SCOUTED Team(s) of the Year
The young players who defined 2024 - and eleven to watch in 2025.
Yes, we are late. We wanted our first-ever Team of the Year to be a little different.
Here’s a glimpse into the SCOUTED Slack channel, for context:
For TOTY, my preference is to make it a 'players that defined 2024 for SCOUTED'. If someone gets in there because he kept coming up on MNS, then that's cool - same for SCOUT NOTES, or UYL, or whatever.
I'd like it to reflect the holistic blend we have of stats/eyetest work and continue to curate 'the vibes' rather than any strict criteria, even if to us that creates a weird blend. Like I think it being a unique team that would appear literally nowhere else is the idea.
To that end, we’ve split our Team of the Year in two. First, Jake Entwistle (Monday Night SCOUTED) has curated a Team of now-established stars who broke through in 2024, using his personal database of stats and stories.
Then, Llew Davies (SCOUT NOTES) has built an XI of players to watch next year - those who spent 2024 piquing his interest and suggesting they’re about to blow up in a big way.
You’re here for the players, not the preamble. But before I pass the baton to the boys, I want to publicly express my gratitude for them both. Working in a tiny team of three has its challenges, but this editor considers himself incredibly lucky to have landed two of the most hardworking, talented and lovely writers in the business. These lists are a celebration of their work this year, and I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I did.
Here’s SCOUTED’s first-ever Team(s) of the Year.
The Best Young Players of 2024
Compiled by Jake Entwistle
Trying to remember anything that had happened before the EUROs was a near-impossible task. Even the tournament itself feels like a lifetime ago.
Also, due to switching full-time to SCOUTED in August, I admit my current internal database of players is limited to the mainstream.
So, for this year, my 2024 Team of the Year will be closer to what an objective selection might look like. I have selected the players using a lot of numbers to help jog my memory. But even my data crutch provides limited support.
We cannot apply the Year of Birth filter when looking at calendar year stats on Stathead. Instead, we have to apply the Under-23 age criteria. This means that any matches played as a 23 year old in 2024 will not count. This matches the single-game records I refer to in Monday Night SCOUTED but contradicts the 2001+ age criteria I have applied to this season’s stat leaders.
In other words, it means that Bukayo Saka’s input cuts off in September, Angelo Stiller only has four months of matches and Moisés Caicedo’s year ended on November 2nd. Or rather, it becomes a 2002+ threshold.
So, consider the following selection as a Under-23 Team of 2024: the brightest talents in Europe’s Big Five Leagues last year, born in 2002 or later.
GK: Noah Atubolu
2002 — SC Freiburg & Germany
11 U-23 goalkeepers played at least 900 minutes across Europe’s Big Five Leagues in 2024. Noah Atubolu, Guillaume Restes, Bart Verbruggen and Lucas Chevalier were the only four to play 2,000+ minutes, although the latter was born in 2001.
The fact Verbruggen is the youngest goalkeeper to make an appearance in the Premier League this season is worth noting. His confidence and performances belie his age and I personally do not think it’s spoken about enough.
However, Freiburg goalkeeper Atubolu made more saves than any other U23 goalkeeper in 2024, completed at least 119 more long passes (maintaining a 47.5% success rate, which is good for a ‘keeper) stopped the most crosses (stopping 8% of crosses faced, also good) and he even saved three penalties. He deserves his flowers.
I also want to mention Zion Suzuki. 2024/25 represents his first-ever season in a Big Five League. He made history as the first Japanese goalkeeper in Serie A when he made his debut for Parma and ranks first within our database with 10% of Crosses Stopped - this has emerged as my personal favourite metric when searching for goalkeepers.
RB: Conor Bradley
2003 — Liverpool & Northern Ireland
You know you are good when you step in to replace a generational talent and everyone immediately forgets.
Again, realising that Conor Bradley made his Liverpool debut at the start of 2024 sent my head into a spin. Then I realised it solved this particular selection dilemma. Across the Big Five Leagues, at least, I was not blown away by the options for right-back. I would not be surprised to see Tiago Santos’ name pop up in the comments. But, beyond that, I feel like very few are likely to argue with Bradley’s inclusion.
