won their 14th Premier League…

When it comes to centre backs, Turkey are spoiled for choice at the moment. In Çağlar Söyüncü, Kaan Ayhan, Merih Demiral and Ozan Kabak, national team coach Şenol Güneş has a wealth of defensive ability to call upon, and that production line doesn’t look likely to stop any time soon.   Ravil Tagir is a…

Italy has been a production line of defenders for decades, and with a new generation emerging, it is not surprising that there are some promising talents who can feature in the Azzurri defence in the future.   Left back is one of those positions which the Italians have been blessed with talent. Starting from Renzo…

After purchasing the Ligue 2 club for €1.3 million in 2011, Angers club president Saïd Chabane knew that to climb up the ranks of French football and become a sustainable, profitable club, a strong academy was needed. One that could generate quality assets for the first team that could also become another revenue stream. The…