EURO 2021
20 November
A decent couple of games (one as a sub) for Rashford, scoring in both.
Whilst the first was a soft game, as I’ve remarked in previous Scouting, Rashford does tend to be better for England than Man. United for FI purposes.
This is good for holders a) because he can win for England but also b) it shows that if things ever changed at Old Trafford and they became a better performance side, Rashford could improve.
As well as the goal, he had great involvement numbers here making over 60 passes in particular which for a forward is top tier. Even 40 would be good so if his numbers dropped a bit vs tougher opposition, he could still be competitive for England.
Main issue – whilst he shows some occasional good FI games for United, it’s inconsistent and a big stretch to say he’s worth over £4 even factoring in the media appeal.
However, if shopping for a premium pick and you fancy him to improve at United, after coming down from almost £5 to £4.22 I think it looks better than it has for a while given he has shown strength for England consistently.
He looks a solid hold for patient traders.
Easy to forget he is just 21 and can improve.
Excellent from Kane and he made the most of his chances.
Not the best FI player but on his explosive days like vs Montenegro (where he isn’t subbed off on 57 minutes!) he will be up there. Particularly on limited game days like at the Euros.
Last Euro scout report on Oct 16 below, I liked him at £5, suggesting that anyone wanting to carry an obvious big hitter like this into Euro 2020 should buy sooner rather than later.
Just over a month later he is now £6, partly due to England performances with the Euros to come, party due to the increased focus on Spurs with Mourinho joining (that’s not irrational).
The price is high but he is what a premium player should be – a decent return on a solid but perhaps unspectacular investment. He is mainly a known quantity and doesn’t carry the development risks of young players, whilst being at a prime age of 26 with no decline fears.
The same advice as last time still applies – if you do want these big hitters for Euro 2020 like Kane (Eden Hazard is another good example) – don’t hang around because certainly come 2020 the price is likely to be higher.
As per Key Strategy, the best traders will be finalising their Euro 2020 shopping over the next month. They will absolutely not be buying in 2020 for Euro 2020 purposes unless reacting to changes – general Euro 2020 stocking up should be mostly done already or at least well underway.
Who’d have guessed that Sterling would punch a team mate?! Ended up doing better than if he had played most likely.
Against Kosovo he did pretty well and it was a tougher match than Montenegro. Not spectacular in terms of the numbers but overall for England he has enough to be a dividend contender.
And genuine media appeal and strong club form on top obviously.
Not much to add on Sterling to previous scouting – performance scores are not always top level but he is improving a bit.
Goddamn, do you pay for it at £7.14 now. But he’s about as solid a hold as it comes. Premiums are not generally my personal taste but he is one of the better ones.
Got just under 60 minutes vs Kosovo, the harder game, and was ok but not great. Both in reality and on FI.
Involvement just about good enough for a forward, although poor passing accuracy let him down. Good number of dribbles but no crossing etc or chances created. Made himself a couple of decent chances.
Not long left to breakthrough now before the tournament and it’s fairly safe to say he’ll be a substitute barring injury to others.
He’s only 18! So if you are assessing this in real world terms, all he has acheived is fantastic progress.
If you are assessing him as an FI player though you have to tie yourself in knots to work out how he is worth £4, let alone the £5 he has come down from.
He got an optimism spike in anticipation of a return from injury which pushed him to £5 – he actually probably did better than if he was fit because safe off the pitch people can keep pumping. When the real scores come though the pumpers get found out and this is why he has slid to just over £4 today.
He’s a good prospect with some decent-ish FI stats which are inconsistent. Capable of an occasional big score for sure but likely still needs years to develop.
Nothing wrong with the player, he’s doing great in reality as I say, but for FI it’s one where the price gets way out ahead of the ability and from there it usually has only one way to go unless they hit a stroke of luck.
Did well to score but he is just as dire for England as he is for Chelsea for FI purposes.
He needs a total freak performance and/or a very soft day to compete for a win for club or country.
The England appearance and goal has stopped the rot but as I’ve been saying for months – consistent poor scores for expensive players only send the price one way in the end.
Unless he hits a freak big score the price slide will likely continue.
Maddison holders will be disappointed he only made it on as a sub because it makes it tough to argue he’s going to be a starter for the Euros.
He was ok but didn’t make an impact. Baseline numbers were acceptable but lack of threat or chances created is a downer. It’s hard to judge just on 37 minutes or so though.
Overall, England optimism will have taken a hit here and there aren’t many more chances to rekindle it before the tournament.
This is a problem for a highly priced player as England potential is one building block of that £5.08 price, now down to £4.98.
Domestic form is much better although in midfield, the inability to break out of the 220-230 scoring range is a concern when in a great patch of form.
Overall he’s got the potential transfer in his favour so you’d expect optimism to stay high.
He has high performance potential at a performance suitable club too.
But for me, it’s one where the over optimism gets out ahead of the ability and prospects and it’s not something I tend to hold onto at these prices.
Far worse holds are out there though he’s at least one of the highly priced players with good potential.
Played just vs Montenegro. A very good game in reality from Sancho and I’d be surprised if he hasn’t made the spot his now.
The FI picture is more mixed.
This is as soft a game as you’ll ever see so we need to be seeing some big numbers to give confidence.
It was ok. Reasonable involvement levels, a touch disappointing given the opposition. Strong crossing, 2 chances made and 1 assist.
Good performance for a young England player breaking through in reality. Was this performance good enough for a midfielder on FI competing vs the big hitters? Not even close.
Big price tags bring big pressure to deliver and whilst he can command a fairly big price based on transfer/England media potential and some decent performance potential, he’s not doing enough to warrant his pre-season high of £7, falling to £6.43 now.
This is why I was down on him in pre-season Scouting – not only have holders got a price drop, that’s 3-4 months of dead weight which kills returns.
It’s actually been a good season for him so far and I expect him to improve and I am long term optimistic.
But the price is way out ahead of reality and it’s almost impossible for him to meet these expectations.
A decent start vs Montenegro and a goal off the bench. Should probably have scored vs Montenegro too with his single chance.
This improves his chances of at least seeing some minutes come tournament time.
In FI terms, it’s a bit disappointing as in a soft game like Montenegro you really need to see him getting far more of the ball if he wants to compete for a dividend. Even a goal wouldn’t have helped him much.
Overall though in real life it’s a positive picture for a young player starting out for England.
On FI though it’s more difficult because the price is so high at £3+ that you have to be harsher on him.
If you flick back to pre-season Scouting I liked him at £1.80 to £2.20 in June and August but quickly cooled off at peak September hype as he flew over £3.50 and to £4 and that felt like a great time to sell.
That price was just too much. He’s back down at £3.11 now which is a bit better but ultimately I think the price gives a young player too much to do.
I think he’s developing well though and long term prospects are decent. I’d wait for a continued price drop before buying again, though.
Excellent displays from Winks and he’s done his chances of starting no harm.
Fairly typical good baseline displays from him, although this time he managed a rare goal.
If he had more regular threat like this he’d be a real FI contender. In reality he doesn’t though and unless goal threat or assist potential became a regular thing it would be unlikely to count for too much.
Like this, a single odd goal probably doesn’t help as he’ll need some key passes or a number of shots to add polish to a score.
Overall, he’s a player worth keeping an eye on for signs of change and I always do. It would take a tactical shift which may never come – he plays a good role in the side as he is.
But it’s not one that will translate well to FI in it’s current form.
