Michael Kayode: the duelling roadrunner

The definitive SCOUTED50 profile on a future Italy international.

SCOUTED50 is our collection of the fifty young talents we believe are best positioned to break into the mainstream during 2023/24. Throughout the season, we’ll be detailing all fifty in definitive profiles.

Read the full list here. Michael Kayode is the latest under the microscope.

This profile was produced as part of a commercial collaboration with SkillCorner, SCOUTED’s official data partner. SkillCorner’s tracking and performance data is used by more than 150 of the world’s biggest clubs, leagues and confederations. Learn more.

All stats correct as of 16/04/2024 unless otherwise noted.

FM24 players, assemble. It’s time to talk about one of our favourites, Michael Kayode, and his exploits in the real world.

I’ve been looking forward to writing this profile for a while. Kayode is a player I've tracked since early 2023 - since I watched him in Under-19 Euro qualifying for Italy, a journey I followed all the way to the Italian side winning that tournament in July.

I particularly enjoyed watching Kayode’s technical development. He was a fumbly, clunky on-ball player during qualifying, but emerged as an effective attacking outlet for Italy, even playing minutes on the wing to add athleticism and speed to their attack.

But Kayode has shown the most promise as a lock-down defender, with his dominance over Ajax’s Carlos Forbs — previously an absolute menace in the UEFA Youth League with Manchester City in 2022/23 — being the best example.

Watching him got me thinking about his skillset, and how to maximise it at the top level. Imagine a lock-down defender like Aaron Wan-Bissaka, with the offensive weapons to be a positive going forward. What could you do with that?

The past two decades have seen the vogue of defensive full-backs replaced by those more inclined to attack, but proper two-way unicorns have been rare. Perhaps Reece James can claim to be the closest.

Let’s not push too far into the future, though. Kayode is not there yet, but his trajectory is promising. He has set about establishing himself in the first team at Fiorentina this season, a task he’s accomplished remarkably; he’s played over 2,000 senior minutes so far, despite never stepping foot on a senior pitch before this term.

Partly, he’s been in the right place at the right time. An injury to Brazilian right-back Dodô thrust responsibility onto Kayode’s shoulders early in the season. Thankfully, they're big shoulders.

But what is he good at, and what does he need to improve upon to turn into that proper two-way — dare I say it — unicorn?

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In this profile:

• A ready-made athlete for senior football

• The details of his current ability on the ball

• How he can become a plus-value passer

• His suitability for bigger clubs and higher levels