We have now reached the point in most competitive leagues around Europe where we have come to the first international break, and the league is settling down. At this point, we have enough of a sample size in terms of minutes played to allow us to effectively use data to scout leagues that are slightly under the radar.

In this article, I will pick out five young players, stipulating that at the time of writing, they are 23 years old or under and currently playing in the second tiers of the big five European Leagues. This gives us a data set including the English Championship, probably the least under the radar of all of our leagues, Ligue 2 in France, the 2. Bundesliga in Germany, Italy’s Serie B and Spain’s Segunda Division.

The leagues that have been selected for this article are, of course, very competitive in their own right, and it is normal now to see players from these tiers getting good moves to a higher level of competition.

Potentially, the most prominent narrative at the start of European football has been the performance of Jude Bellingham at Real Madrid as the English midfielder has transitioned into one of the world’s biggest stars. Bellingham started his career as a 16-year-old in the English second flight with Birmingham City; there is talent everywhere you look.

Indeed, data analysis of these leagues always surfaces talented players. That is one of the biggest reasons we are increasingly seeing big clubs from across Europe getting scouts into these leagues to produce reports and expand their market knowledge through their analysis.

1. Adrian Benedyczak, 22 years old, Striker, Parma and Poland

The first player on our list is the 22-year-old Polish U21 international striker Adrian Benedyczak of Parma. He started his career with Pogon Szczecin in his native Poland before moving to Italy to join Parma in Serie B for a fee in the region of £2.4M in 2021.

He impressed last season for Parma, playing a mixture of 9, LW and RW, and ending with 10 goals and two assists in 1976 minutes. This season, though, he has started on fire with five goals in 447 minutes already in the league.

Once again, his position within the team has been relatively flexible as he has played through the middle and from the left side of the attack.

In terms of his physical profile, Benedyczak is something of an anomaly when played from the wing because of his size. He stands at 191cm | 6’3” and is quick across the ground, although he also has a strong technical base.

Here, we have Benedyczak’s shot map for the 2022/23 and 2023/24 seasons, so far, combined. As you can see, he averages an xG per shot of 0.13, with most of his shots and goals coming from inside the area. Indeed, only one of his goals within this timeframe came from outside the opposition area.

It is also worth noting that most of his goals come from within the width of the six-yard area, which indicates a forward taking shots from good locations and generating high xG opportunities.

One thing that stands out when watching Benedyczak play for Parma is his game intelligence and movement. His timing and anticipation are very good, and for such a young player, he already displays a good understanding of the nuances of his position.

This example shows the build-up to one of his goals against Cagliari, with the ball initially on the far side. When the pass comes in, we see Benedyczak receive into feet before stepping over the ball and allowing it to run to the teammate behind him.

The Polish forward then makes an intelligent curved run to attack space behind the defensive line, and his teammate, who received the pass, plays into the space with a well-weighted pass.

This kind of combination play and movement suggests that Benedyczak should be capable of playing at a higher level.

Benedyczak regularly displays intelligent movement, as we see again in this example. This is the build-up before his goal at home to Brescia. As the opposition are defending in a low block, and with Parma in posse

Benedyczak regularly displays intelligent movement, as we see again in this example. This is the build-up before his goal at home to Brescia. As the opposition are defending in a low block, and with Parma in possession deep in their half, it is the movement of Benedyczak as he makes a long central run that breaks the deadlock.

The quality and weight of the pass are once again sound, and once the Polish forward is released behind the defensive line, he shows strength to hold off the defender and composure to finish past the goalkeeper.

If Parma are not promoted this season to Serie A, it is implausible that Benedyczak will still be at the club next season. He will likely already be on the radars of most, if not all, of the bigger clubs in Serie A already.

2, Abdoulaye Ndiaye, 21 years old, Central Defender, Troyes and Senegal

Next, we have the first of two Troyes players on our list for this article. Abdoulaye Ndiaye is a 21-year-old Senegalese U23 international who moved to Troyes in Ligue 2 this summer.