> The Ox is enjoying a revival of late following return from injury and some excellent displays.
He’s still having his minutes managed which puts some weak scores on his recent record and takes the edge of some of his better scores too.
The question mark is whether he has the baselines to compete in midfield with the real big hitters. I can foresee him as a fairly frequent 2nd or 3rd placed finisher behind someone like Kroos or Parejo with a stronger baseline.
However, I think if he plays he will put up consistent challenges and grab at least a win or two and I quite like him at the £2 mark.
Particularly if involved in some of the limited game days like CL knockouts or Euro 2020.
I’ve upgraded him to a 
on the assumption that he’ll start getting more minutes soon which is better than most but just behind the big hitters.
At £2.07 I think the price is reasonable. He has injury problems and gametime risk – but you don’t find good England and Liverpool mids/fwds for £2 and under unless they come with some complications.
A contender to partner Maguire, but by no means assured of that.
Solid enough vs Montenegro with high baseline play but no chance of goals or assists to pump that up.
Better for City recently where he could have scored vs Southampton and put up a decent FI total.
Has problems as to whether he is good enough for City and England.
And a general lack of usual threat or assist potential – ball playing defenders suffer under this scoring system without that.
The only real positive is the price which at 89p now is ok provided you think he will establish himself at City and solidify an England spot. But that’s a bit of a dice roll.
Two decent FI performances for Maguire, and perhaps unlucky not to score and contend for a win.
Strong underlying stats will give him consistently decent baselines. But he’ll likely need to score (usually headers) to make it count. He was very close vs Montenegro and even managed a shot vs Kosovo and created a chance.
So I can see him nicking a win or two for England come tournament time.
For a defender, he will have a bit of media appeal too.
The problems:
Manchester United. It’s extremely difficult to win at this club and it’s unlikely to change anytime soon.
The price. I was highly sceptical of that £2.70 price tag in pre-season, knowing he wouldn’t deliver at United.
It’s crashed to £1.80 now as people see that for themselves.
It’s hard to get too excited because whilst I think he’s decent for England his club prospects let him down.
It does look a lot better at £1.80 than it did though and I think he’s a reasonable choice now, mainly because he is one of the few defenders who can pick up some media.
I’d be inclined to see if he drops further towards £1.50 or £1.60 if I fancied him though.
Chilwell has risen sharply recently following 2 big 300+ scores, and on the coat tails of Trent Alexander-Arnold as people seek an alternative for value.
For England this time, he played both which is positive for holders. He managed a huge 3 assists vs Montenegro but vs reasonable opposition he won’t be getting close to this very often.
Kosovo was a decent baseline game but he didn’t create any chances, but did get one half chance.
He’s a solid player, with some good trend characteristics which can push him towards some media, including a big transfer and an England spot.
Performance wise he’s good, and could get better at a bigger club where he can get more possession and get more crosses in.
However, I’d remain cautious for a few reasons.
Media potential for defenders, particularly where England is involved, is often over estimated. Media potential mainly only applies to goal scorers who get almost all of the media outside of very specific stories.
Whilst he is capable of some good scores, his 300+ heroics are likely to be rare events, despite two coming recently. Both were versus extremely soft opposition.
And finally, the price. At almost £3 now, he is not twice as good as many excellent defenders available in the £1.30 and under range, certainly not for performance.
He may rise further if he drops on another big score soon or people irrationally compare the price to TAA.
But charging into players late at this sort of price when they are beyond a rational value almost always ends in a loss or stagnation. And the rare times it pays off are not worth it overall.
Good for him to start both and that will help soothe any worries he may not start for England.
However, his defensive frailty is again being talked about, particularly vs Kosovo. And there is a lot of good quality competition for this spot.
On the actual performances, he did well vs Montenegro as you would expect in a soft game. His numbers were good though more in line with the career average than the explosive stats we have seen in the last 4-6 weeks.
Kosovo he was particularly criticised for by fans and pundits. And in FI terms it was particularly poor, with weak baseline stats overall, no threat and nothing created.
The problem with players at this price is that so much has to go right for them to keep it let alone rise further.
I was not holding TAA for the £4 > £6.80 rise but I don’t regret it – staying out of overpriced players makes you far more on average than not and the spike in stats that caused his rise wasn’t possible to see coming unless you had the ear of Klopp or a crystal ball.
The risk that his stats return to his career average and he goes on an average run of games is there, as is losing any of the factors that drive the price like the assumption of an England place which he has not cemented with these performances.
October 16
Oct 16
A big score and a win for Kane. 3 assists is always going to be a bit of a freak for any player.
Kane is not a brilliant performance player, but he will have media appeal going into the tournament and should be at the centre of things.
Any player, even average performance players, can win in one off games, particularly when a limited number of games are played each day like a tournament.
He’s not a brilliant performance player but he is a brilliant goalscorer and it’s hard to see him going into the tournament with anything other than strong optimism.
Personally, I do not shop in this premium area very often.
However, a bit like what I said about Eden Hazard below, if traders do want to be taking big hitters into the tournament, there is probably not going to be a better opportunity to buy them than now unless there is a serious injury or similar.
The last thing you want to be doing is buying this sort of player in 2020 thinking you are picking up value for the tournament, you will not be.
At under £5 for Kane it’s still reasonable.
Oct 16
Solid from Sterling.
Expensive but he is at least consistently performing for club and country to a point where you can claim that the price isn’t completely insane, perhaps with a little help from a possible dividend increase.
Great chances and whilst he made an average number of passes his accuracy was superb.
A good FI display versus Bulgaria admittedly in favourable conditions.
Oct 16
Quite the wild ride for Barkley holders and I personally have kept faith throughout this rough patch.
Reason being, he has real quality and it came through finally with the Star Player win.
Playing the full 90, he is England’s most likely performance winner and probably Chelsea’s too (which will shock many).
Lampard may have doubts but Southgate seems to like him and with 2 goals and a decent display keeps making his case for inclusion.
Should get his chances over the season for club and country and has a good chance of making them count.
Holders are fighting against the general perception of him being out of favour with Lampard, the fans not liking him at Chelsea etc.
But he is capable of putting up the big performance scores that can change minds and that can happen quickly as we saw with his run up towards £2 not long ago.
Oct 16
Not a bad performance in reality vs the Czechs but in FI terms there is not much here.
Weak involvment. No chances to score. The only highlight a couple of chances created.
Nothing in his 20 minutes as a sub either.
Likely to get attention if he keeps getting minutes just on the trends alone however the blind faith in youth will not last forever.
Eventually, especially when getting minutes they have to deliver on performance scoring. I’ve been saying that for months now and he has tumbled from £4 to £3.62.
He will have to improve significantly for both Chelsea and England to stay above £3.
Oct 16
A bit like Mount, nothing to shout about here from an FI perspective.
In fact, he’s on a rough patch in general for club and country with very few scoring opportunities.
A gradual price decline recently and again it’s one I’ve warned about – you just can’t sustain these price tags without reason forever.
2 big scores early on foxed traders but whilst he has improved that was unlikely to keep repeating at that rate.
Just another example of how over optimistic traders are for youth. At this price, traders are about 2-3 years ahead of reality even if he develops perfectly and gets his big EPL transfer this Summer.
A risky trade. I’d still expect him to have pull going into the Euros if he looks like starting but whether that’s enough to maintain this price (possible dividend increase notwithstanding) I am not so sure.
Oct 16
Missed the games through injury and caused Southgate a headache with an ill timed Casino visit.
