In an era of data driven recruitment, traditional methods of scouting have been placed on the backburner to an extent. And that is a pretty happy development, as far as one former Leeds United starlet is concerned.
If the Elland Road faithful had been asked to predict at the start of last summer which of their players would begin the 2024/25 campaign in one of Europe’s top-five leagues, most would have said Archie Gray, Crysencio Summerville and Georginio Rutter.
Gray joined Tottenham for £35 million. Summerville was snapped up by West Ham for £25 million. And, his impressive debut season at Brighton continuing, Georginio Rutter earned Pep Guardiola’s admiration with his silky yet sturdy Premier League displays.
A more unexpected switch, however, was the one which took Charlie Cresswell from the Leeds United bench to France’s first division. A centre-back with an eye for goal – he scored three in eight recently – Cresswell has been a revelation at Toulouse.
And, speaking to the English media this week, director of football Damien Comolli shed some light on how Toulouse managed to unearth a rough diamond stuck on the fringes of Daniel Farke’s first-team in West Yorkshire.