I watched his 15-minute clinic against Arsenal at the Emirates while I was at Center Parcs. I could not understand how Liverpool had developed another blatant superstar full-back in their academy. The Northern Irishman went on to score and provide two assists against Chelsea in a 4-1 Premier League win before starting in the League Cup final victory against the same opponent. His year ended with an injury sustained against Real Madrid, but not before the Anfield crowd erupted in reaction to a Tackle of the Year contender on Kylian Mbappé.
Every time Bradley was called upon to replace Trent Alexander-Arnold, he did it expertly.
RCB: Pau Cubarsí
2007 — FC Barcelona & Spain
Another player who made his senior debut this year, Pau Cubarsí is now a household name.
The 2007-born centre-back made his professional debut, LaLiga debut, UEFA Champions League debut and senior international debut all in 2024. In that time, he established himself as one of the best centre-backs in Europe - notice how I did not say one of the best young centre-backs in Europe.
Cubarsí is already one of the elite. He has proven it against the likes of Victor Osimhen and Kylian Mbappé. His inclusion was inevitable.
Imagine how silly it would have been to not include the SCOUTED50 2024/25 No.1 pick in a Team of the Year.
LCB: Murillo
2002 — Nottingham Forest & Brazil
Murillo is simply one of my favourite players to watch. He combines a compact, bulldozer-like athleticism with outrageous 90-yard switches and ambitious 45-yard efforts on goal. He is box-office.
The Brazilian was named Nottingham Forest’s Player of the Season following his debut campaign and is at the heart of their incredible start to 2024/25. As for the laster calendar year, he has made at least 48 more clearances than any other U23 player in Europe’s Big Five Leagues, leading the way with 206.
LB: Matteo Ruggeri
2002 — Atalanta BC & Italy
This was an extremely difficult choice. I have raved about Joško Gvardiol in MNS. His first half of the year was punctuated by clutch moments in both boxes. But his second half of the year has been defined by errors and malfunctions.
Remember when everyone fell in love with Riccardo Calafiori? Granted, he was playing left centre-back, but any fans of the Italian will know by now that his real position is: yes.
His buccaneering runs, ambitious passing and full-blooded defending combine to create an antithesis to the football robots the collective have grown tired of watching. After helping secure UEFA Champions League football for the first time in Bologna’s history, this antidote was wanted by most of Europe’s elite.
But injuries have derailed his first six months at Arsenal, preventing a consistent display of the eye-catching attributes that turned heads in the summer. His time will come.
Then we have Milos Kerkez. Bournemouth finished 7th in the infamous Premier League calendar year table with the Hungarian playing in 32 out of the Cherries’ 38 games. Compared to U-23 defenders in 2024, which includes wing-backs, he ranked fourth for Shot-Creating Actions. Every time I watch him play, I can’t help but compare him to peak Andy Robertson due to the high-intensity of every action. I expect a big move in 2025.
Meanwhile, Lewis Hall has made a claim to become the first-choice left-back for the senior England national team after a string of displays laced with elite level technique and physicality. This season’s performances against Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur stand out.
But then, I took a step back and realised this list was Premier League pilled.
Atalanta have been one of the best teams in 2024, winning the first European trophy in the club’s history by beating the unbeatable Bayer 04 Leverkusen 3-0 in the final. This season, they are battling Inter for the Scudetto.
A key part of this success has been Matteo Ruggeri. This lanky left wing-back flew completely under the radar in 2024 despite delivering more open-play crosses into the penalty area than any other U-23 defender. In addition to this threat going forward, Ruggeri ranked third for ball recoveries within the same criteria while only Dango Ouattara - he would have only played a handful of games at left-back - and Joško Gvardiol made more tackles in the final third.