Not what holders were hoping for. The price has held up quite well considering.
He has performance potential and a big transfer in him, but I think this price also needs England starts and he has missed this boat.
Lots of pressure on the next qualifiers to get his full debut and make a statement that convinces people he can start now.
20 November
I was getting a bit worried about Griezmann’s Barcelona performances over in Scouting. But I said it’s worth seeing how he got on for France and this is why.
He really does look excellent for France and he delivered another dividend win. Looks one of the strongest players to be taking into the tournament itself based on the qualifiers.
For France, he is streets ahead of other forwards in terms of involvement, threat, and chances created (9 over both games!). Playing his normal game for France he will be a consistent challenger.
This can be the case for Barcelona too and was early on but not in recent games.
Looks incredibly solid value and having dropped 17p in the last month after shaky domestic form, I think he looks a very strong choice.
Of course, that requires his domestic form to improve again. Rumours of wanting out already/falling out with Messi etc are a complication that doesn’t overly worry me.
If he hits good transfer speculation as a result I’d be happy with that.
I’ve been positive on Yedder this season and since August he’s come from £1 to £1.25 with very strong IPD along the way which is low key decent.
Another start for France is positive and whilst he is an unlikely starter in a full strength side, it further underlines his credentials as a solid IPD choice particularly when Monaco have a good run of fixtures.
And may be a decent cheap punt for the Tournament, but that decision can be made closer to the time.
Having started both and scored a penalty, Giroud could be under rated at 73p.
He may move to Inter in January so a bit of media there, plus some gametime for Inter (rotated most likely) and then set to feature for France later on.
It’s got some appeal as a cheap punt for the coming couple of months.
Even getting it towards 95p or so would be a decent win.
Nothing spectacular to report here, he was ok and the baseline numbers held but his lack of threat this game was a disappointment.
It’s good he started yet again and he’s a regular now.
Overall his stats are very good and he’ll be a contender for dividend wins when playing.
118 for Mbappé but it was actually much better than that and could have easily been higher.
He saw a high level of involvement for a forward and had plenty of chances to score.
I’m more confident of Mbappé for France than PSG, although he is improving and as he plays more 90 minute games we’ll see better from him.
Having been over valued for so long though he has a lot of improving before he comes close to justifying the price tag. But that’s nothing new.
For France certainly he looks the part and I think for this reason he’ll probably hold his value (even though it’s too much to pay rationally) and gather some optimism ahead of Euro 2020.
Another two full 90 minute games for Tolisso, making that 4 out of 4.
That’s great though in a fully fit side he may be squeezed out.
2 great performances, and a bit unlucky his goal didn’t come in the other game because if so it would have been a big score.
Dominated midfield vs Moldova, 120 passes with great accuracy. Needs to add more threat and chances created. Did score vs Albania next game but France possession was lower this game so the baseline dropped.
I’ve liked Tolisso for a while and he’s developing nicely. Needs improvement but he’s young and the reason I can be more forgiving on him compared to other youngsters is his very reasonable £1.48 price tag.
For Bayern, he’ll want to see some minutes soon because if he is totally frozen out it can be come a problem. But I wouldn’t panic there yet.
Digne is another who will probably have interest ahead of the Euros.
I will say though that people seem to think he is better than he is, given the price.
Particularly recently, he has been bought as one of the full backs on the heels of TAA, but there isn’t much substance behind that.
He did well vs Moldova for France, with decent baseline numbers and created a couple of chances that were not converted.
For club and country, he has created a lot of chances this season that have not been put away, so he is probably doing better than his scores suggest.
However, a single assist is not enough for him to put up really big scores.
Probably will maintain optimism because it carries from Fantasy Football etc but without a big change in his numbers he’ll only make occasional performance challenges.
£1.76 therefore feels like too much.
Some beefy stats for Pavard vs Moldova. Well over 100 passes with high accuracy, and could have both scored and assisted, it could have been a 300+ score quite easily.
I think he looks a solid choice, not just for his performances, but many people recall his memorable World Cup goal which made him a very well recognised name. Things like that do count when people are deciding who to buy.
Domestically he needs a bit more threat and assist potential to really polish those scores up from the 180-210 range.
It is possible he improves, in fact he managed to create 3 chances vs Dortmund recently which is a good sign under the new coach.
As a solid Bayern player and a France contender, I think there is plenty to like at £1.24.
October 16
Oct 16th
2 decent scores for a forward, including 1 soft dividend win with a 194.
His ability to put up a decent total even with just 1 assist rather than a goal for a forward is why he is so strong.
Especially considering he scores a lot too.
That’s yet another win on his record and in a period where he is far from at his best, it’s a positive sign.
If you think of big hitters people are going to want to be carrying into the Euros, Griezmann is up there and yet at £2.50 lags behind in price to many leading big nation forwards.
I’d expect that to change particularly if he hits a patch of real form for Barcelona.
Oct 16th
Having played major parts in the last 4 it’s fair to say Coman currently has a first team spot for France although Mbappé’s return may be a barrier. His ability to play on either flank should help him there though.
Nothing spectacular in these two games but it was decent enough. A few chances to score, strong chances to assist. And good underlying numbers across the board.
Good stuff for another pre-season scouting pick doing very well so far.
Oct 16th
Two full games for Tolisso which should encourage holders.
He’s a quality player, a younger Alcantara who is seeing decent minutes and I expect to deliver a big score or two before long.
Goals and assist record across the last 10 for club and country is poor but he is getting chances and making plenty too. He’s putting up near competitive scores without goals or assists and it should be a matter of time before this comes together.
Still looking great value at £1.38. I’ve been saying that all year and by pre-season scouting he was still around £1. Would expect him to go further.
Oct 16th
A start for Ben Yedder and he is emerging as a backup striker if not the first choice which is progress in itself.
In superb goal scoring form for the club (5 in 4) making him a strong IPD choice for that alone.
With Euro 2020 involvement too it’s another boost.
Across the 2 matches, he had a few chances, and a particularly good one vs Iceland without scoring.
Encouraging though and since he has IPD value in his own right, a hold to see what happens with France looks a decent move.
20 November
4 goals across the 2. Could have been more, the threat was monstrous.
A win with a huge 300+ score vs Lithuania.
He’s just the man for Portugal.
If he makes it to the tournament fit, he’s going to be one of if not the main attraction and well capable of wins.
So £3.19 is cheap versus his ability and media pull but you have all the usual problems of retirement age to deal with and the risk of a big injury which could send the price tumbling.
A high risk but potentially high reward choice which has been my general view for a while.
A regular from pre-season scouting as a low key option at Frankfurt, he’s done well but has rotation with Dost and Silva.
Managed a goal and assist vs Lithunia, but not a brilliant score for it.
Had tons of threat and could (should) have had more than 1.
A very solid IPD punt, fair value at £1.35. But not much more than that.
Great for him to start for Portugal, disappointing performance.
Versus soft teams you want strikers to be smashing it but he never even got a shot away.
A game to forget and damaging to his hopes of starting but he still has a chance.
More optimistically, his form for Frankfurt has been decent notching 3 competitive goals so he’s got some IPD appeal.
Has problems but then at £1.13 the price reflects that. Worth keeping an eye on at least.
A win for Pizzi and it’s not a surprise, he’s a low key performance star some may recall from my European scouting articles late last season.
He’s 30 and unlikely to move from Benfica, but as a punt for a European night or for the tournament if he starts, it’s going to be hard to find a better punt than a 36p Pizzi.
