Club Brugge are in this season's UEFA Youth League final by beating Benfica in the semi-final, after beating Atalanta, Bayern München, Barcelona, Arsenal, Monaco (twice) and Atlético Madrid earlier in the competition. Big achievement for a club investing loads into its high-performing academy.

We think the upcoming transfer window will be the sell-cheaper-to-buy-back-later summer. Recent examples like Nico Paz and Kerim Alajbegović have proven the concept works, and more and more clubs on both sides of deals will prefer this method rather than the simple straight-up loan.

Michael Olise and Ademola Lookman: from starting out in the Championship to scoring their way into the UEFA Champions League semi-finals.

MICHAEL AKPOVIE OLISE.

What defines the Belgian Pro League? We'd say it's diverse and youthful recruitment. Most top-flight Belgian clubs continually find undervalued young talent from every corner of the world, sign, develop, then sell them on for significant profit. Llew Davies highlights why and how they do it.

Just watched NEC Nijmegen 1-1 Feyenoord back from the weekend, an exciting match between two sides battling each other to get into the UEFA Champions League. Our biggest takeaway? Feyenoord could have done with Kodai Sano in their midfield. He shouldn't be in the Eredivisie next season.

Joan García is very good, and it was very obvious that he was very good while he was at Espanyol. A proper slam dunk signing for Barcelona.

18-year-old Shim Mheuka has scored 23 goals in PL2 and the UEFA Youth League for Chelsea this season but only featured in the first-team matchday squad five times, playing 31 minutes across three appearances. Why has Marc Guiu had more opportunities than Mheuka has had?

Even in their temporary scaffold stadium in the middle of a car park on the outskirts of the city, Real Zaragoza still have the iconic four-metre-deep goal nets from La Romareda. Touch of class.

A big tick Vincent Kompany gets at FC Bayern München is the opportunity he offers to academy players. There has been a big effort to provide debuts this season, which will only be of various benefit. Their dominance is a factor, but how many coaches in his position would do the same?

Nico Paz is a blend of old and new, offering creative quality while contributing to pressing and off-ball work. He’s a chocolate glazed doughnut you don’t need to add an extra mile to your morning jog to compensate for, as Ashwin Raman underlined last summer.

19-year-old Andrés Antañón gets his first LaLiga start today. Born in Vigo, an important B team player and Spanish youth international, and another graduate of an excellent RC Celta academy with clear pathways into first-team football under Claudio Giráldez. One to follow for the future.

Habib Diarra is great at making sacrifical runs. Sees the picture quickly and has the speed to hit the gaps, dragging defenders with him and creating time and space for teammates underneath. He rarely receives the ball after them – but they consistently make a difference for Sunderland.

Clips and compilations have their place in scouting, but there is nothing better than sitting down and watching a specific player for a full match. You get a much fuller picture of almost every aspect needed. It sounds obvious but it's easily forgotten in this hyperactive age.

Christos Mouzakitis has made 73 appearances for Olympiacos at just 19 years old. Playing so much so young is a rarity in Greek football. What sets the teenager apart? His high-tech talent and ability to execute difficult and dangerous passes. Find out more in Back to the Balkans: bit.ly/4tUoIU3

This summary of Victor Froholdt in the SCOUTED Database was all on show in his 30 minutes against Nottingham Forest tonight. Fucking hell, he can run.

Johan Manzambi is a premium talent. The 20-year-old Swiss midfielder doesn't just contribute to multiple phases, he sequences them together. His tackles lead to dribbles, then carries, then passes, then shots; he moves the ball up the pitch, often all on his own. More in Volume I: bit.ly/4anAvDm

Hearing rumours that Johan Manzambi is doing Johan Manzambi things.

Shakhtar Donetsk are lining up for their UEFA Conference League quarter-final with a rock-solid core of Ukrainian internationals surrounded by the imported flair of young Brazilians. This is football heritage in its purest form.

We just watched Jagiellonia Białystok versus Lech Poznań back from the weekend. It ended goalless, but it was an interesting match up between two dynamic and well-coached teams going for the title with high-level Polish talent on the pitch. Good showing for the Ekstraklasa.

2008: Sergio Agüero at Atlético Madrid.

Désiré Doué is an amazing athlete.

Back in 2024, we introduced the Balkans as a profitable supermarket for clubs to shop in. Jake Entwistle has returned to reprofile the top-flight leagues in Serbia and Croatia – while also adding Greece, Bulgaria and Bosnia and Herzegovina to the mix – using SkillCorner data to find the future.

Tawfik Bentayeb has scored 16 goals in 23 games for table-topping ESTAC Troyes in Ligue 2 this season, adding to the 10 goals in 29 games he scored for bottom-half Rodez in Ligue 2 last season. One of the most prolific strikers in Europe. He deserves more recognition.

