Youth Report: Stephan El Shaarawy.

While Milan's big coup this transfer window was signed Mario Balotelli, the most important  item on their agenda will be keeping hold of the superb Stephan El Shaarawy. Just 20 years old, El Shaarawy has made a storming start to the season, scoring 18 times and setting up 4. Single handedly, Stephan El Shaarawy has saved Allegri's job this season, without doubt being the one highlight of Milan's torrid season until a few weeks ago. El Shaarawy is also beginning to break through into Prandelli's Italy squad and will, without doubt, become one of the talismanic figures in that side.

So what makes El Shaarawy so special?

Well, apart from being one of Italy's brightest sparks since Andrea Pirlo, along with Marco Verratti, he is sensational to watch. People often say nothing changes a game like a dribbler, none like El Shaarawy and his dribbling, especially when he can finish so spectacularly as he regularly does. He also has the innate ability to turn something into nothing, sub-consciously picking the ball up on the half way line and spraying a wonderful 60 yard pass into a team mate, or on the other hand using his destructive dribbling, going past 2 or 3 and then slotting home. His shooting from distance is also another skill of his to behold, cutting in at will and unleashing one of his powerful drives rocketing towards the keeper. El Shaarawy also has pace and acceleration in abundance, which has made AC Milan a major threat when counter-attacking this season and now with M'baye Niang getting more of a chance in the starting XI and the signing of Mario Balotelli, Milan have become extremely dangerous going forward.


Now for the stats to help make sense of this all. Stephan El Shaarawy has average around 3 shots per game this season, which adds up to 90 for the whole season, therefore El Shaarawy is only converting 1 in every 4 shots through-out the course of this year. You can look at this one of two ways: This is poor for someone who I have talked up so much, or exceptional for a winger who manages to get himself into great positions. I'll go for the second, for good reason as his positional sense for someone so young is outstanding. Interestingly though, for every time that El Shaarawy loses the ball, he will almost always win the ball back, proving the old adage "Defending from the front." is not yet dead. For a wide player El Shaarawy has an astonishingly high pass completion percentage of 83%, for someone who normally is expected to cross and play longer balls is something to behold.

It's not all blue skies for Milan's wonderkid..

It there is one area in which 'El Pharone' can improve it would have to be how clinical he is in front of the net, hitting the target with just 1 of every 3 attempts on goal. However, when he does get his shots on target, the keepers have a lot of bother in stopping them. His shooting is inconsistent at times, and El Shaarawy can generally dip in and out of a game far too much to be of any impact on games, recently a 0-0 draw at Cagliari El Shaarawy looked lifeless and struggled to get into the game and was eventually subbed off after the hour, so keeping 'SES' in the game is a must and with good reason with the magical moments he can produce.

Youth Report: Marco Veratti.

Ancelotti has said 'Verratti could be the future of this club.' and Sky Italia commented there was a 'Roy of the Rovers quality about Verratti, a loss to the Serie A.'

GOAL.com's Mohammed Ali told me. 'Nevertheless it was apparent for all to see that Verratti wasn’t destined for an apprenticeship role in the capital. Despite an oversized midfield full of the likes of Matuidi, Motta, Sissoko and Chantome (to name a few) the midfielder shone in his early fixtures, picking up a fruitful relationship with Zlatan Ibrahimovic and described as a hybrid of Xavi and Andrea Pirlo.'

'Yes, the plaudits were there – but disciplinary problems would see father figure Ancelotti teach his young protégé a thing or two in keeping a cool head.'

So, no pressure, eh?

All this is very high praise for the 20 year-old Italian midfielder, who recently joined PSG from Pescara for a fee over €10m last Summer. Since then, the exciting midfield prospect has made 17 Ligue 1 appearances from money-bags PSG, becoming an important part of the current leaders squad. Carlo Ancelotti has always favoured, and put faith in, youthful-exuberance where ever he has managed, but a player of Marco Veratti's qualities needs no hesitation in selection. After making his debut at just 15 in the lower Italian leagues, Veratti's rise to stardom has been meteoric, culminating after included in Italy's EURO 2012 squad. Showing just how much Prandelli thought of him at just 19.

So, what exactly makes Marco Verratti so highly desired and thought of? 

Well, he has the passing attributes of a young Andrea Pirlo, but the engine of Yaya Toure and the strength of a small ox. While he is compared to Pirlo, his long passing is there but yet erratic, he is far more industrious than his older Italian counterpart. Regularly, you will see Veratti all over the pitch, down the wings, in each box and doing his fair share of tackling, snapping at your heels like the dog that chased you home from school. He has what Pirlo and Xavi lacked, the ability to tackle and boy can he tackle, giving 100% in every challenge, it is rare to see Marco Verratti come out on the wrong end of a tackle. His tackling and exquisite range of passing has lead him to be a vital cog in the PSG wheel, breaking down attacks and instantly starting them off on a counter attack.

