SCOUTED50

SCOUTED50: A curated guide to the next generation

50 breakout talents to watch in the 2025/26 season

SCOUTED

01 Oct 2025 — 45 min read

SCOUTED50 inductees Kees Smit and Ayyoub Bouaddi, illustrated by Matthew Shipley

Welcome to another annual edition of SCOUTED50. If you're new here, this is our curated list of the breakout talents we're most excited to watch this season. If you're not, well...we're so grateful you came back.

As usual, we've written a separate blog post explaining our process, how the list is curated, who voted, and why your favourite player might be missing. If you can't be bothered with vital context, here are the headlines:

The list was curated by Llew Davies and Jake Entwistle, our in-house analysts
Players featured on previous year's lists are not eligible, and only those born during or after 2005 were considered
The list was put to a large group of our friends, colleagues and peers, who voted for their favourites

I know nuance won't stop people screaming on the internet, but we really would prefer people read our primer if they still have questions. You can do so here:

As a final note: this is not meant to be prescriptive or predictive. SCOUTED50 is a curated watchlist, designed to help guide you through another season of breakout talents.

It is the culmination of hundreds of hours of scouting and data analysis by Llew and Jake, and is meant to reflect SCOUTED's vibes and taste. Anyone can slap together a list of the fifty best talents in the world; we're quite confident nobody else could curate a list quite like this.

Developing SCOUTED's vibes is only possible because we're real human beings doing real, independent work. We are not bankrolled by anyone and we don't use generative AI for our creative endeavours. Our words and graphics are written and designed by hand, our players watched with eyes, our datapoints sifted by the colossal power of Jake's big brain. We only survive, clinging on by the skin of our teeth, because readers support us. We need much more help to know we'll be able to keep this going another year.

Now is the perfect time to grab an annual subscription. You'll unlock SCOUTED50, an entire season of coverage from the team, and more new players than you'll know what to do with. We want SCOUTED to be your ultimate companion to 2025/26. This is the best place to start.

Alright?

Without further ado: we're very proud to present SCOUTED50 2025/26.

"The combination of data analysis, scouting analysis, plus long form writing makes SCOUTED one of the first things I read every day."

- Jerome S, SCOUTED Subscriber

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50. Wang Yudong

0 points — 2006, LW, Zeijhang FC, China

We are very aware of our European bias: we know the leagues much better, they are more accessible to watch and follow, and the quality is much easier to judge.

But we could not ignore the fact Wang Yudong is emerging as one of the most productive players in his age group out in China.

Using Stathead to monitor the 2025 calendar year leagues, Wang had more goals and assists than any other player born in 2005 or later at the time of submitting the shortlist: he has scored 11 and laid on three more in 22 CSL games. We’re excited to learn more about Wang this season, and hopefully improve our understanding of how Chinese talents might fare in European leagues in the process.

49. Cyriaque Irié

0 points — 2005, RW, SC Freiburg, Burkina Faso

Cyriaque Irié is rising fast. He joined Dijon FCO from Real du Faso (Burkina Faso) in July 2023 before immediately impressing in Championnat National, the third tier of French football.

Irié is now at Freiburg, and the club had been tracking him since his time at Dijon. As sporting director Klemens Hartenbach explained: “He is blessed with good pace, is exciting in terms of his physical attributes and demonstrates a beneficial attitude when out of possession. He can operate on either flank but has already played as a central forward as well.”

It's this malleable versatility that makes Irié a potential breakout talent. There is a risk it does not quite happen this season, but a slow Hinrunde could set him up to explode in the Rückrunde: as Nick Woltemade proved this year, that’s all you need to secure a mega-money Premier League move.

Our niche prediction for Irié is that Bournemouth sign him as an Antoine Semenyo replacement. The Cherries will do well to keep Semenyo, a Champions League-level threat, for another season and Irié could prove to be a smart pick-up given his dual duel threat.

48. Jens Hjertø-Dahl

0 points — 2005, CM, Tromsø IL, Norway

Were you to sit down and watch every player on this list, Jens Hjertø-Dahl would perhaps be the most eye-catching of the lot. Why? Because's he's massive.

Registered as 1.94m tall, the Norwegian midfielder plays in a style that belies his gangly frame: he is remarkably agile and undeniably technical. He plays with a sharpness on that ball that enables him to needle through smaller spaces, linking and facilitating play. Once a pivot midfielder that drew inspiration from Sergio Busquets, the 19-year-old has since found his niche in more advanced areas. He likes to play in pockets and arrive into the box from deep.

Born and bred in the Arctic Circle, Hjertø-Dahl has been an Eliteserien regular for Tromsø since last season, racking up 5,000 minutes in some 80 appearances. He will be on a lot of clubs' shortlists for a transfer this winter.

47. Abdulai Juma Bah

2 points — 2006, CB, Manchester City, on loan at OGC Nice, Sierra Leone

Abdulai Juma Bah is another example of the practically limitless potential of African football. Signed straight from Sierra Leone in August 2024, he played 873 minutes for Real Valladolid in LaLiga before Manchester City signed him just five months later.

He was sent on loan to Lens for the remainder of the 2024/25 campaign and will spend another season in Ligue 1, this time on the French Riviera with OGC Nice.