He was initially a product of the Sacre-Coeur academy in Senegal before moving to France to join Lyon in 2020.

Lyon have a well-deserved reputation for youth development, especially for the development of central defenders, and it appears that Ndiaye will be another success story coming out of the club.

He is an extremely modern central defender who is quick and powerful, but he is also very assured and comfortable in possession of the ball. Physically, Ndiaye is listed at 185cm | 6’2” and is comfortable playing either as part of a back four or a back three system.

This pass map shows Ndiaye’s progressive passes from the current season with Troyes. As you can no doubt tell from the graphic, Ndiaye typically plays on the left side of the defensive structure, and while he can, at times, look to play diagonally to switch the play, the vast majority of his progressive passes come forward down his side and into the half-spaces.

Ndiaye is competent when stepping out in possession of the ball and punching the ball through the lines to find teammates’ feet.

We see an example of this here with Ndiaye in possession of the ball centrally in the match where Troyes were away to FC Annecy. With the opposition positioned in a deep defensive block, the Senegalese central defender has time on the ball.

Having time to play and look up does not negate the quality of the pass or the decision he makes when he decides to drive the pass through the centre and into the feet of a teammate.

This time, we see Ndiaye in possession of the ball with more space ahead of him to play into. The Grenoble defensive block is more open, but again, they are slow to come across to put pressure on the ball as Ndiaye steps out.

In this example, he is playing on the left side of a back three, and he has the freedom to move forward and look to join in and bolster the numbers in the midfield.

As he steps forward down the left side, we see the movement ahead of the ball from a teammate looking to attack space. Ndiaye has the quality to play a perfectly weighted pass into that area to release his teammate.

While Ndiaye stands out in the build-up phase of the game, he is also quick and strong defensively. His reading of the game and positional awareness have developed and are going from strength to strength as each game passes.

While Ndiaye has only just moved to Troyes, it is unlikely that he will be moving on in the short term. He has the profile of central defender that teams are increasingly looking for. A move to the Bundesliga as he continues to develop would not come as a surprise.

3. José Marsà, 21 years old, Central Defender, FC Andorra and Spain.

The next player on the list is a 21-year-old central defender who has moved clubs this season, having played for some illustrious clubs throughout his youth career. Jose Marsà is a 21-year-old Spanish central defender who has represented the national team up to U19 level.

He was initially a product of the youth academy at Barcelona, but in 2021, he made the move across the border to join Sporting CP in Portugal. However, in August of this year, the young defender moved back to the Spanish leagues to join FC Andorra on a free transfer.

Marsà is another example of a modern type of central defender with the capacity to build the play and to step into the midfield. In this sense he is a perfect match for the way that Andorra want their team to play in the Spanish second division.

Similar to Ndiaye of Troyes, we typically will see Marsà line up to the left side of the defence, and being naturally left-footed, he brings a real sense of balance to the defensive structure for his team.

His passing is strong, and he can play progressive passes, as you can see from his progressive passing chart. He is also very strong when stepping out in possession of the ball.

We see an example of this here, along with a representation of the way that Andorra play, with their goalkeeper coming out to build the play.

As the ball comes to Marsà, who is playing as the left-sided central defender in a back four, we see him open out as if to pass across to the second central defender. This movement pins the opposition striker, and Marsà drives forward to attack and enter the shaded area.

This time, we see an example of the typical passes that Marsà will make, as he does not always favour passive passes that hold possession in the way that some central defenders do. In this example, with the opposition poorly positioned defensively, Marsà fires a pass centrally to a teammate in a pocket of space.

The pass itself looks relatively straightforward, but the Spanish defender plays it with the correct weight and to the back foot of the receiving player so that he can receive and turn immediately.

Marsà has only just moved back to Spain, so in the short term, I do not believe he will move clubs. Those clubs, however, who are more possession-orientated in their approach will be aware of his potential.