Now the stats to back up all of these plaudits; Veratti has a 90% pass completion rate, completing almost 60 passes per game. Ridiculous numbers for someone so young, to put this into perspective, the same completion percentage as Iniesta and more than Cesc Fabregas. Surely for someone of 20 to be put on the same plateau as these to is not something to be laughed at? He has only picked up the 3 assists this year, but for someone who has played the majority of their first season for Les Parisiens this is a fine achievement. Playing in all 6 of PSG's Champions League matches this season, he looks set to continue in that anchoring role infront of the back 4 against Shakhtar and there after.

He isn't the full package yet however.

As Mohammed mentioned above, Marco Verratti's disciplinary record at the start of the season was bad at best, having picked up 10 yellow cards this season. When Ancelotti set him out for a period this seemed to rejuvenate the young Italian and set him up for a much cooler and calmer second half of the season, and a great recession this has proven so far, with his discipline improved markedly. Another area in where I personally feel he can improve is in his goalscoring, without a goal this year I feel if he could do as Essien has done with Chelsea and pick up that odd crucial goal it would be great for his team and himself, possibly even proving crucial come the end of the season. This would elevate Verratti from an excellent player to one of pure class, but I'm sure this will come in time.

So what will come of Marco Verratti you ask? Well I think Mohammed's spot on with the Pirlo and Xavi hybrid idea. He has truely been something to behold this season, proving those who doubt his move to the capital wrong, and then some. As I said above, if he can keep the discipline Ancelotti has taught him, but keep the fight and drive he has at the same time and add some goals to his play, he will truely be a player to behold. A massive future star and definitely one to keep an eye on.

 Hope you enjoyed and there will be more of the same soon!

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Youth Report: Gerard Deulofeu.

"Neymar, Deulofeu and Messi. That's how the world's top 3 players will be in the next few years. IF Deulofeu can keep his head down and work." Guillem Balague explained this to me at one of his book promotions. 

Though it is not just Guillem, many worldwide renown journalists have tipped Deulofeu to be the next Lionel Messi.

High praise indeed for such a young man, at just 18 years of age. 

Many may think that he's just another over-hyped youngster from Barcelona's world famous La Masia, but my friends if you are one of those, you are wholly mistaken. He has already been a major part of Spain's recent youth success and is beginning to make sporadic appearances for the first team, mainly in the Champions league. Convinced now?

 For me, along with Vitkor Fischer and a few others, Deulofeu is one of the biggest talents in the world. His mesmerising and devilishly direct dribbling style has everyone watching constantly on the edge of their seats. It's not just his dribbling though, the young Spaniard has improved his finishing greatly, so much so that he has eclipsed his career goal tally after just 22 games this year, netting 13 times. Already rumoured to be linked with Liverpool and many other clubs around Europe, I doubt it will be much longer until Barcelona put a ridiculous buy-out clause in his contract as his stock has risen considerably this year, especially due to his ability to play across the front 3 make him even more desirable. His impact for Spain at all youth levels has been impressive, but none more so than for the Under 21's, where he has scored 3 times in 5 games, a better ratio than at all other levels and it surely won't be long before he gets a first team call-up. Not to mention his assists (I don't have the stats sadly), but there is an unbelievable one. (see below) It's not just on the odd occasion, Deulofeu does this a lot, his dribbling is just, wow.

The only thing that could beat Deulofeu, will be himself. Many people believe that being so young, with all the Messi comparisons and expectations to do well may lead the young man to go off course and loose track of his goals. Another place where he lacks is when he doesn't have the ball for long periods, he can be invisible and then once he gets the ball can be ineffective and lose interest in the game completely. However, if involved from the start, his skill and guile can bamboozle and win his team games with a moment of magic.

So, where do I think he'll end up?

Leading Barcelona's frontline and scaring defences for years to come, of course. This young man has all the talent in the world, and some. For me, he will be one of the world's best players, he is far too good not to be. I can't wait until he properly breaks through into the Barcelona first team and proves to everyone what he can do. Honestly, if you can catch any Barca B games they are well worth a watch, mainly because of Deulofeu. If he can keep his head, he will without doubt become a world beater and if he continues to improve at all aspects, he too will have a buy-out clause similar to Messi's.

Hope you all enjoyed!

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