The rise in the financial strength of the top-five European leagues has led to a dominance of clubs from those particular divisions in European competitions. While you can argue that the rise in the quality of football played at the highest level has led to a ‘better product’, it has also robbed us of some of the romanticism of football.

I am just about old enough to remember the great Crvena Zvezda side of the late 80s and early 90s, which was one of the greatest sides in Europe for a period of time, the Steaua Bucharest (now renamed due to mismanagement) side that reached the final of the European Cup (now the Champions League) in 1986 and a plethora of other great club sides from Eastern Europe.

Financially, the leagues in Eastern Europe, with the possible exceptions of the likes of Poland, have fallen behind those of Western Europe. That has not, however, led to a downturn in the level of talent being produced by clubs in those countries. Indeed, Eastern Europe remains one of the most exciting regions in the world from a scouting and recruitment perspective.

In this article, we will discuss five young players (we are considering young to be 23 years old and under) who we believe will make the move to bigger leagues in the near future with some analysis of their tactical style.

While we are not necessarily putting these players forward as those who have the ability to play in a top-five league or for teams competing at the latter stages of the Champions League, we do believe that they will have interesting careers.

Viktor Popov, 23 years old, right-back, Cherno More and Bulgaria

The first player we have identified is the 23-year-old Bulgarian international right-back Viktor Popov. He is currently contracted to Cherno More in the Bulgarian top flight, and he is under contract until June 2025. Popov has already been capped 13 times at senior international level for Bulgaria.

The level of the Bulgarian league is relatively low at the moment. However, there is still talent there if you know where to look. Popov is a very effective full-back who thrives in the defensive phase and in terms of ball progression.

While he does not necessarily add a lot in terms of goal threat and chance creation, he is one of the top players in his team in terms of moving the ball forward and into dangerous positions.

You can see from the pizza chart for Popov that his ability on the ball stands out. He is in the 91st percentile for passes per 90 and the 92nd percentile for progressive passes per 90 — meaning he is not generally passive in possession of the ball and will take more chances in terms of playing line-breaking passes and moving into dangerous areas.

He is solid defensively, ranking in the 87th percentile for defensive duels per 90 and the 61st percentile for defensive duels won %. He also stands out for his positioning and ability to intercept or block the ball to disrupt the opposition as they look to attack, landing in the 87th percentile for positioning.

His progressive passing map shows that he is a full-back who is more than capable of coming inside and receiving the ball in the channels. When in possession in the opposition half, he finds angles to progress the ball and to break into the opposition area from wide spaces.

Popov is the kind of full-back who would thrive in the German Bundesliga. Given his profile, however, this would likely be with a club in the bottom half of the table. His ability to progress the ball from the right-back position especially would work well with the general style of play in the German top flight.

Matúš Kmet, 23 years old, right-back, Trenčín and Slovakia

The second player on our list is also a right-back in 23-year-old Slovakian Matúš Kmet. He is currently contracted to Trenčín in the Slovakian top-flight, a club that has links to Ajax in the Netherlands, although he has outgrown the Slovakian league already at this point.

As you can see from Kmet’s pizza chart, he is a very different right-back to Viktor Popov, as he is more involved in the attacking phase of the game with some very interesting attacking outputs. This is combined with excellent performances in terms of ball progression from deeper areas. Kmet, however, is less effective than Popov when it comes to the defensive phase of the game.

In terms of his attacking contribution, we can see that Kmet is in the 83rd percentile for goal contributions and the 85th percentile for expected goal contributions. His underlying attacking data is also very strong, falling in the 98th percentile for shots per 90 and the 84th percentile for dribbles per 90. He is a player that generates volume from the right-back position in terms of the amount of shots that he takes.

Kmet is one of the key players for Trenčín in terms of ball progression; he is in the 99th percentile for both passes per 90 and received passes, which shows that he is constantly involved for his team. He is also in the 88th percentile for dangerous passes and the 97th percentile for progressive passes per 90.

The progressive pass map for Kmet is interesting for a couple of reasons. It shows his passing range, and you can see that he switches play to access space on the opposite side of the pitch. It also demonstrates that he is extremely comfortable when asked to come inside and play in the half-spaces. In this, he has similarities in terms of his profile with Trent Alexander-Arnold of Liverpool.