The Italian’s one-v-one prowess is perhaps the hallmark of his game. Last year, Ruggeri was one of just six U-23 players, across all positions, to win 20+ aerial duels and successfully challenge 20+ dribblers while maintaining a 60% win rate in both types of duel. The issue is, Calafiori is the only one with a 70+% success rate for each.
As you can tell, I have barely made a decision. Who would you pick?
DM: Carlos Baleba
2004 — Brighton and Hove Albion & Cameroon
2024 started with an Adam Wharton exclusive. He was already one of our favourites. The interview only served to cement that status. Among numerous things, it provided us with one of our favourite quotes.
In June 2023, Llew posted a tweet that read:
“We are officially endorsing Blackburn Rovers’ Adam Wharton as our one to watch in the Championship for the 2023/24 season.”
After that post, he played 29 more games for Blackburn, joined Crystal Palace for £22m, started 15/16 Premier League games to finish the season, made his senior England debut and was included in the EURO 2024 squad. Sadly, he didn’t feature during the tournament and struggled physically at start to the season due to a persistent groin injury which later required surgery.
Even though it didn’t stop him becoming one of the most progressive passers of them all, 2024 didn’t end how the start had promised. But don’t let that take away from the level that he reached when fit. He was close to making the XI.
But, as we see so often on the pitch, you will struggle to find a midfielder that can match Carlos Baleba.
He is a midfield marvel. Rather than attempt to tell you why with words, I decided to test a cherry-picking theory to sum up his all-action, game-wrecking dominance. Here it is:
300 players clocked 900+ minutes while under the age of 23 across Europe’s Big Five Leagues in 2024. Only three of them averaged 1+ per 90 in each of the following metrics:
Shots
Progressive Passes
Progressive Carries
Tackles
Interceptions
Aerial Duels Won
Successful Take-ons
Fouls Drawn
Carlos Baleba, Conor Bradley and Elliot Anderson. We have two of them in our Team of the Year (I had picked Bradley before finding this stat). The other is pushing for a Team of the Season spot.
Llew does not hate to say 'I told you so’ but I will beat him to it anyway: he told you that Baleba would become one of the most popular midfielders in the Premier League.
Steve told you he would be one of the best.
RCM: Cole Palmer
2002 — Chelsea & England
Across Europe’s Big Five Leagues in 2024, Cole Palmer ranks first or joint-first among U23 players for the following stats. I’ve also included his rank across all ages as he is in the top 10 for every metric:
Goals (26, 4th overall)
Assists (13, =3rd)
Goals + Assists (39, =1st)
Non-penalty Goals (18, =8th)
Non-penalty xG + Expected Assisted Goals (28.3, 2nd)
Shots (131, 2nd)
Shots On Target (49, 4th)
Key Passes (96, 4th)
Shot-Creating Actions (201, 2nd)
His output has been nothing short of sensational.
Not only could you make the case that he has been the best U23 player this year, it would not be too difficult to suggest he was the very best, full stop.
His insane output during a record-breaking year meant that he featured regularly in the MNS newsletters.
LCM: Jamal Musiala
2003 — FC Bayern München & Germany
Like Murillo, this is another pick that is driven by the pure joy derived from watching him play.
Yes, I know I have two super-attacking players in midfield. Leave me alone.
Jamal Musiala’s box-office talent has delivered some of the most mind-blowing individual displays of the year, constantly making claims for the single-game records featured in MNS and in the European Watchlists.
For example, he is the only U23 player to record 5+ shots, 5+ key passes and 5+ successful take-ons in a Big Five League game this year. In March, away to Darmstadt 98, Musiala attempted nine shots, played eight key passes and completed 10 take-ons.
Removing the age criteria, only Bukayo Saka has recorded 7+ of all three metrics. But Musiala stands alone as the only player with 8+ in all three.
If you watched a Musiala match in 2024, you will have been throughly entertained.
RW: Lamine Yamal
2007 — FC Barcelona & Spain
I mentioned that Palmer had a strong case to be named the best U23 player in 2024. Lamine Yamal will have something to say about it.
