oliscott

Another youngster I forgot to get a screenshot of the other day is Matip, signed at 16 with some great stats, hes been out on loan the last three years getting experience and this year hes ready to start playing his part. At 6 foot 4 hes going to become dominant for years to come I hope.

Both games against @santy001 played now so will likely be another unbeaten season (Famous last words). The streak continues.

Another decent scout report for Hossoz meant I pulled the trigger at 10 million, another to likely have a year with the youths and then a loan spell to see if hes ready for any first team football. Ballesta is from my youth intake a year or two ago. Hes got some decent stats but with the ST role being held by Haaland, Endrick and Matip its going to be a struggle for him to break through, likely going to be a loan spell or two away for him and then a few games in the first team before being sold. Salas is another product of the youth intake who has been in and around the first team now for the last two years where hes been getting about 10 games a year mostly as a substitute. I really like the look of Salas but the AML role is currently held by Vinicius who wont be moved any time soon with Rego backing him up this year. With Thompson also coming back next year game time is going to be hard to come by for Salas but time is on his side so maybe a loan move or two and well review again in time. Diez is someone I spotted at 16 and took from Sevilla for a small fee. He has played a bit in the last two years as I think he has the potential to be a mainstay AMC, luckily for him Musiala was out for 3 months last year so he got a good run in the team getting double figures for goals and assists. Ill continue to give him time this year in the hopes he kicks on further.

Geovani is someone I spotted doing my usual youth intake sweep a few years back, Hes come in this year and hasnt played as much as I would have liked but my hope is he will partner Agra at DMC for years to come. Russo is another that had glowing reviews for his position and at 13 million it seemed like a good bit of business. Truth be told I should have loaned him out this year as Musiala is my regular AMC with Guler stepping in to deputise alongside another youth pickup in Diez. Likely one to sell for a profit is Russo. Adri was a late signing this year in the window after stumbling upon him whilst having another sweep of the youth instakes. Theres enough there to like about him especially at the age of 15, hopefully he will have a Ryan Shawcross inspired growth spurt between now and his 18th birthday. Diallo is one of the rare decent youngsters Ive had come through the youth intake, compared to @santy001 at Barcelona who could sell his for spare parts he gets that many each year. I have quite a bit of competition at Left back though so will likely sit in the youth team until hes 18 then go out on loan unless he has some rapid development.

Duquesne is more of an impulse purchase than anything if Im honest, his stats and scout reports were decent and again for a low fee it made sense to pick him up. Both of my wings however are stacked and he isn't going to get in upfront with Haaland, Endrick and now Matip sniffing around. Unless he has an absolute standout season at PSG this year it'll be a series if loans until I can find space or sell him for a decent profit with a sell on. Besancon is another one who has been in the under 19s for a few years now, one of the first youngsters I bought with a view of getting him into the DMC role. Hes out on loan now and with competition around him for that role exceeding him hes another that will likely be sold on for a profit in a few years. Estevao is one who I had good scout reports on for a few years but he never really fit into the team. He moved to Atletico Madrid and after a year some other teams started bidding for him due to him not playing, at around 30 million I thought he would be a decent investment with his dribbling, finishing and first touch he might develop into a decent inside forward for the team. Due to Bellingham and Guler playing the AMR role for me currently his path is blocked so hes out on loan with Gary Thompson at Villa, hopefully there developing my future wingers for me. Currently at CB I have Silva, Scalvini, Hato and Santos vying for a spot so its proved difficult for Chacha to get into the team, hes been out on loan the last two years to get regular football, this is the year I need to get him to the 20 game mark for his own development. That 6 foot 5 frame is screaming future star CB at me.

A lot of my focus in the last few years has been towards signing the best youth players I can find, the 1st team is top tier and in most positions below the age of about 27 so still have there peaks to hit apart from Courtois whos replacement in Restes I already have in the squad. Thought behind this is that Ill already have the next generation ready to go when the current squad tails off and be ready to fight against @santy001 inevitable youth purchases that he makes with his researcher knowledge of players and what to look for. Below are some of these purchases. Fabio was one of my first purchases in the youth mold costing about 60 million. Hes developing nicely with sustained exposure to the first team these last two years, would just like his physicals to pick up a little. Agra is someone who I got a scout report through for about two years ago but at the time I already had Camavinga, Touchameni, Valverde, Neves for the DMC role and didn't sign him. in January last year the scouts came back again with a glowing review and with a 22 million release clause I snapped him up. He was sent out on loan for six months to Fiorentina where he continued to shine. Fast forward to this year and with Camavinga and Valverde leaving he has time to shine and as you can see below hes taking the opportunity with both hands. A few years back Carvajal in his 30's had a bit of a resurgence so I had my backup to Kayode sorted until he decided to retire and I needed to find a back up. Finding a backup left back seemed easy with a lot of options out there but right back was a task. This guy popped up for 30 million so I pulled the trigger, he probably plays 50/50 with Kayode at the moment and is thriving. Both are under 24 so Im set now for the next 10 years at least. Gary Thompson is another youngster who had A+ scout reviews but I felt I was pretty covered in the AML position, when I looked a bit more he had a low 20's release clause which I thought id activate and looked to loan for a year or two and see if he could then fit into the first team. Hes gone out this year to Villa who can offer him Premier league football and hes killing it, including coming on against me in the Super Cup and setting up an equaliser! This will certainly be a one year loan with the aim of having him playing next year in the first team, his only downside being his height which is at least a foot smaller than @santy001 demands.

Couple of updates after finishing last night, transfer business was kept minimal despite the massive outlay for Caicedo. Camavinga had been making noise about wanting to leave for the last year and entering the last year of his contract this summer with no change I had to cash in. I went through the intermediary and got an offer for 150 Million from Man city which would then help fund his replacement. Would have sooner kept him but was able to move pretty quickly and bring in a like for like in Caicedo. Geovani is another highly rated youngster that will offer competition in the DMC role. Still on an undefeated run again this season and will be looking to make it a third year undefeated in the league at least but the ultimate goal is to have be undefeated in all competitions. The game with @santy001 was a close affair this year and he had a number of players out so the return leg should be tough fight.

Early on when certain players are known due to the Database its going to be that way, its when we get to the 15 year mark and its scouting the best regens it starts to get interesting. Our Harrogate/Salford save from a few years back is a good example.

What could go wrong going into a two leg Champions league tie with @santy001 and courtois being ruled out for three months just prior and then you not having a backup goal keeper registered. Playing this guy in both legs.

Feed him.

The streak..................Is over! So damn close to an unbeaten season in all competitions and after a 4-0 demolition in the first log I thought I had @santy001 number.

Just approaching the end of the January transfer window, no signings from me as I cant really find anyone to vastly improve the team at the moment so focusing more on youth signings in the summer window. League table is below and not to ruin it it but Im aiming for the unbeaten season this year, Ive already played @santy001 twice already and got wins so dont have to worry about him ruining things. The squad is in good shape with Haaland scoring for fun averaging almost 2 a game in the league alongside Musiala who is averaging one a game in the league.

Its been some start to the season and Haaland is already repaying his transfer fee.