He’s well capable of consistent big scores.
Unlucky to miss out on a win really with a solid 265 score having scored and assisted vs Lithuania.
Two very solid displays and he looks better for Portugal than for City, although the soft opposition will flatter him so maybe that’s why.
He’s a player your average fan would think is perfect for FI, but as I’ve said for a long time, he’s ok but not that great. Whilst lots of headline numbers are there, a closer look at things like passing accuracy show why he doesn’t put up too many big scores.
He will occasionally though particularly vs soft opponents.
I’ve not been keen on the hold since pre-season and he has stagnated, pretty much holding £2.40 throughout.
It shows how sticky people can be on their favourite EPL stars – they get a lot of benefit of the doubt. I wonder for how long.
But in this market which has risen so much, stagnating for 6 months, whilst not an obvious loss, it’s a failure in my book because it means your money isn’t working for you.
£1.80 or so would be good value but I think for such a well known player that’s unlikely to happen.
Two more good displays, Fernandes is so consistent. A goal and an assist, could have won with a decent 242 but beaten this time.
I’ve long said (since February of 2018!) that he looks like being one of the best players on FI and that still looks true almost two years later.
I really hope he moves somewhere performance suitable and realises his potential.
I expect him to put up a decent challenge most times he plays, and that’s the same for Portugal as for Sporting.
I like him as a Key Strategy “Combo” player because if he gets to March fit and with EPL transfer rumours intact, he could be in hot demand as the Euro 2020 + Summer transfer combo drives him forward.
I’ve never been keen on Neves, though social media has at times hyped him up. But he’s just not a very suitable FI player despite the real world talent.
High baseline, no real threat, not much assist potential.
Poor analysts have seen big numbers of shots and said “if they start going in…” but that only applies when they are decent quality chances, not long range blasts that will go in once every 10 games or so.
Same for Portugal as for the club.
Can win, but it will be a rare event.
Played both games for Portugal, decent displays particularly vs Lithuania.
Overall, for club and country he’s quite consistent. Good but not brilliant involvement, weak goal threat, occasional spikes of good assist potential but a lot of the time it’s weak.
A possible transfer (Spurs rumours?) helps the cause but overall, it’s hard to justify a £1.78 price tag.
He’s spiked recently on the back of “flying fullback” hype on the coat tails of TAA, but he’s not the same player.
At £1.20 maybe even up to £1.50 I’d be much keener because he’s a decent player.
Played 1 of the games, which is 3 of the last 4 for Portugal as a Left Back, so seems a strong contender for the first team.
I’ve liked Guerreiro for Dortmund in the past but that was as an out of position defender playing in midfield.
Playing at LB it’s much less attractive and there is nothing special here.
Decent involvement but no major goal threat or assist potential to spike a score.
October 16
Oct 16
Decent pitch time for Felix, Luxembourg was his best game where he had some decent chances although failed to take them, blazing wide or at the keeper.
A couple of misses generally doesn’t worry me if the rest of the stats are good. You’ve got to say though with Felix, they aren’t.
He showed some great stuff in pre-season but since it’s been really weak. It’s hard to see him winning even with a goal.
He’s a promising player but never really more than that and I’ve been saying he is over priced for a long time now (despite him being my darling of last season).
But that’s the difference between finding a player like this at £1 and under and plowing into them at £3+ as a “he’s the next Messi” true believer.
Never be the true believer. For the 1 in 100 times you are right it won’t be worth it.
Oct 16
Solid from Ronaldo. 2 goals and whilst there was no big score, it’s enough to convince he’ll keep doing the business come tournament time.
He’s a headache because everyone will want him for the tournament and yet not want to hold him too long either.
I’ve said for a few months now that those brave enough to buy could be happy and he’s climbed from £2.50 to £3.22 in that time.
But I also said that he’s a bit of a headache and always one injury away from a serious mass sell off at this stage of his career.
Something of a high wire act but one that can pay off as it has done already for those brave buyers a few months back.
Oct 16
A win for Bernardo with the main reason being that against very soft opposition his passing accuracy goes up.
So, we can expect this when facing very weak opponents but in the day to day grind of the EPL or later stage European competition, he’s not likely to win too often.
At least, not often enough to warrant a hefty price tag.
That won’t be news to regular readers, I’ve said that for a long time. In the last 3 months people have started to catch on because he’s dropped from £2.65 to £2.32.
Not a bad choice but not as good as many might think either. At £2 or thereabouts I’d say it’s a decent pick, but north of that I’m unconvinced.
Oct 16
Solid displays across the 2 matches from one of the best performance players out there, but no goal to turn the decent score into a winning one.
Did have some chances.
Overall, he’s just brilliant for FI but unlike last year when I said that and it was news, now most people know it already.
He looks a fixture in the Portugal team now and that’s helpful. As is the near inevitable transfer speculation.
Two main problems:
Uncertainty over destination. Even the best performance players can struggle if going to a mediocre club.
I don’t care about this one so much – in the early stages of a transfer all you need is good speculation you can always dodge a weak club later on.
Second, whilst he has come down from his £3 transfer speculation peak, he’s still at £2.47 and the price has held up chiefly because that big transfer for next Summer is assumed and plenty are waiting for it.
Because of his extremely good performance quality, I’d say it is still worth it. However, if holding we do need to keep a close eye on the transfer rumours because the price could fall significantly if he goes to an undesirable club.
20 November
Jorginho without penalties is bang average. With them, he’s pretty great for club and country.
We can’t quite expect these scores vs tough opposition but vs Armenia in a 9-1 drubbing he went to town with over 130 passes (high accuracy) which is insane. And he deserved the win (if you accept that thrashing Armenia is deserving!).
So we should be optimistic on Jorginho for Italy.
£2.62? It’s probably about fair and balances the risk and reward.
Whilst people gravitate to penalty takers for obvious reasons, I think it gets overlooked that they are very brittle if they rely on those penalties alone. Ideally, they are a bonus to an already good player.
What if one day they lose those penalty duties? Your fantastic fairly priced player just became bang average and over priced overnight.
For now though I think he’s a decent pick.
2 games for Tonali but he was weak in both.
Tidy baseline numbers but so few prospects of getting beyond that because his goal threat and assist potential isn’t brilliant.
Even his midfield involvement numbers for club and country are well behind an elite level player of this description like an Alcantara.
He might improve at a bigger club. But at the price I think a lot of buyers may be either unaware of how far away from wins he is or are pinning too much hope on the Man City transfer.
This was better from Barella who played 1 and a half of the games and showed some cutting edge – scoring and assisting 2.
Nice finish too actually.
It only delivered soft FI scores though. Had he played the full game vs Armenia he should have pushed 180 or so at least but it was a soft game and he scored.
He’s got pockets of nice stats but his baselines for Inter or Italy are not particularly strong for this sort of player, and his goal threat and assist potential are typically weak, despite what we saw in these two easy fixtures.
He’s unconvincing, even at the relatively kind price of £1.47.
A goal for Insigne but a fairly disappointing 175 given that, I generally expect a bit better when Insigne scores.
It wasn’t the match winner so that takes the edge off but even so, he can hit 200 without a goal at all some games so he can do better.
Overall, solid, and he’s a contender for Italy.
The upset at Napoli and some possibly related poor form has kept the price relatively kind at £2.35 compared to other players of his ability.
I’m fine with this because the uncertainty breeds transfer rumours and he often gets linked to the EPL.
