Our Youngsters

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Quietly putting my eggs in the Lookman, Davies, DCL basket.

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If lookman or ouyekuru are able to step up and play for us next year in the prem it could potentially save us millions, and sort out that left wing/left forward position, I would be over the fucking moon.

Dowell I think will just get slated at everton. Very happy to see him back in the fold but yeah, we’ve got the 28 year old version shunted out left wing at the min so not sure he’s needed right now.

Kenny, not convinced.

Holgate like him in fits and starts and pleasingly comfortable on the ball. Has a tendency so get his pants pulled down by superior players which is sort of fair enough.

Beni hard to say.

Vlasic hard to say but has impressed me personally. Would like to see him stake a claim.

DCL I don’t think will ever be a prolific goal scorer but more of an all round mobile front man who can link up well. Would like to see us making chances for him but imo if your forward never puts his foot through the ball then he maybe doesn’t have that gunman mentality needed. Think he will be a very good player.

Davies I absolutely love, but another one who never strikes a ball cleanly either laces or side foot. Busy and industrious and forward thinking in his play, and ONLY 19 standing out at cm is unreal. Future top player but mostly through his mentality.

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Harry Kane is a huge rarity going from where he was to where he did in such a quick time as in about 10 career goals at Dcls age now to 30+ the following season. The challenge for dcl is he doesn’t look a major threat with goals. He’s played quite a lot of games but I couldn’t say what kind of finisher he is, if he has a hard shot, decent shot with his left foot etc because he seems to barely have efforts on goal when he plays.

He has a lot of good attributes and must take instructions well for managers to use him as much as they have and trust him in unnatural positions to a job off the ball. So if he gets stronger and develops with the experience he will get he could become a useful forward even without goals like teams have from people like Okazaki. If he doesn’t develop and become a good focal point and and doesn’t add goals in he won’t make it at this level. But it’s just whether goal instincts can be developed, movement around the box or how good a finisher he is but that will come down to the level of coaching as well.

I’m in this sort of area with him.

I think compared to most youth strikers he looks to have a rounder game, and in terms of athleticism, touch and technical ability he looks potentially very good - the worry is he doesn’t look hungry for goals.

Not sure what Kane was like as a teenager, but I remember watching that u23 tournament and I wanted to pull my hair out because every time he had a sniff he would blast the ball as hard as he could. Wasn’t very wise but you could plainly see he could strike a ball very cleanly from a range of angles and positions, make an inch and put it in the vicinity of the bottom corner (much like Jermaine Defoe did for his whole career).

Don’t think I’ve ever seen dcl strike through a ball.

Strikes me as a training ground finisher. Take it round those two cones and bury it, you got it boss tip tap tip net. But when it comes to pure hunger for goals, lashing the cb and just twatting it - more likely to see niasse do that.

One massive, massive caveat - we’re one of the worst sides in the league for making chances, can’t eat if nobody’s cookin’.

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Person next to me hates Davies.

Started hearing more and more of it by me as well. Not every pass has to go forward, even at 2-0 there’s people expecting through balls at every touch.

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Honestly got no idea what yous are talking about

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Think I’d rather lookman work on the tactical side of his game in a league like Germany rather than working on graham Taylor ball under big Sam tbh

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I agree on one hand, but can’t help feeling he’ll want out after this; imagine going from working under Koeman and Allardyce and then getting to experience the top end of the Bundesliga.

I think his head will be turned.

Probably, if that’s the case that’s the case, doubt it would have been much different if he was here sitting on his arse.

Hopefully we can frame it that he’s been away, worked on his game and now he’s in contention for a spot in next seasons starting 11..