5 football clubs which have the best scouting networks

We have all been there. Having requested a scout report, received it, trawled through player statistics and triple-checked the money’s available, you’ve launched a bid for your favourite world class individual. Now that you’ve attracted him to your mediocre, second-tier club, you realise that this is Football Manager, the game, and not reality by any means.Comparatively, the real world of football scouting requires a great deal of meticulous planning and strategy. Scouts will embrace the harsh winds engulfing a non-league match, compile an endless report until the early hours of the morning and present it to their superior, appearing fuzzy eyed and restless, all for minimal compensation.For clubs operating on a shoestring budget, a tight-knit scouting system is essential in bringing talent to the club and there are numerous different methods in place. Let us then take a look at a handful of sides across the continent who have utilised this paramount, yet undervalued, aspect of football most efficiently.

#1 Leicester City

The scouts have been crucial to the Foxes’ Premier League title hopes this season

Where better to start on this list than with this campaign’s biggest surprise package. Following their electric pulverising of Pellegrini’s men on Saturday, Leicester City are fast gaining the belief needed to win the Premier League title. Rewind to this point last year and it’s a laughable concept but, courtesy of their sharp scouting network, it’s one which has risen to fruition.

Ben Wrigglesworth, head of technical scouting for the Foxes, and head of recruitment Steve Walsh have formed the fulcrum of Leicester’s fine work in the transfer market and the pair have proven so successful that Arsenal have poached the former and are aiming to lure Walsh to the Emirates also. Between the two of them, they have helped the club land N’Golo Kanté, Riyad Mahrez and the prolific Jamie Vardy; three of the stand-out performers of this season, all signed for a total of £7 million.

The club, like many in the modern era, use an online programme to unveil new talent. ‘Wyscout’ is a computer system that enables them to analyse player strengths and weaknesses, as well as video footage. This process is carried out by Walsh and co. and any potential suitors are passed on to Ranieri, who can make the call whether or not to pursue further interest by deploying scouts to the sidelines.

#2 Shakhtar Donetsk

Douglas Costa moved to Bayern Munich from Shakhtar Donetsk recently

Now to eastern Europe, where the side plying their trade at the Donbass Arena have highlighted time and time again the effectiveness of their scouting system. At the Shakhtar helm since 2004, Romanian manager Mircea Lucescu has transformed players to turn over masses of profit for the Miners.

The Ukrainian outfit have a habit of focusing their business on the Brazilian market; an area where there is undoubtedly bucket loads of talent, but one, many sides forget about. Their network evidently gravitates around unknowns from this region, who they then mould into credible talents.

Douglas Costa was one of the more recent sales; his move to Bayern München last summer generated a profit of approximately €24 million. China-bound Alex Teixeira was discovered by the Shakhtar scouting contingent as a 19-year-old and he cost the club €6 million at the time, a mere fragment of the bumper €38 million Jiangsu Suning recently splashed out on the midfielder.

Although the majority of Donetsk’s scouts are based in the stands of Brazil, they also have five of their first team players in the national squad, underpinning how they have been able to discover some of the best Ukrainian individuals as well.

#3 Borussia Dortmund

Mario Götze was brought in from a lesser-known academy and sold for €37 million

At the turn of the century, Borussia Dortmund’s fragile economic state crumbled and the financial distress resulted in the sale of their ground – the Westfalenstadion. It was a troublesome time for a side steeped in history and the situation had been aggravated by their consistent machine-gun purchasing of foreign talent. Transfers were often misguided and so, following the rebuilding of their financial situation and eventual buying back of their stadium, a more sustainable model was put into practice.

Jürgen Klopp was implemented into the system as their new manager in 2008 and players were only scouted if they possessed a hunger and work-rate synonymous with the disciplined, articulate coach. Die Schwarzgelben began focusing their attention on younger German players who were at lower league clubs or who struggled to cut it with the big boys. Dortmund’s system started integrating players from immigrant families, allowing them to sign the likes of Nuri Sahin (of Turkish descent) for their youth side.

Dortmund resist the temptation of signing the so-called finished article and aim to scout players based on weaknesses they feel can be easily improved; this aspect is bolstered by the BVB academy. Mario Götze was brought in from the FC Eintracht Hombruch academy and sold on for €37 million, while Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was snapped up on the cheap from St-Etienne for around €11 million and his performances of late are demanding a fee in excess of €50 million.

#4 Southampton

Gareth Bale was sighted by the club’s youth scouts

A club well renowned for their excellent academy, Southampton’s pool of young blood is fuelled by the flexible dynamics of their scouting system. Prior to the infamous exodus of 2014, the Saints had earned a reputation for building an incredibly competitive squad, despite their financial handicap when compared to the elites of the Premier League.

Rickie Lambert signed back in 2009 from Bristol Rovers. His addition followed a relatively dry season of goals by his standards but he caught the attention of Southampton especially, after netting the winning goal in a fifth round FA Cup tie.

This initiated a flurry of scouts to watch Rickie’s remaining matches that season and he impressed, scoring four against Southend and bagging a hat-trick against Hereford. The following campaign, he was signed for roughly £1 million; a meagre sum given that his goal return for the South-Coast club exceeded 100 by the time he completed his £4 million switches to Liverpool in June 2014.

Adam Lallana, Gareth Bale and Theo Walcott are among the top players sighted by the club’s youth scouts while their acquisitions of foreign talent also act as a testament to the fine judgement of their scouting network. Graziano Pellè and Sadio Mané have proven to be fantastic buys, but were not exactly capturing our attention at the biggest clubs in Europe; the former came from Feyenoord and the latter from Red Bull Salzburg.

#5 Atletico Madrid

Atletico Madrid have a habit of moulding strikers into credible talents

Diego Simeone himself stated 'We get players and make them better,' which may play its part in why the club are so seldom reluctant to let big names go. Jackson Martinez was the latest forward man to depart, joining Guangzhou Evergrande for €42 million, but given the Colombian’s disappointing spell with the club, he shouldn’t prove as difficult to replace as the many forwards who’ve left prior to him may have done.

Atletico have had, in many respects, a conveyor belt of top strikers. Fernando Torres initially seemed irreplaceable, but Sergio Aguero occupied the apparent void in Madrid’s front-line before his departure was eased by the signing of Radamel Falcao, whose sale earned the club €60 million. Diego Costa was the next man tasked with the challenge of taking the goal-scoring burden and his front-line heroics propelled the club to the 2013/14 La Liga title.

It’s been partly down to an extensive scouting system in South America, which enabled them to snap up Aguero while Atletico have not been averse to taking a risk either. Club captain Diego Godin was bought for only €8 million, a relatively modest sum, but one that could prove hefty had he not performed. His European experience was minimal but the scouts saw potential in his leadership skills and the deal paid off.