- Published
The world's biggest clubs were all aware of the teenage sensation turning heads for Universidad de Chile, the one dubbed his generation's Alexis Sanchez.
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clubs → publish → Chile
"When we signed Dario Osorio, it was not because no-one knew about him," Kristian Kjaer, technical director at Midtjylland, tells BBC Sport.
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Kjaer → sign → Sport
Osorio was on the radar of AC Milan, RB Leipzig, Salzburg and a number of other English and German clubs before he left Santiago for Denmark at the age of 19.
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he → leave → 19
It was a carefully considered pathway.
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It → consider → ?
After three seasons in Scandinavia, the winger joined Crystal Palace on loan this summer with a £24m option to buy which would make him the most expensive sale in Danish Superliga history.
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him → join → history
Midtjylland, where Brentford owner Matthew Benham was a majority stakeholder between 2014 and 2023, are renowned as one of the most innovative clubs in Europe for their use of analytics - from set-pieces to smart recruitment.
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Benham → renowne → recruitment
"We work on both pathways," explains Kjaer.
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Kjaer → work → pathways
"We have subjective scouting, more classic video scouting, live scouting, a network, people we trust in the club and also our partners.
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And then we have the data scouting.
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"And Dario Osorio, we were aware of him long before we signed him."
From feet-on-the-ground to the increasing availability of footage, data analytics and artificial intelligence, Premier League clubs - whether buying direct from source or tracking players like Osorio's progress - have a large proportion of the world's emerging talent covered.
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proportion → sign → talent
"That hidden gem kind of thing almost does not exist any more in football," says Kjaer.
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Kjaer → hide → football
"Sometimes it does, but it's rare.
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it → do → ?
'Find me a player like Ashley Cole...'
"You would put this period as one of the most transformational in talent ID and recruitment," explains Sam Turner, head of operations at scouting and development platform Eyeball.
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Turner → find → Eyeball
Clubs can now obtain an incredible level of detail on players across the globe before they have even made a senior appearance.
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they → obtain → appearance
Eyeball, for example, was founded five years ago to focus on those predominantly aged 13 to 21.
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Eyeball → found → those
It is used by more than 60% of clubs in Europe's top five leagues, and a majority of Premier League sides, for access to more than 400,000 young players across 42 global markets from Europe to Africa and Latin America.
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It → use → Africa
Winger Malick Yalcouye, a new 20-year-old star at Brighton, was tracked on the system since developing at Ivorian side ASEC Mimosas, likewise Bazoumana Toure, who is now at Newcastle.
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who → track → Newcastle
The breadth of coverage is highlighted by other recent moves - Josue Caicedo left Ecuador's LDU Quito for Barcelona, Mustapha Nyassi swapped Gambia's Real de Banjul for Copenhagen and Nour Ashraf joined Leipzig from Egypt's ENPPI.
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Ashraf → highlight → ENPPI
"The availability of data and footage has prompted a change in methodology," says Turner.
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Turner → prompt → methodology
"That has brought a load of benefits in terms of data-led recruitment, time saving, cost saving.
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That → bring → recruitment
Eyeball takes north of 2,000 data points every match, typically from leading amateur clubs and elite academies who film and upload their fixtures.
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who → take → fixtures
The result is a huge database allowing analysts to watch all of a player's progressive passes, for example, discover who covered the most distance or simply ask 'find me a player like Ashley Cole'.
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who → allow → Cole
"There is always this human feel that can never be lost," adds Turner.
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"I like to think we have aided scouts and recruitment teams, supplemented them with the tools, data, information to be able to make more informed decisions on a more consistent basis.
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we → like → basis
Data, says Midtjylland's Kjaer, is "extremely important because it gives you an objective tool you can lean towards" when complemented by years of decision-making experience.
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you → say → experience
"We cannot just turn on the computer and it tell us who to sign and then we go sign them," he says.
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he → turn → who
"We also need to know about the cultural background, the family background, to make sure they fit into our football club.
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they → need → club
"Of course, data has given us opportunities.
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data → give → opportunities
We sign young.
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So the sample size will simply be smaller for us because if we are waiting until it's big enough, Brighton and Liverpool and Brentford and other guys, they will sign the player in front of us.
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"
Where are the emerging markets?
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markets → emerge → ?
"We can find interesting players all around the world," explains Kjaer.
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Kjaer → find → world
"I like us to be open-minded.
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us → like → ?
We are particular in the way we play and the way we sell.
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we → play → way
And therefore, we need to find these players who fit that style of play.
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who → need → play
"When you have done your due diligence and you feel certain, pull the trigger.
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you → do → trigger
The pace in decision-making is also a hidden gem."
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pace → hide → making
One country regularly mentioned is Uzbekistan, who played in their first World Cup this summer, while Turner says Azerbaijan is pioneering a national talent network and "very forward-thinking and motivated to progress the game domestically".
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Azerbaijan → mention → game
Then there is Japan, which Turner calls a "guiding star" in youth development for a system which takes players from grassroots, to school and college football and then the professional game.
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which → be → football
For European clubs, it makes identifying young Japanese prospects more complex.
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identifying → make → prospects
…and 47 more, not listed.
The Aporia