Almost complete dominance in the air and inside his own box will define that spell, as you might expect from a 1.95m titan plonked in the middle of a back three. He will be right at the top of rankings for clearances. But he has also shown an ability to snuff out transition fires and get across the ground at decent speed when required.

46. Rion Ichihara

2 points — 2005, CB, RB Omiya Ardija, Japan

Japan have established a strong production line of centre-backs in recent years, many of which end up in European football. The next one up is Rion Ichihara.

Similar to SCOUTED favourite Kota Takai, Ichihara has well ahead of the development curve. At 20 years old, he has played well over 70 games for Omiya Ardija in the second and third tiers of Japanese football, and has captained his country at every age group, most notably for the U-20 team. His leadership qualities standout, as does his mature athleticism which is supplemented by a duelling edge as well as eye-catching composure on the ball in build-up play.

Omiya Ardija were acquired by Red Bull last year, and that will most likely define Ichihara's next step in senior football. A move to Red Bull Salzburg, who have invested a lot of resource in the J.LEAGUEs recently, makes plenty of sense.

45. Rayan Vitor

2 points — 2006, RW, Vasco da Gama, Brazil

One of the most interesting players in this year’s SCOUTED50, Rayan Vitor has the tools to become an attacking force of nature.

He packs power into every inch of an athletic frame, but most of it is geared towards ripping speculative shots from outside of the box. Midway through the 2025 Brasileirão campaign, Rayan had attempted 31 shots from beyond the area; all-but-one were unleashed with his bazooka of a left foot. However, these efforts were worth a grand total of 0.92 xG.

It’s seems like an easy and somewhat lazy comparison to make, but Rayan plays exactly like Hulk. A coach needs to train Rayan to become a low-touch threat that raids the box from out wide or runs in behind.

All this is to say is that he is the ultimate project player European clubs will be keen to mould to their game model. You could sign him as a Power Forward and get him blasting in behind and closer to goal, or you could flip his flank to remove his tendency to cut in and smash it from 40 yards and get him crashing the box from the left instead. He has the tools to succeed - now all he needs is guidance.

44. Ronan Kpakio

3 points — 2007, RB, Cardiff City, Cymru

Cardiff City's relegation to League One could have been devastating, but it has actually been a blessing in disguise. The club pushed the reset button, hiring Brian Barry-Murphy and trusting in their own. One of many home-grown talents to benefit is 17-year-old Ronan Kpakio.

While he made a handful of appearances in the doomed 2024/25 campaign, Kpakio has started eight of nine leagues games at the lower level so far this season, contributing to the team's positive start. His involvement has garnered international recognition too. He made his senior Cymru debut against Canada in September and earned rave reviews from manager Craig Bellamy.

Kpakio is a dynamic right-back that fits into different game models: he can break beyond play, tuck inside, hold his depth, and plenty more. His leggy athleticism is a standout trait. He fits the bill as a multi-dimensional defender for the multi-dimensional modern game. There's plenty to be excited about.

43. Tylel Tati

4 points — 2008, CB, FC Nantes, France

For the second consecutive edition, a large, left-footed Nantes centre-back makes the list. SCOUTED50 2024/25 alumnus Nathan Zézé became the club’s record sale when he joined Saudi Pro League side Neom SC in a deal that could be worth €23m this summer. Unsurprisingly, Les Canaris have spawned another academy graduate to replace him: his name is Tylel Tati.

Although slightly taller than Zézé, the 1.92m Tati seems to index even more into the ground-duelling that characterised his predecessor’s game and is keen to engage and dispossess opponents in wide areas. He is a proactive ball-winner and adventurous ball-carrier. Coaches like Mikel Arteta would probably look to use him at left-back.

Tati was thrown straight into the deep end against the all-conquering PSG for the opening game of the 2025/26 Ligue 1 season. The boy can swim. The fact his hybrid profile is so sought-after by elite teams to provide squad depth without bloating the roster means Zézé’s record as Nantes’ most expensive export may not last long.

42. Pietro Comuzzo

4 points — 2005, CB, ACF Fiorentina, Italy

Italian defenders are making a comeback but Pietro Comuzzo’s short flame-red hair cuts a different figure. He established himself as a key player for I Viola last season and subsequently turned down a life-changing move to Saudi Arabia to stay in Serie A after a €35 million offer from Al Hilal was accepted by Fiorentina.

Comuzzo is a brick wall centre-back. He's proactive and aggressive in duels in the air and on the ground, but he also enjoys a long-range pass and is not afraid to test the limits of his distribution.

Another strong season in Serie A and he should be part of Italy’s squad for the FIFA World Cup in 2026.

41. Said El Mala

5 points — 2006, LW, 1. FC Köln, Germany

If you love powerful, bulldozing ball-carriers, you will love Said El Mala.

We loved watching him play at the UEFA U-19 EURO this summer and included him in our Team of the Tournament. El Mala scored four goals to earn a share of the Golden Boot and also provided two assists. He was the outstanding winger.

It’s his relentless thrust that makes him stick out. If he receives the ball in big spaces, he will drive over large distances before breaking angles as he approaches the box. His power and directness was devastating.

El Mala made the move to 1. FC Köln this summer having broken into senior football at cross-city club Viktoria Köln in the third division. He scored his first Bundesliga goal in his second Bundesliga game before providing an assist in his third. Capable of brutal impact with brutal force, he could burst onto the scene with a bang this term.