Yeah, been hearing some good things about the City youngsters so kind of surprised not to see more there but like I say, I’m not that familiar with this age group.
McNeill rarely makes these squads. Heard loads of good things though. Would of thought City would have created space to get him in their u18 group.
Just realised, no Finley Burns, which is a slight surprise. Obviously been rotation cause there's so many players. Do love this group. Welch + Onyango are massive lads from Everton. Will find U18 football so easy this year.
Hopefully that’s massive lads with good technical ability rather than just being big lads that use their physical size to gain an advantage.
Van Dijk is a massive lad who uses his physical size to gain an advantage. It's not always a bad thing in an athletic endeavour. Limiting yourself to either side of the spectrum is where problems emerge. There's no-one at any of the top academies just on size or speed anymore.
There are 10 CBs starting for u18s on Saturdays from this group. Find it impressive with some still schoolboys & first years considering the position. Levi Colwill & Bashir Humphreys (Chelsea) Levi Laing & Zane Monlouis (Arsenal) Finley Burns & Luke Mbete-Tabu (City) Jamal Baptiste (West Ham) Reece Welch (Everton) Jarrell Quansah (Liverpool) Could even say Jake Garrett at Blackburn who is even captaining their 18s. Left-back or CB.
Burns went off after an hour of City's win against Newcastle when it was only 2-1 so he might have an injury.
Jude Bellingham (16) has scored his first senior goal for Birmingham today in front of his own fans. His goal has put Birmingham 2-1 up against Stoke City. The young attacker is already special, but keep an eye out for him. #bcfc #kro— Brentford FC Tactical (@BeesTactical) August 31, 2019
https://streamja.com/1VQr I'm sure he'll score better goals in his career, but they all count. He was also subbed on in the 30th minute which is a nice show of faith in him.
here he is in the crystal palace, scored a goal for the Barcelona, and where did Kevin Gonzalez disappear?
Box to box centre mid. Quite tall, already fairly filled out so is broader than a lot of 16yo midfielders, and likes to get to work physically. Has a great engine, strikes the ball really well, does everything well without having something you'd identify as an obvious standout trait.