Kmet has a profile that would likely be best suited to the Italian leagues, and we would not be surprised to see the likes of Lecce in Serie A signing him.

Samuel Gidi, 19 years old, central midfielder, MŠK Žilina and Ghana

We are staying in Slovakia for our third player but moving on to a central midfielder in the 19-year-old Ghanaian midfielder Samuel Gidi of MŠK Žilina. Gidi signed for the Slovakian club from Žilina Africa, their partner club in Africa, and in terms of profile, he is more of an 8 or even an 8/10 in the centre of the park. His biggest strength comes in terms of his ball progression, and he is often the play for Žilina that will link the defence, midfield and attack together.

His pizza chart shows this as he really pops regarding his ball progression and passing. Gidi is in the 95th percentile for passes per 90 and the 96th percentile for received passes. He very much acts as a playmaker for his side. He is also in the 74th percentile for dangerous passes and the 94th percentile for progressive passes per 90. Interestingly, Gidi is also capable of progressing the ball centrally when dribbling and carrying the ball, ranking in the 85th percentile for dribbles per 90.

The pass map for Gidi shows that he is very much used as a playmaker by his side. You can see that he receives and plays in almost every zone of the pitch and comes back to receive the ball deep around his own penalty area. He is capable of dictating the play despite his young age.

Gidi is the type of player who would thrive in Serie A, but we would not be surprised to see a smart Belgian side pick him up in the first instance as a bridge move.

Vasil Kušej, 23 years old, left-winger, Mladá Boleslav and Czechia

For our next player, we will move across the border from Slovakia to Czechia with the 23-year-old Czech international winger Vasil Kušej. Kušej is currently contracted to Mladá Boleslav in the Czech top flight, and at the time of writing, he has scored six goals and made seven assists in 17 league matches.

As you can see from his pizza chart, he is very much a wide forward who pops in terms of his attacking involvement and not necessarily in terms of passing, ball progression or even defensive output.

This season, Kušej is in the 86th percentile for goal contributions and the 79th percentile for expected goal contributions. His underlying data is also strong, suggesting that his attacking output is sustainable as he is in the 85th percentile for shots per 90, the 90th percentile for dribbles per 90 and the 80th percentile for touches in the opposition area.

Kušej is effective when carrying the ball in the opposition half. He creates real threat when cutting inside onto his right foot and likes to drive into the opposition area at an angle.

As you can see from his progressive carry map, he also plays from the half-spaces at times and even from the right side of the pitch. As an attacking threat, he is free to move around and occupy pockets of space to receive the ball before looking to break through on goal.

Kušej is the kind of wide player who would do well in the Portuguese top flight.

Jovan Mijatović, 18 years old, striker, Crvena Zvezda and Serbia

Our final player is the first striker and first player that we believe will make a move to a top UEFA Champions League-calibre club.

Jovan Mijatović is an 18-year-old Serbian U19 international striker who is currently contracted to Crvena Zvezda in the Serbian top flight. Despite his youth and inexperience, Mijatović currently has eight goals and two assists in 14 league matches in the Serbian top flight.

As you can see from his pizza chart, his attacking output, as you might expect, is extremely good, but he also has some interesting outputs in terms of his ability to progress the ball and create chances for his side.

In terms of his attacking output, he is in the 95th percentile for goal contributions and the 88th percentile for expected goal contributions. Once again, it is essential, however, for a player to have strong underlying data if you want him to continue his strong output in front of goal.

With that, he is in the 99th percentile for shots per 90, the 86th percentile for dribbles per 90 and the 95th percentile for touches in the opposition area. He is also in the 90th percentile for dangerous passes (passes to the final third and to the penalty area).

Mijatović’s shot map shows a young striker who has an understanding of expected goals and the importance of occupying central areas and taking shots from high-value positions. You can see this from the cluster of shots from the penalty spot and the six-yard area. This points towards a young striker who will be able to maintain his goalscoring form.

Mijatović has already been closely linked to clubs in the Bundesliga and Serie A, which would appear to be his next destination.

Conclusion

There is so much depth of talent in Eastern Europe that it remains a goldmine in terms of talent identification and recruitment. The sheer breadth of technical quality, in particular, should be of interest to clubs across the continent and in the top five European leagues.