4. Jonathan Rowe, 20 years old, Winger, Norwich and England

Last season was a disappointing one for Norwich City fans. They are used to life as a yo-yo club at the moment, and typically, following relegation from the Premier League, they will then bounce straight back the following season. This time, though, they have had to prepare for a second consecutive season in the second tier of English football.

The emergence and the performances of the 20-year-old English winger Jonathan Rowe have somewhat mitigated that disappointment.

The diminutive wide player has been nothing short of electric so far this season for Norwich, and at the time of writing, he has five goals and one assist in 614 minutes of football across all competitions.

He has predominantly been played from the left-hand side of the attack, although he has also played at times more from the right.

Here, we see the shot map for Rowe so far this season in the Championship, and he has generated four goals from 16 attempts. Since he plays mainly from the left side of the attack, we will see Rowe driving inside from that side on his right foot to generate shots on goal.

Rowe is a powerful and deceptive ball carrier. He is relatively small, listed at 173cm | 5’6”, but he has a powerful build and the ability to quickly drop his shoulder and shift his balance when he is running in possession of the ball.

In this example, he is initially covered by two opposition defenders, but he drops a shoulder and drives inside before producing a piece of skill to quickly change direction while moving at speed to drive down to the touchline. As he cuts inside again, he plays a low cross across the goal to set up a goalscoring opportunity.

This time, Rowe is in possession in the right half-space in the build-up to one of his goals. He immediately attacks and pins his nearest defender before then cutting inside to a central space. This space has been created by the movement of his teammates, who has made a forward run to drag a defender away. As Rowe moves inside, he hits a powerful shot with his weaker left foot that beats the goalkeeper comfortably.

There is no doubt that Rowe has emerged as one of the stand-out attacking players in the Championship so far this season. If Norwich do not promote at the end of this term, he will have no shortage of clubs looking to gain his signature.

5. Thierno Baldé, 21 years old, Right Back, Troyes and France

The final player on our list for this article is the 21-year-old French U21 international Thierno Baldé of Troyes in Ligue 2. Baldé is actually a product of the prolific youth academy at PSG in the French capital, but as with so many talented young players, he has found it difficult to break into the first team, given their spending power. That is why he moved last summer to join Troyes in a deal that was reportedly worth £3M.

Baldé is a dynamic ball-carrying full-back capable of progressing the ball through his movement in possession or his passing range. He is extremely quick and athletic, but he also possesses a natural feel for the game with good game intelligence and positional understanding.

Here, we have a movement map that shows all of Baldé’s progressive runs on the right-hand side from the 2022/23 and 2023/24 seasons. As you can clearly see, he is very active in terms of his movement and ball-carrying.

Interestingly, though, he not only carries the ball down the outside of the pitch, as some dynamic full-backs do, but he is also comfortable carrying the ball inside.

Here, we see the pace and power of Baldé in action as he moves to a high line to support the wide player in possession of the ball. The man with the ball initially is isolated against an opposition full-back, and that one player has to stay in shape to counter the threat his direct opponent poses. Baldé is fast to move down the outside, allowing the ball to be slipped wide and behind the defensive line.

This time, we see an example of the kind of movement and incisive attacking runs that we can expect from Baldé when he is in possession of the ball. He initially has the ball in his own half before driving forward to attack the space in the opposition’s defensive structure. As he moves forward, he has a teammate wide of him, so he immediately cuts inside to attack through the half-space and to find room.

Given that this is now Baldé’s second season with Troyes, it is unlikely that he will stay if they fail to win promotion. Given his profile, he would be fascinating in the Bundesliga, but smart Premier League teams should also keep a close eye on his progress.

Conclusion

These five players have all enjoyed strong starts to the season in the second tiers of the top-five leagues. All have very modern profiles for their positions, and they fit what is becoming the trend for signings amongst big clubs.

The difficulty now is for them to maintain their form across the whole season and to show that they deserve a step up in competition next season.