Which Footballers Have Come From Linfield Youth Academy?

Northern Ireland started their Nations League campaign in a positive manner.

A convincing 2-0 win over Luxembourg at Windsor Park was the perfect start to their quest for promotion from League C.

Northern Ireland are very much in a transitional phase.

Exciting young talent such as Liverpool’s Connor Bradley, Rangers’ Ross McCausland and Sunderland’s Trai Hume have been given a significant amount of trust by Michael O’Neill to carry the nation’s hopes.

One club has had more impact than any other in producing the crop of talented youngsters that are emerging into the senior side.

One Northern Irish club, Linfield, were connected to eight players in Michael O’Neill’s side, either through youth or first-team level.

The South Belfast club have always been recognised for their domestic dominance, yet their ability to produce players is also an unquestionable strength.

Northern Ireland’s captain against Luxembourg, Trai Hume, was developed at Linfield’s academy, where he gained valuable first-team experience during his time playing for The Blues.

Linfield’s vast representation trickles down to the underage sides.

Both the u21 and u19 squads had five representatives each that played or currently play for Linfield. The quality of players being produced can be clearly seen in their latest exports.

Over the summer, Linfield sold youngsters Braiden Graham, Adohan Doherty, and Ceadach O’Neill to Everton, Blackburn Rovers, and Arsenal, respectively.

As the flow of talent continues, the question is, who are the next emerging stars in Linfield’s ranks?

This tactical analysis in the form of a scout report aims to highlight the next crop of talented players coming out of Linfield’s youth Academy.

Using Eyeball software for our analysis, Linfield’s top-performing prospects were identified and analysed.

Kalum Thompson Scouting Report

Kalum Thompson may be the next Linfield youth player to secure a move to a top side in England or Scotland.

The 16-year-old has the ability to play on either wing or as a number 10.

Last season, his playing time was spread across Linfield’s u18 and u16 sides.

He was instrumental in the u16’s All-Ireland Challenge Cup win, where he put in a man-of-the-match performance to help secure a significant coup for Linfield.

At the beginning of this season, Thompson is being rewarded for last year’s exploits.

He has cemented a place in Linfield’s u20 side and has already scored three goals in seven appearances.

First-team Manager David Healy has shown his faith in the young attacker by giving him his first team debut in September’s County Antrim Shield fixture.

There’s a plethora of reasons why Thompson is so highly rated.

Thompson has an incredible ability to dribble by players.

After controlling the ball with his usual immaculate first touch, he looks to be direct and take players on.

His take-on success percentage is 55%.

In this situation, Thompson has the ball on the left flank.

As he approaches the penalty box, he jinks past the opposition’s full-back.

His tight control and change of pace are too much for the opposing full-back, who fouls Thompson inside the box, giving away a penalty.

This ability to draw players is one of Thompson’s greatest strengths.

However, the intelligence that he displays when doing so is what makes him stand out.

As he draws players in, he’s quick to play the ball around his opponent, using clever one-twos.

Here, Thompson picks up the ball in his own half.

He drives at the nearest opposition player and draws him in before passing the ball off to his left-back.

Thompson then utilises his pace, making a run into the half-space.

The opponent he had initially drawn in is unable to catch him.

The left-back finds Thompson, who’s able to receive the ball in a dangerous area.

Thompson’s creativity can be clearly seen statistically.

He averages 1.89 key passes and 0.55 assists per 90 minutes.

His ability to create comes from the range of passes he can play.

Thompson’s vision and technical quality allow him to pick passes that split defences.

In this situation, Thompson is driving inside.

As he drives inside, several players are making supporting runs.

He cleverly plays a reverse pass that finds the run of his centre-forward, darting in behind.

Thompson’s pass is played perfectly into his path, allowing the forward to shoot with his first touch.

Matthew Orr Scouting Report

Matthew Orr has had quite the summer.

After playing consistently in Linfield’s u20 side last season, the 17-year-old was rewarded with his first-ever professional contract.

This came off the back of him making his first team debut in a Europa Conference League qualifier against Stjarnan.

Not only did the 17-year-old give an impressive account of himself at right-back, but he also played a pivotal part in the game, scoring on both his first-team and European debut.

Orr is a centre-back by trade and has been promoted to the first-team squad.

There, he will challenge an experienced defence.

On the international stage, Orr has been handed his first cap at u19 level, capping what has been an impressive couple of months.

He has several qualities that demonstrate why he’s so highly thought of.

Orr is dominant in the air.

Having proved this at every level he’s played for Linfield, Orr’s debut goal showed his capabilities in the air, netting a header on his professional debut.

He is a handful from set pieces, and he uses this ability predominately when battling for the ball against opposition centre-forwards.

Here, a long ball is played by the opposition’s goalkeeper in an attempt to find his team’s centre-forward.

Orr leaps well above his opponent and heads the ball cleanly away.

Orr’s aerial duel win percentage is an impressive 72%.

Orr’s ability to win the ball isn’t solely down to his physical capacity to win possession.

Yet, his positioning and awareness show that he has a level of maturity beyond his years.

