Llew Davies

Graphic featuring a testimonial from Pedro Araújo, which reads: "SCOUTED has been one of the resources used by the FC Porto scouting team in recent years. Their work challenges our approach to recruitment and inspires new scouting practices, discovering new players that might have slipped under the radar or new ways to interrogate and evaluate data. We encourage our team to keep a close eye on what is published at SCOUTED in order to raise our internal level and get to know more talent breaking through worldwide."

In November last year, FC Porto invited us to a match to show support for what we do at SCOUTED. This was an extremely proud moment for the team and a clear sign that our unique discovery and analysis of young players is highly valued in the professional industry.

Jump on board at scoutedftbl.com.

Real Madrid defend like an U-13 team.

The Amazing Johan Manzambi Johan Manzambi is a proper midfielder

As soon as I watched Johan Manzambi, he became one of my favourite players. I love midfielders that contribute to every phase of play – from press-killing dribbling to sneaky box-crashing, and everything else between the boxes – and the Swiss is one of them. You will hear a lot more about him.

Kasper Schmeichel, hang up your gloves.

Referee winking at the camera as it passes him in the line-ups before a UEFA Europa League match. I prefer not to speak.

Volume I 23,000 words on the future of football, yours to download and keep.

Very proud to have put together SCOUTED: Volume I, our first digital magazine of 2026, along with Tom and Jake. Plenty of hard work put into it, and the product speaks for itself. If you want to get ahead of the curve on the future of football, make sure to download Volume I.

I’m definitely not going because I couldn’t think of anything worse; was just curious to see to what extent the WRU are ripping working class people off. A ticket to watch Cymru in the football (far better team, atmosphere, culture, and sport) is £35 in comparison.

The cheapest tickets available (highest rows in the top tier) I could for Wales against Scotland in the Six Nations rugby are £100. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, charging that amount for a team that have won once in the last 23 matches. Genuinely scandalous.

The first 20 minutes of Sheffield United-Middlesbrough was the best 20 minutes of football I can remember watching all season.

Screenshot showing RB Leipzig, who are 3-0 up, breaking with four attacker against three Augsburg defenders in the Bundesliga.

The Bundesliga summed up in a screenshot.

Always enjoy catching up on the propaganda that gets spoon-fed to journalists when a new manager comes in. ‘Liam Rosenior isn’t wearing gloves in training so the players can hear his applause when he see’s something he likes’ is a new one for me. Innovative.

I'm watching Stade Rennais for Jérémy Jacquet, and I love having Mohamed Kader Meïté as a little side watch when the ball gets into the final third. The way he wedges and pins defenders is textbook. Very rare for such a young centre-forward to be so adept at such skills.

Remember when Paul Scholes said Sandro Tonali was better than Declan Rice?

Mike Tomlin smiling on a TV broadcast.

We've lost a legend. Thank you, Mister Tomlin.

Imagine a team celebrating winning the Community Shield like Barcelona are celebrating this Supercopa. The tragically online English football fan would have an aneurysm.

Been watching some Rodrigo Mendoza and my assessment of him as a player/profile is very different to other peoples' assessments of him that I've come across.

I told you so: The 2025 XI Llew returns to boast

This is my I Told You So XI of 2025, a team of players I wrote about that went on to prove my point. Includes Kees Smit, Ayyoub Bouaddi and Yan Diomandé. I then picked out five little-known prospects to keep tabs on in 2026. It's free to read.

Gateshead is slap bang next door, though…

What’s the next best Leeds-based club in the pyramid? It must be the biggest city (excluding the Welsh ones) not to have a prominent other club in it, which is pretty unique for English football, unless I’m forgetting an obvious one.

Arsenal should sign Caleb Yirenkyi in January.

Graphic featuring photos of Hugo Sotelo and Kodai Sano, set against an off-white background. Overlayed onto it is bold white text that reads 'BREAKOUT5' set against a vibrant pink box.

Introducing BREAKOUT5.

This is our regular collection of talents Llew Davies was most impressed by this month. Think a smaller SCOUTED50 but contemporary, collectible and immediately relevant - and based on real hours put into scouting over the past thirty days.

Discover the future: bit.ly/4pbHQe5

Leeds United getting Ethan Ampadu for £7 million is one of the best value transfers of the past decade, easily.

I had a dream last night where I was speaking to Tom Brady about the disguise of Nathan De Cat.

Introducing Nathan De Cat Long limbs, disguised passing, and a bam-bam tempo: breaking down Belgium's teenage number six

Nathan De Cat is a top prospect. Despite being the most obvious figure on any pitch, he plays with a disguise that belongs at the highest level. I broke down one of his performances to show why the European giants are already after him.

Someone who managed Haverfordwest County in the Cymru Premier just three years ago is currently managing against Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League.

Google sattelite image of Puerto de Vega, a very small village on the Asturian coast

Puerto de Vega looks like every coastal village in west Wales, and I find that extremely relatable. I too would like to play against Celta Vigo in the cup.

The Copa del Rey is really cool because most of the top-flight clubs play against real minnows in the early rounds every year. Tonight, Celta Vigo are at Puerto de Vega, a tiny, rural Asturian fishing village that has about 1,000 people living it whose football team play in the sixth tier.

The Ballon d'Or, and all the narrative and argument and hysteria that surrounds it, is the biggest load of shite going.

Mohamed Kader Meïté: 21 minutes to break the internet How the massive teenage forward changed a game

Stade Rennais' Mohamed Kader Meïté is maybe the most exciting centre-forward prospect in football right now. A jumbo-sized, 17-year-old striker that can do almost everything at the point of attack, his match-winning impact on Sunday night proved it.

It went viral; I analysed it play by play.

Mohamed Kader Meïté: 21 minutes to break the internet How the massive teenage forward changed a game

Mohamed Kader Meïté went viral for one clip in a 21-minute cameo last weekend.

Watch it in full and you'll be even more excited about the 17-year-old Stade Rennais centre-forward, one of the most exciting in Europe and symbol of the jumbo-sized striker. Llew Davies has analysed it, play by play.