He also doesn’t need to be in great form to win and he chalked up an early November dividend too.
If looking for more Euro 2020 players to add it looks solid especially given the price only moved up around 27p in the recent market surge.
I think readers know I’m not super keen on Bernardeschi due to his history of poor finishing.
He had his flurry of goals in mid-October but given his record of not being able to hit a barn with a beach ball I wasn’t persuaded.
Since then, he’s been 7 games goalless despite great chances which is back to his usual.
Exactly the same story vs Bosnia here. I’m not sure how he gets away with this and keeps starting.
The only positive is the low price at 96p down from £1.13 a month ago when he scored 3.
But a low price without quality is not value. Always worth keeping an eye on for improvement given his position but I remain unconvinced, he’s 25 and past the “should improve” stage for me.
Nice from Belotti with a goal and an assist vs Bosnia.
Unlikely to displace Immobile barring injury mind.
I’ve been keen on him since pre-season though where he was 92p! (And 70p in June!). Now £1.38 having delivered plenty of IPD along the way for some and unlucky not to nick a rare performance win.
These low key trades have huge profit potential and whilst you may not hear about them on social media, they knock the socks off many a premium superstar when it comes to raw profits.
I still like him as a hold at £1.38. Refresh him at appropriate intervals and you’ve got solid IPD. A good transfer chance. And Italy sub appearances, or should something happen to Immobile, Italy starts.
Zaniolo demolished Armenia with 2 goals and an assist and was unlucky not to win the dividend.
He’s a player people want to like so that sent him from £2 to £2.18.
I think we do have to bear in mind it was Armenia and a 9-1 thrashing, not exactly the benchmark of his typical game.
The real story is that he struggles to get his head above water with the stats of a mid ranking forward in the midfield category.
Despite his run of 4 goals in 4 in October/November he never broke 175 and there is a reason for that. It’s why I’ve been marking him down ever since he first started getting attention a long time ago.
He’s young with potential and £2.18 isn’t an awful price, you might find the hype buyers keep going for it if he keeps scoring.
However, the real research driven traders won’t be keen because it’s easy to see why he’s poor for FI purposes at present.
And the consistent poor scores will likely wear holders down eventually, unless he gets lucky and has a big day.
One to hold if you think people will go mad for any young player in advance of the tournament, but not what I’d call a rational pick.
Like most players in a 9-1 thrashing, Chiesa did well with a goal and 2 assists.
Solid and in the forward category he’s got better involvement than most top forwards and assist as well as goals potential.
I like him and would back him to improve at a bigger club, which looks likely for the Summer.
The combo of Euro 2020 involvement and transfer speculation (probably a bit low key because I’d expect a move within Italy) is something I’m looking for as we head into 2020.
£2.30 is still a fair price some room left to grow.
October 16
Just under one half of the Greece game played for Chiesa who had to come off through injury. Not much to shout about during his time on the pitch.
But it’s not a bad injury and he may miss 1 game for the club, possibly 2.
No major reason to panic he is generally considered an Italy starter.
A bargain picked out in pre-season Scouting Belotti, he was around 80p back then and £1.31 now.
2 goals for Italy and he goes from strength to strength, certainly as an IPD player if not the greatest performance player in the world.
Can have further to go in price if he keeps this up particularly if he can earn an Italy spot. Displacing Immobile isn’t easy mind but I think even making the challenge can see him keep rising.
16 Oct
They say even a broken clock is right twice a day and Bernadeschi has scored 3 times in 4 games for club and country, breaking a goal drought dating back from January 2019.
Is this the turning point?
I’m not hugely convinced. The Greek keeper will be embarassed not to save that and Leichenstein aren’t great quality either.
Maybe he is a confidence player who can go on a run but his year long record of failing to put away good chances causes doubt.
That aside, he’s got a reasonable all round game with a few weak points like passing accuracy.
Worth watching but I remain sceptical. At 98p it’s not the world’s worst punt, though.
16 Oct
A surprise win for the Freiburg man.
It’s an impressive total with 269 from just 1 assist.
He’s got a decent goal scoring record and assist potential too, so for the money and with IPD in mind he’s not a bad shout at the 70p to 80p mark.
However, at a smaller club expectations have to be managed, I’m not sure we will see this too often.
It was a surprise to see him start and since he is generally considered to have had a poor game (FI and reality can often be very different!) he may not keep his Italy spot.
16 Oct
Always good for a young player to get a start for his country.
Outside of that, it’s a fairly average showing. He had a decent chance or two, with overall involvement fairly weak.
Really, against a poor team like this, you want your player to be dominating.
Zaniolo is an performance player and significantly overpriced.
But, a start is a start and that’s positive. If his price fall continued down towards £1.75 or under it may start to appeal again, but only really in hope of a big transfer.
16 Oct
A win for Romagnoli and one of his best games for a long time for club or country.
Against a weak team he could really dominate at the back, which would not normally be enough although he happened to get the rare goal (don’t expect this too often though).
This is more like a rare event than a breakout performance.
20 November
Unlucky to miss out on a win with a 336 vs Malta.
Thiago has his problems as documented over in Scouting, having not started either game so far for the new Bayern coach.
However, a player this strong is never far from a win and it’s worth remembering that.
This was much more like the in form Alcantara, though it was an easy game.
It’s hard to recommend him right now given the uncertainty at Bayern but worth a close eye on him because in form and playing regularly he could command a £3.50 price tag and look good for it easily.
Down at £2.31 that’s a lot of headroom but he does need a fair bit to go his way for that to happen.
Played around an hour of both games but put up stats that most players playing the full 90 would be proud of.
Of course, they are soft games and it’s going to be tough to say anything but good things about any Spain player after this round of games.
He’s capable of wins at Villarreal and the fringe Spain involvement adds an extra dimension.
Final year of the contract makes it a risk but can be one worth taking given the 95p price tag, which is a snip compared to his ability.
However, one bad injury or similar at this stage of a career can reduce the value to zero so you’ve got to bear that in mind.
I think the further into the season we get the more sensitive you’ve got to be to this sort of thing.
Superb from Moreno, a player that’s been underrated for some time as per the reports over in Scouting.
A win, could have been 2 they were both decent scores.
His involvement is a cut above for a forward, and he has this combined with good goal threat and assist potential on top.
And still just 27.
How, by the beard of Zeus, is he still just £1.40? He must have offended some powerful secret trading WhatsApp groups or something.
A perhaps unexpected start given his recent bit part for PSG. But he had a really good game.
You have to factor in the soft opposition but these games are still useful to look at because it tends to show the upper limit of a players ability.
Some lovely numbers here and as per previous Scouting reports it’s always been clear he is capable.
Very strong overall involvement for good baselines – a huge 7 shots and he could have done more than score 1. 1 chance created which is ok but given 11 crosses that could have been better too.
The problems – rotation. He is unlikely to start for Spain come tournament time.
PSG rotation is an issue that is likely to continue too. And he has some inconsistency, his numbers aren’t always brilliant either due to a sub par game or because of a tendency to be subbed early.
But overall, having fallen from almost £1.80 to £1.22 now, I think a few risks can be afforded.
He is capable of a win when starting and he will get games. He could benefit from an injury to others and get a run of matches.
Issues here but he’s a talented player and the cheap price tag makes it tempting.
Two starts and a goal for Morata, he had decent games.
Dangerous throughout, reasonable involvement. But that’s the minimum expected in soft games.