Awareness is vital when defending the box when playing as both a right-back and right centre-back in a back three.

In this situation, Orr takes up a great position.

The ball has been worked out wide, and the opposition is about to cross it into the box.

Orr has an excellent body shape; he is fully aware of who is around him and is in the ideal position to deal with the cross.

As the ball comes in, Orr meets it, heading it away from danger.

Orr has also demonstrated quality in possession.

The defender is more than capable of being an asset to his side in the build-up and progress the ball cleanly through the thirds.

Orr averages 14.4 forward passes per 90 minutes.

Here, during a transitional moment, the ball falls to Orr’s feet.

He looks forward, wanting to be positive with his pass.

He plays a good ball into the feet of a midfielder who is showing for the ball, allowing Linfield to progress.

Jacob Farr Scouting Report

Like Kalum Thompson, Jacob Farr was part of the u16 all-Ireland Challenge Cup winning side.

The 16-year-old enjoyed a successful campaign last season, playing for both Linfield’s u16 and u18 squads.

Playing as a centre-forward and as a winger, Farr has shown his ability at every underage level to score goals.

He has been promoted to Linfield’s u20 side and has already scored five goals in seven matches.

Farr has represented his country at u16 level and was an important component in the County Armagh side that reached the final of the prestigious international youth competition, The Super Cup NI.

Farr has many attributes that will have impressed scouts from England and Scotland.

Farr has the clinical edge that all top strikers need.

Statistically, he impressively averages 0.88 goals per 90.

When diving into the data, it’s also clear that Farr’s intention is to get into the most dangerous positions possible.

Of the 3.8 shots he averages per 90, 3.2 come from inside the penalty area.

In this situation, Farr has got the ball in the area.

His first touch is far from perfect and takes him wider from goal than he would ideally like.

However, he doesn’t panic, adapting to the circumstances.

He drives the ball low and hard into the bottom corner from a tight angle.

Farr’s qualities as a centre-forward are not merely related to his ability to score goals.

He is also able to link play and is competent when playing with his back to goal.

He averages 1.18 key passes and 0.29 assists per 90 minutes, highlighting this quality in finding the runs of his supporting teammates.

Having received the ball deep in the opponent’s half, Farr turns and runs at the opposition.

He drives forward and draws in several opponents.

After avoiding a couple of challenges, he plays the ball to a supporting teammate out wide, who is able to cut inside and score.

The forward can contribute to his team’s defensive tactics as well.

Attackers, now more than ever, need to be able to contribute defensively to combat teams trying to build up play from the back.

Farr can more than hold his own defensively.

He has a tackle success rate of 70.83%.

In this situation, Farr is playing as a right winger.

He has come inside to compact the pitch.

Seeing that the opposing defender on the ball is unaware of his surroundings, Farr quickly steps in and nicks the ball.

This sets up an attack that leads to a clear opportunity on goal.

Alex Watson Scouting Report

Alex Watson is another highly-rated 16-year-old from Linfield.

Like Thompson and Farr, Watson has progressed into the u20 squad and has already shown many of his standout characteristics — none more than his versatility.

Watson has the ability to play in a variety of positions.

He can play as a full-back, holding midfielder, box-to-box midfielder and winger.

This versatility has made him a staple of the Northern Ireland u16 and u17 squads.

Many have tipped Watson to go and do great things.

Further analysis shows clearly why many have been impressed with his performance.

Watson’s ability to defend 1v1 is a key reason why he can be utilised in so many different positions.

This has allowed him to fulfil the important duties that a full-back and number 6 have when they need to defend deep in their own half.

Watson averages 6.2 tackles per 90 and has a tackle success rate of 57%.

Here, Watson is playing as a right-back.

He defends this situation with textbook precision.

The ball is played out wide, and Watson works hard to get out to the opposition’s winger while the ball is travelling.

He gets out quickly and slows his steps on approach; this delays the attacker from bursting by Watson.

He then gets his arm across the considerably taller forward and wins back possession.

Averaging an incredible 16 forward passes per 90, Watson is able to constantly find players in advanced positions.

This quality is particularly on show when Watson operates as either a number 8 or a number 6.

In this situation, Watson receives the ball in his half.

As he progresses into the opponent’s half, he lets the ball run across him.

He uses a nice piece of skill to quickly turn a recovering opponent before he plays an audacious pass with the outside of his foot, releasing his side’s right winger.

One of the most impressive components of Watson’s game that allows him to utilise his high level of technique is his ability to correctly scan and orient his body.

Playing as a number 6, Watson has proven to be a real asset at taking the ball off his defenders and playing forward.

Here, Watson is playing as a 6.

He occupies a dangerous area where he can receive a forward pass from a teammate.

After scanning, Watson takes the ball brilliantly on the back foot.

He uses his next touch to play a pass in behind the opposition’s defence for the run of one of his forwards.

Conclusion

Linfield have played a massive part in forming many of the young players in the current Northern Ireland men’s senior squad.

Their academy continues to produce players with the potential to make an impact for club and country.

This scout report shows that the current crop of emerging talent will continue to represent Linfield’s ability to develop players as they seek to forge a career at the highest level.