Good morning tactics fans and welcome to the #TacticalThursday newsletter – full of analysis, scouting and tactics. Fill up on your football knowledge – follow the Total Football Analysis page and be part of the squad that want more than just a match report.

Today’s TFA Talent is a player identified by our in-house xGOLD tool as being a close match to Marc Guehi of Crystal Palace – and with Guehi being consistently linked away from Palace could Collins Sichenje be a potential solution in the future?

Ajax have a new-look attack under Maurice Steijn – Brandon Liss explains how two of the new signings are coming together.

This week Braga reached the Champions League group stages after an 11-year absence – Rui Martins breaks down the tactical approach that sees them in the draw.

Bradley Barcola may be on his way from Lyon to Ligue 1 rivals PSG, as per reports. We analysed him along with some of his clubmates in our scout report focused on the youth at the heart of Laurent Blanc’s squad.

Talk is heating up with regard to Manchester City academy product Cole Palmer potentially swapping the sky blue of Pep Guardiola’s side for the darker blue of Mauricio Pochettino-led Chelsea — our scout report from last year highlights why the 21 y/o may tempt Chelsea to splash the cash before the transfer window slams shut.

Luis Alberto has signed a new contract at Lazio, keeping him in Rome for the foreseeable despite reported interest from Saudi Arabia. Off the back of that news, why not remind yourselves of how the Spaniard became the fulcrum of I Biancocelesti’s attacking play during Simone Inzaghi’s tenure at Stadio Olimpico.

Eric García is said to be CFG-owned Girona’s top target to replace outgoing Santi Bueno at Estadi Montilivi. We analysed the young centre-back’s game during his time at Manchester City, ahead of his 2021 Barcelona transfer.

Bertug Yildirim moves from Hatayspor to Ligue 1 Rennes for €5m – xGOLD identified Yildirim as an interesting profile for a striker back in February 2023 and we followed him during the end of the season grading him as a player who could have a medium impact at Tier 2 in the short term.

A player we are very hot on, Thierry Gale, has signed for Rapid Vienna from FC Dila – xGOLD highlighted Gale’s potential a fortnight ago and our video scouts concluded he was capable of moving to a Tier 2 club immediately.

Mathias Kvistgaarden of Brondby has been linked to Celtic this window – xGOLD first identified Kvistgaarden as an interesting profile in November 2022 and we’ve scouted him several times grading the striker as being capable of making a big impact for a Tier 2 club.

Tottenham’s Japhet Tanganga has been linked to Everton and Torino in the last 48 hours – we recently scouted Tanganga for a client this window having previously scouted him for someone else in March 2023. We believe he is a Tier 1 defender in need of minutes.

That’s it for this today – we are back at the same time tomorrow. Spread the word!

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