We can’t expect huge performance scores from Morata however on limited game days like late stage European nights and Euro 2020 days he can be a likely winner.
I’ve liked Morata since pre-season if you flick back to pre-season scouting when he was just 81p.
Because he had a torrid time for Chelsea, people are down on him and they undervalue him. They are focusing on the past rather than the present.
Rather than following the hype on social media, it’s often doing the opposite of that that can bring good profits. Provided of course you have reasons to believe the general perception is wrong.
I did here, because he had the pre-season goal threat and pull as an Atletico and Spain forward to be priced higher than 81p.
He’s £1.05 now with extremely strong IPD prospects (If buying on 22nd Oct, you’d have cashed in on 7 goals and an assist!).
And I think he’ll be in demand come tournament time if he looks set to lead for Spain – he has competition from Alcacer, Oyarzabal and Rodrigo.
A very solid choice in my view.
Usual excellent baseline performance from Ruiz, capped with a goal and a decent score of 251 which is competitive.
Another start is positive and he has played the full 90 in 3 of the last 4 for Spain.
He needs more consistent goal threat to turn these big baselines into big scores. He has to improve that but Napoli’s poor form has not helped him.
I’ve been keen on Ruiz for a long time and he was in this February cheap/high potential players members article. (It’s a great list looking back, Gnabry, Ruiz, Tolisso, Brandt, Lo Celso, Zielinksi – bear in mind these are pre-share split prices in the article so divide these prices by 3 to get today’s money.)
Ruiz was the equivalent of 97p back then and £3.02 now. That’s a 211% profit + 15p dividends.
Can he go higher?
Yes. He’s what I call in the Key Strategy a potential “combo” player.
Performance win prospects, even on Gold Days. Big transfer for Summer, to City or Barcelona. Spain involvement and could start.
Should those factors combine around March he could be in very hot demand.
October 16
2 full games for Ruiz which is excellent.
And, good showings in both. He had a few chances but goal threat overall wasn’t brilliant. But, with his elite level baseline scores he can get away with this a little bit, especially with the strong assist potential too.
He got 1 assist and created 5 chances over both games which is solid.
On these numbers, he’s never far from a big score when the goal does go in.
I have him at a but 
might be more appropriate and I’ll keep that under review. Certainly if he could improve goal threat he could be or even higher.
Looks the best of the crop of young players playing for Spain at the moment, certainly in FI terms.
He’s not the secret he used to be though. £2.88 is a lot to pay but I think he can justify it and even go further with his quality, Spain involvement and Barcelona and Real fighting for his signature (apparently).
Good pitch time for Ceballos starting both games one out side and one centrally.
Quite a typical performance in that he had plenty of involvement but lacks that killer goal or assist to make the high baseline count.
Just the 1 shot and 2 chances created over both games, which isn’t that great.
Still, getting consistent minutes for Spain is a win in itself.
He’s capable of a big score on the days it all comes together, as we saw vs Standard Liege.
But value wise, I think he was starting from a very overpriced position since that price spike after the early season 230 score back when traders hadn’t realised that isn’t a brilliant score in midfield yet.
I have him as a 
which is decent, but I am not predicting he gets much better than that. We would need to see a more advanced playing position to push on further.
At £1.50 I’d be saying yes but I think it’s just too expensive right now for a player that lacks some key features.
22 Oct
Played almost all of both games and that’s great at his age. It’s an unsettled Spain team in general experimenting with a lot of youth. So we probably shouldn’t expect their usual dominance but it does give players a chance to come through.
Overall, you’ve got to say these were fairly poor games in FI terms although to watch he had a good game vs Norway and a fairly poor one vs Spain.
So not all bad but he may get another chance.
Never really looked like scoring, the general baseline stats are poor. But he did create a few chances which is positive.
But, like most young players, a start is a start and that’s a victory in itself.
Lots of people have been sat on Oyarzabal as a “sure thing” for quite a while and he’s had a steady rise over 6 months.
Fairly expensive at £2.33 now. But he does have potential and should move to a bigger club eventually (he has a rare loyalty to Sociedad).
At Sociedad I give him a low 
but at a big La Liga club I could see him going to in a couple of years. May require patience though.
22 Oct
Played the full game vs Sweden and it was a reasonable display. Had some good chances but no goal.
Not his best all round game. But, for a forward he’s got some very good underlying stats usually and he can make his goals count as we saw with his dividend win vs Leganes mid September.
Had a quiet few games for club and country but the threat is there and I think he is a solid value IPD and performance win potential player at £1.29.
Having Spain involvement is another plus, though I would not expect him to be a regular starter.
22 Oct
Considered to have had a poor game for Spain and was subbed off early.
In FI Terms though there is a lot to like, with his typical superb baselines on display.
But for Bayern he adds goal threat to that, where as he did not this time. He did in his previous Spain game though so it’s not unusual for him to go a game without threat, it’s off and on.
Overall, if playing the full 90 for Spain I’d back him to do extremely well, as I do for Bayern.
Lots of rotation with Spain at the moment. I would be surprised that when putting out full strength sides if Alcantara was missing but it’s an unsettled team so hard to say for certain.
22 Oct
Carvajal is looking the pick of the Spain defence at the moment.
Good display vs Sweden, with elite level baseline numbers and 4 chances created on top. If one of those had gone in and they had won the game, he’d be posting a very big score there. As it was, it was a solid 179 from base alone without winning.
I think £1.09 is a reasonable price and whilst there have been no fireworks so far this season, I think he will have better days ahead.
20 November
A nice win for Eden with a 271, a very strong score in the forward category.
That was from 2 goals vs Russia and a strong all round display, particularly tidy passing helping it along.
Created 7 chances across the two, getting 1 assist vs Cyprus.
Very solid numbers, and he’s looked much better for Belgium than Real.
The domestic form is improving though as noted in Scouting recently.
Of the big names of world football, I think Eden looks the best value right now if looking for a good premium hold.
A fairly tragic score of 93 for Lukaku, despite the goal and assist.
Looking at his numbers, this is about the minimum it is possible to contribute to a game of football whilst scoring and assisting without actually getting a deck chair out and chilling on the sideline.
As a performance player, he is just awful.
That said, I am warming a bit to Lukaku as his price comes down from the absolutely bats £2.40 it was just under 3 months ago.
Now that whichever aliens were controlling traders who bought him at that price have withdrawn you can start to re-evaluate.
He’s a good goalscorer and has strong IPD appeal so he’s not worthless, he’s just very unlikely to win a performance dividend.
For IPD he might be worth holding a £1.50-£1.60 price and in a tournament a leading striker for any big side is capable of nicking a win.
So if the price fell towards £1.50 or £1.60 pre-tournament, he wouldn’t be a bad one to carry into it.
Solid but unspectacular from Tielemans.
As per scouting reviews previously, he’s decent but generally lacks the cutting edge required to be a regular contender in midfield for club or country.
No threat at all and no chances created this game.
Can put a good score together but it’s going to be a fairly rare event.
Great player in reality and the price keeps rising but I think eventually the soft scores will start to weigh on the £2.59 price tag.
I could be a bit kinder to him at lower prices because you can always say a young player may improve but at £2+ you have to look like delivering regularly and he just doesn’t.
Lovely game from Carrasco with 1 goal and 2 assists with a solid 240 score.
Could be a contender although arguably should be a defender where he would do much better than in midfield.
Price is rising in anticipation of a transfer, and if he did get one, he has further to rise.