Another important contract renewal for SL Benfica, tying 18-year-old Daniel Banjaqui down to a long-term deal. One of their best emerging academy graduates and football's most exciting right-back talents. Next step is more significant first-team minutes to vindicate his trust. One to watch.

This Serbia team is mighty impressive. Almost all are – or have been – regulars in top-flight football already, and they topped their #U19EURO qualification group ahead of England and Portugal. They will be one of the favourites at the tournament this summer.

Rayan has hit the ground running at Bournemouth, helping fill the huge hole left by Antoine Semenyo. This is why his signing was a(nother) great example of player profiling – and there is plenty more to come.

Johan Manzambi is a premium talent. The 20-year-old Swiss midfielder doesn't just contribute to multiple phases, he sequences them together. His tackles lead to dribbles, then carries, then passes, then shots; he moves the ball up the pitch, often all on his own. More in Volume I: bit.ly/4anAvDm

After Thiago Pitarch, one of the next La Fábrica graduates to break into the Real Madrid first team will be 19-year-old Diego Aguado. He is a left-sided defender that ticks a lot of boxes, and is always a standout at age group level for club and country. High-level prospect.

19-year-old Ieuan Owen at Barry Town is definitely one for National League and League Two clubs to have a look at coming out of the Cymru Premier.

Footballers need opportunity. In February, Hudl Wyscout launched two youth football tournaments as part of their quest to provide emerging prospects exactly that. We have poured over the platform to select a line-up of the most fascinating players from the inaugural Hudl Wyscout International Cup.

Seeing reports that Bayern München are only prioritising 'super elite' players in the transfer market and will fill the rest of their squad with home-grown academy graduates. That should be the squad-building blueprint for every elite club with high-performing academies.

Kees Smit has received his first call-up to the senior Netherlands squad. The first of many.

Johan Manzambi is a proper midfielder.

Konstantinos Karetsas takes the piss out of defenders at times. Sucks them in with his provocative stop-start style then jinks past with a quick change of direction and sharp shift of tempo, all with the outstanding technical quality to take the ball with him. Fun to watch.

Stade Reims signed Patrick Zabi for €100k from Ivoire FC in January 2025 and sold him to Paris FC for €25 million in February 2026, the second-biggest sale in club history. That is a 24,900% profit after just over twelve months and 26 first-team appearances. The future of football is Africa.

We've been quiet recently so Tom Curren has written a brief editiorial update to catch you all up on everything that has been happening behind the scenes at SCOUTED lately, from Volume II and fancy conferences to an exciting new scouting project. Find out more: bit.ly/4lMb1Ug

20-year-old Jens Hjertø-Dahl kicked off the new Eliteserien season with an unlikely hat-trick against Fredrikstad, his first in senior football. He's nearing 100 appearances for hometown club Tromsø IL already, and his development has flown under the radar. Keeps tabs on him in 2026 and beyond.

Nothing against Mamadou Sarr, we like him, but what has he done to deserve more opportunities than Josh Acheampong? The obvious explanation is that he cost €14 million. Clubs should trust their own first and foremost.

Why we get players wrong, and how to get them right. Back in late 2023, the incomparable Billy Carpenter took us on an odyssey through Descartes, Don Carlo and De Visser in search of clearer thinking and better scouting. If players improve, so can we. This is Mind Games: bit.ly/47215zK

Dimitar Berbatov at Bayer 04 Leverkusen.

Francesco Farioli's Porto is proving to be the ideal platform for Oskar Pietuszewski, the 17-year-old winger they bought for €8 million from Poland this winter. The big Portuguese clubs are perfect for wingers of his skillset: quick dribblers that angle into the box to shoot. Just the start.

In November last year, FC Porto invited us to a match to show support for what we do at SCOUTED. This was an extremely proud moment for the team and a clear sign that our unique discovery and analysis of young players is highly valued in the professional industry. Jump on board at scoutedftbl.com.

In November last year, FC Porto invited us to a match to show support for what we do at SCOUTED. This was an extremely proud moment for the team and a clear sign that our unique discovery and analysis of young players is highly valued in the professional industry. Jump on board at scoutedftbl.com.

19-year-old Omar Janneh has hit the ground sprinting since moving to Lausanne in January. Seven goals (plus three assists) in 11 games across all competitions for the Spanish centre-forward coming straight out of the B team at Atlético Madrid. The €2 million fee is proving a big snip already.

That goal is exactly why Newcastle United spent upwards of £10 million on Will Osula after he scored zero goals in 784 Premier League minutes for Sheffield United. Look at the legs, the speed, the run, the finish: they invested in his dynamic profile and flashes of potential. Profile and potential.

21-year-old Ota Yamamoto has started the new J2 LEAGUE season in excellent form on loan at RB Omiya Ardijia, scoring three in three. He is a huge outlier on SkillCorner data and, back in January, Jake Entwistle earmarked him for a move to the Championship. He should be on shortlists this summer.