Compared to U23 players across Europe’s Big Five Leagues in 2024, Lamine ranks first for successful take-ons (96), Carries into the Final Third (96), Progressive Passes Received (430), Goal-Creating Actions (30) and ranks joint-first for with Palmer for Assists (13).
Then you remember what he did at the EUROs.
In his first-ever major tournament, Lamine Yamal created the most chances, created the most Big Chances and provided the most assists. To these stats, he added a mountain of milestones, becoming the youngest player to score, the youngest player to assist, the youngest player to appear in the final and the youngest player to win the tournament. He turned 17 years old a day before the win against England.
Enough said.
LW: Florian Wirtz
2003 — Bayer 04 Leverkusen & Germany
For any metric not topped by Palmer or Yamal, Florian Wirtz is the likely incumbent.
For example, the German is 2024’s U-23 leader for Passes into the Penalty Area and Touches in the Final Third, while only Palmer has been directly involved in more goals (39 vs. 24).
Like Yamal, Wirtz’s incredible individual output led to a phenomenal achievement at team level. Ending Bayer 04 Leverkusen’s wait for a Bundesliga title should never be understated - it also ended the longest title-winning streak in Big-Five League history. Doing so by completing the entire season unbeaten is fairy-tale stuff.
The fact that Wirtz played such a pivotal role a year after his ACL recovery makes it even more unbelievable. Bayer 04 Leverkusen won more trophies in 2024 (3) than in their previous 120-year existence combined (2). Wirtz was the best player in that team.
Musiala and Wirtz’s position in the XI is interchangeable. But it’s also not a real team.
CF: Jhon Durán
2003 — Aston Villa & Colombia
There is no denying that Jhon Durán’s year was spectacular. The xG-busting chaos forward scored 10 non-penalty goals from just 919 Premier League minutes, which does not include a couple of stunning efforts in the UEFA Champions League.
Durán averaged more NPG per 90 (0.98) than any other player. In fact, the only player with 900+ minutes in Europe’s Big Five Leagues that could beat him in 2024 was a massive Norwegian centre-forward. Not that one. Alexander Sørloth averaged 1.05 NPG per 90 and scored more than any other player in total (25).
Benjamin Šeško was another candidate. The Slovenian scored 17 non-penalty league goals in 2024, just one behind Palmer. His 0.7 NPG per 90 ranks him =9th across all ages.
Perhaps the tie-break was the fact that Durán was the poster boy for my first SkillCorner analytical epic? Soppy, but true.
Wildcard: Morgan Rogers
2003 — Aston Villa & England
I had to mention him.
I could make the argument that Morgan Rogers was the player I enjoyed watching the most last year. It was between him and Musiala for a place in the XI. Perhaps I should have used the Champions League nutmeg as the decider.
Either way, his sudden introduction into Aston Villa’s side was a surprise even if his talent was not. He has represented England at every level from U-15 and beyond, was signed for Manchester City’s academy side after his performances against them for West Bromwich Albion, and he was the EFL Cup top-scorer having scored five in six for Middlesbrough before making the move to Villa in February.
After spending the first month acclimatising, Rogers became an Unai Emery ever-present. At the start of the year, he played most often as a left-winger. We started to catch a glimpse of his world-class ball-carrying and elite athleticism.
The second half of the year has seen him used almost-exclusively in the No.10 role. From this position, he continues to make Premier League athletes look like children, rag-dolling them as he turns and rampages through their attempted tackles. We saw it first against Arsenal, we saw it most recently against Manchester City.
In 2024, Rogers has gone from the one of the most destructive players in the EFL Championship to one of the most destructive players in the UEFA Champions League. 2025 is going to be huge. We will be there.
But that is not the only Team of the Year in this newsletter…
BAH GAWD THAT’S LLEWYN DAVIES’ MUSIC!
As with the Monday Night SCOUTED / SCOUT NOTES split, this Team was free - the next is for subscribers only. Join up for a riotous 2025. We have so much planned!
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