If not, you are stuck with a player in China although with Belgium interest, it makes it easier to run the risk.
Not a bad pick but be aware you’ll need to keep a fairly close eye on it.
Unlucky to miss out on the win vs Cyprus with a very strong 290. Had he not been subbed on 68 he may have chased down the required 328.
He had the match winner, 2 goals and an assist on top. A big day.
Probably a bit lucky mind – the first goal in particular was a scuffed shot that the keeper will still be having nightmares about, really should have saved it.
I courted controversy by saying his August/September displays were a hotstreak as a featured player on my public blog and said his scores would likely settle a bit.
This is his first really competitive score in 8 games since then and I think reasonable expectations are something like a big score every 6-8 matches for him.
That’s very good, but it doesn’t sustain the extreme hype seen a month or two ago.
A solid choice that will likely hold much of the value and will no doubt get more wins in the season – but £5.36 is too much in my opinion and £4 would be more realistic.
Played one of the two vs Russia, and a largely forgettable game.
He’s an occasional winner on a very good day (like the opening day of the season).
So, not a player I’d particularly be keen to take into a tournament because you have to be holding him for 10 matches to catch his big day, it may never come.
Price isn’t crazy though.
Decent from Thorgan as he continues his upswing, scoring a nice goal vs Russia. Playing both games gives more confidence of his start.
No match winner though and without that it’s quite tough as his soft 143 score showed.
Suffering a bit in the midfield category without the huge baselines of the big hitting midfielders, he’ll need more than just a goal most likely.
Overall, it’s positive and I think people are noticing the improvement because he’s climbed 30p in the last month.
£2.06 is a fair price, he’s got lots in his favour and can improve (or even be reclassified as a forward which would really help him).
As per the early November review over in scouting though, I will want to start seeing some results over the next month or so.
October 16
16 Oct
No goals but decent displays and 3 assists all be it versus some very poor opposition over both games.
Has done enough to maintain some optimism as a player people will almost definitely want heading into the tournament.
A goal for Real offers a bit of encouragement too after a poor start.
He’s more expensive than I would normally go for but after his drop down from £5.50 to £4 there is probably not going to be a better opportunity to buy him this season than now for those who want to.
Looking solid value and should improve.
16 Oct
Good for the other Hazard to get a start vs Kazakhstan.
He was ok, with decent baseline stats and just 1 good chance to score which was well blocked by the covering defender.
Capable of big scores playing like this and should be challenging for a start over Chadli.
Should get optimism ahead of the tournament provided his domestic form is good and he keeps getting Belgium minutes.
16 Oct
23 year old right wing back, playing his club football for Atalanta. He’s got solid goal threat consistently and even some assist potential, despite a lack of recent assists.
Overall, despite the win vs San Marino, his underlying numbers are not generally going to be good enough to secure a win even with a goal. On this occasion, vs a weak team in a drubbing, he managed it.
You could argue he’s a decent young prospect however the transfer links to Palace and Celtic are not favourable. But worth keeping an eye on because if he did move to a big club he could do well.
Would also be surprising if he displaced Meunier for Belgium.
20 November
Klostermann started both for Germany at Right Back, putting in a good display particularly vs Belarus.
It’s to be expected to an extent, this was a 71% possession game for Germany.
He made the most of that creating 6 chances, and is unlucky really not to score higher than 243.
A solid pick overall, held back a bit by Leipzig’s shaky defence. But the Germany spot is a big boost.
With that, £1.14 feels a fair price and it’s not unreasonable to see him going more towards £1.30 or so in the coming months.
Ginter I liked last season and he was part of my New Trader Challenge articles back then.
Whilst he’s gone from 41p to 65p this year, which is not to be sniffed at, he’s not really made waves.
He won for Germany with a goal and assist – though – this is a very rare occurence.
He is generally a decent ball playing centre back without average threat and weak assist potential.
What makes him attractive is his Germany contention, the chance of a transfer to a big club which is likely at some stage, and the bargain 65p price.
I think a patient trader will be very happy with this pick but they may need to wait until Summer and hope for a good transfer link (or a starting spot for Germany, which is uncertain).
Two very solid performances from Kimmich with huge baselines, but nothing on top to add polish.
This will happen to him in midfield which is why a positional shift is a concern.
His scores were competitive in defence but he was just beaten by bigger ones on the day.
Limited goal threat, but did create 3 chances versus Belarus.
Performing as expected/reported in Scouting really. Not a player I’ve been keen on at the price mainly due to the reclassification risk, and we’ll need to watch Bayern managerial developments to get a better idea of that.
Currently played the last 5 games in midfield though.
What’s left to say? The only midfielder to get 
in my ratings in pre-season after the matrix changes – this is why.
Incredible he was £1.50 back then and unsurprisingly I went in hard with one of my big bets here.
Simply staggering levels of involvement, 148 and 152 passes in the respective matches, 2 goals 2 assists total and 1 monstrous 403 score and a 297.
FI’s current best player and the win’s can keep coming and the price can keep rising if he maintains this level.
That is tough though so a dip in form may come and we can monitor that but it’s hard to see me not wanting him for most if not all of the season.
Good for Gundogan to play both games for Germany.
Solid performances though hugely overshadowed by Kroos, he’s probably got about 50% of his stats.
He’s also much cheaper though at £1.50 and definitely capable of a win on his day, although as per previous reviews, I did think his October hot streak would fizzle out and it has in the last few games.
As a result he has dropped from £1.77 to £1.50 and that looks much kinder.
I like him overall but I’d say look at fixtures and predicted line ups carefully because he is a rotation risk for City especially with Rodri back (though I note both were accommodated last time out).
I like to watch Goretzka closely because he’s one who can be excellent or terrible depending on how he is used.
Weak scores despite 3 goals though which is disappointing.
The positives – goals and 2 good performances does his chances of more starts no harm at all. Consistent threat in both games.
But, weak involvement and an early sub off vs Northern Ireland meant his 2 goals didn’t count for much.
Plenty to like but some question marks too and I need to see a few more games on him particularly under a new coach at Bayern.
£1.65 is a fair price given his potential though and I’ll be very interested to see how he gets on.
We can’t complain with a hatrick but he didn’t win, beaten by better scores on the day.
Decent performance, the main issue here is being classified as a midfielder with the stats of a strong forward – he can be beaten by the big hitting mids as happened this time.
A positional reclassification is possible in future.
Overall, now looks like a key player for Bayern and Germany and well worth the £3.10.
Quiet international break for Werner who only played around 70 minutes of the Belarus game.
Had plenty of chances but didn’t take them.
An average game by his standards in FI terms, and considered a poor showing by fans and pundits.
Could face competition to start from Gnabry which is a risk.
On the positives, club form is excellent and big club transfer rumours including to the EPL are another reason to hold.
He needs at least the big transfer rumour or confidence in his Germany place, ideally both, so holders need to keep an eye on this.
Decent game for Brandt with a goal and assist but not a spectacular FI score at 192 in midfield.
His baseline stats are not what they were at his best, and he’ll likely need the match winner to compete in midfield at the moment.
It’s been a rough season for him as he adapts to Dortmund. But he was on a bit of an upswing before the international break and I think £1.91 is still fair.
If he pulls out a big score people will likely be quick to buy. But equally, in 3-4 games if nothing has improved patience will likely get lost.
October 16
16 Oct
Another pre-season Scouting player coming good, getting starts for Germany is a win in itself for a young player and boosts his profile.
However, it was a largely anonymous performance and he did not make the most of this opportunity. But it’s a good sign overall.
He’s worth the £1.50 with IPD returns, possible continued Germany involvement and the possibility of a good transfer later on.
16 Oct
A very strong overall display from Havertz over the 2 games.
A goal vs Argentina in the friendly though vs Estonia he really lacked any goal threat and the assist potential was weak too.
Overall, solid displays, doing great to start both matches and put in decent performances.
Had the Argentina friendly been scored, it could have been a big total.
Struggling recently but after falling from £4.20 to £3.61 he’s looking better again especially if this level of Germany involvement is maintained.
16 Oct
Did not appear vs Estonia as the second string were given a run out. However, in the unscored friendly vs Argentina he delivered a goal and an assist continuing his excellent form.
Looking great for Germany in particular and these consistent displays could see his price run upwards even further.
16 Oct
A start for Brandt which is what he needed although it was a poor showing particularly in the first half.
In FI terms however, there is a lot to like here in the Estonia game with chances to score and strong involvement. He’s capable of big scores.
But he is in a rough patch of form particularly at club level.
He does have quality though and I think after the drop to £1.76 he’s looking reasonable value and has a good chance of regaining form at some point.
16 Oct
A big score for Gundogan after hitting 2 goals an an assist.
Make no mistake, this is a rare event for him and probably will continue to be!
However, given the price, 95p is reasonable value for him if you think he will get more Germany minutes and won’t be rotated too much at City.
He’s got some reasonable goal theat and will often only need 1 goal or even an assist for a big score. Problem is, a tendency to be rotated or subbed off will often hold him back.
I would say though that timing is everything and any player hitting a hot streak and convincing people they are strong for performance at the moment can do well.
Having put up 2 +300’s recently he could convince plenty he is a big performance player (although I would not expect that to really continue).
20 November
Promes is a good FI player and I covered him recently under Transfers.
Unlucky not to win here, missing out by just a point to the also excellent Stengs (from Scouting and the Wonderkids articles).
What is interesting, (and I am not sure I like it!) is that he actually played this second game as a right back, managing 242 without a goal due to very high involvement.
In the first game he was on the wing which is more normal, but it was a fairly average performance.
It’s likely he can only dominate poor teams at right back so depending on who is in the group I may or may not be interested.
Uncertainty over playing position is a bit of a dampener but I like him as a performance player, and if he got a good transfer rumour pick up I’d think him a snip at 95p.
Ack. Van De Beek has some nice stats for Ajax and I would be optimistic if transfering to a performance suitable club.
However, for the Dutch against Northern Ireland he was nowhere and he’d be lucky to start having repeatedly not made the most of his chances for Holland.
Still, decent prospect who will likely get a Summer transfer and should be a sub for the Dutch… £1.76 is ok but admirers may be able to get away with waiting a bit longer on this.
Brilliant for Stengs to start vs Estonia, managing another dividend win with an astonshing 243 without a goal.
When everyone suddenly decided to buy any young ineligible league player with a pulse in September, Stengs was one of the few in Scouting I thought worth it and this is why.
For a forward he’s got huge baselines so any goal or assist will push him into contention most games (assuming most of his stats hold in a better league, that’s always uncertain).
He was £1.14 on 15th Sept when covered in Scouting, £2.24 now with 2 wins to his name despite limited eligible fixtures.
Looks very strong but he does need a transfer in Summer and at least fringe Holland involvement is ideal.
He had a good game, creating a fantastic 8 chances, so has done his prospects no harm.
A monstrous score from Wijnaldum to steal star player with a hatrick.
At club level I’d probably say this was extremely unlikely.
But, his goals record in qualifying is there to see, 8, making him one of the tournaments top scorers so far.
The goal threat shows it’s no fluke either, and he has the baselines to make the goals count.
Excellent for £1.11 and looks a great tournament hold.
However.
For the club the threat isn’t there in the same way (despite a recent goal vs Genk which will give people hope).
It’s possible he can put up an occasional big score for Liverpool, but the most likely outcome is a repeat of early season – average scores.
I do see him rising closer to tournament time with this record though.
So, a patient trader could buy but be aware you’ll probably need to wait a while for a reward.
Or, you could try to wait and see if any enthusiastic recent buyers get bored if he doesn’t perform for Liverpool anytime soon.
I’d probably wait a bit personally but I do like the idea of having him for the European knock outs and in the build up to Euro 2020.
Not his best game but he did chip in with an assist. Lack of threat a disappointment.
But overall, his Holland performances have been superb throughout qualifying, 6 goals and 7 assists.
He’ll go into the tournament with high optimism provided he stays fit.
A darling from pre-season scouting when he was at what now seems a comedy £1.60-1.70 but at £4.54 he’s a big hitter now and that means he is under more scrutiny and we have to keep an eye on performance levels.
Worth keeping in mind as a decent and extremely low key option for Holland.
He has had plenty of the minutes leading for Holland and at a stunning 28p could be an absolute steal if he looks set to start.
I don’t think Dutch’s starting forward will stay 28p come the tournament if he looks set to start, so a bet could be made on that now.
Or, held in the back of the mind for later.
Lots of competition from Luuk De Jong and Malen but he’s in contention.
Unspectacular is the best way to describe the stats here, although passing accuracy was very high.
As you see for the club, solid baselines, not really much to add spikes to the scores outside of the 4-5 goals you may see a season.
I always felt he was overpriced in the last 6 months or so and would get stick for saying so on the public blog from his holders on Twitter but I can only say what I think.
Particularly after the scoring matrix change that was always going to mean ball playing centre backs would struggle and VVD is not immune.
In the last 6 months it’s been 4-5 months of price stagnation and then 3 months of decline to £2.59 now as the reality starts to sink in and the hype fades a bit.
Closer to £2.20 would be about fair, considering his decent media profile for a defender and a few performance wins a season.
If the price keeps dropping it may be worth reviewing again because he is particularly good to hold in late season for any Champions League run in and for Euro 2020.
There, he is more likely to win with a big baseline and may not need a goal on days with a limited number of matches.
Two very solid games from De Ligt with superb involvement as a ball playing defender. Particularly versus Northern Ireland where he dominated.
However, as is so often the case and was clear from the scoring matrix changes, all this without a goal or assist counts for very little.
You can’t fight the scoring system by pretending good real players must be good on FI and that’s why De Ligt at £3+ was always madness.
It’s still too much at £1.88 and really unless the scoring system changed or something changed in his style I couldn’t think of a reason why I would buy even down at £1.20.
Again, two solid games here for De Jong, but very similar to club form where he has decent involvement but no end product.
Big scores will be rare events so as per pre-season scouting reviews I can’t see a reason to hold, certainly not anything close to £2.
20 November
October 16
Oct 16
Championship players are a hard sell but you can’t argue with 4 goals in the last 2 qualifiers for Serbia, and 1 in last weeks friendly on top.
Looks in lethal form when playing so if looking for a cheap qualifiers or tournament punt he looks one of the best around.
Oct 16
Lewandowski’s Poland form had not been what it was for Bayern until now at least.
Last Scouting update, I said if his Poland numbers kept being so weak I would be wary of holding him too long into 2020.
However, he bounced back in style with a hatrick and despite not scoring in the second game vs Macedonia, he had decent opportunities and bagged an assist on top.
So, it’s a needed boost to confidence and if this continues he may look a decent hold for the tournament especially having just signed a new long term contract.