Time to Make a Name: The Next Generation

Here at Espanyol I have worked hard to put together a strong starting XI with quality in depth too, however, to do that I had to start off small and build my way up. This is still a very useful tactic which I use, despite having the squad stronger than it has ever been. There's nothing better than picking up a player for cheap or for cash for him to then develop into a first team player or attract interest from a far higher division. Having been here for a couple of seasons I've done this a few times already with the likes of Roque Mesa, Nathan Redmond, Onyinye Ndidi and a few others. We now have a new batch of "squad players" who I hope and expect (in some cases) to rise further and push for squad spots within the next few seasons. Most of the players in this list have recently moved or had a slight change in squad role which has led to me expecting a bit more out of them this season.

• Andriy Lunin. 18. Gk. Rtd 77. 

Added to the game at the start of July, Lunin attracted less attention than I expected and we were able to pick him up beating two or three other clubs who had also bid. Costing less than £1 million I believe this could turn out to be a bargain. With Dnipro having a poor seasons and conceding 15 goals in their first ten games the side called upon their youth keeper to step in, and he shone. He started all 22 remaining games of the season conceding just 22 goals, keeping 8 clean sheets for a team which would eventually be relegated despite only losing 5 games since he came into the team. At the end of the season Zorya Luhansk came and picked him up and  he will now face tougher competition for a starting spot but will have the opportunity to prove himself in a better team and potentially even in the Europa League. With time on his side and his recent move I believe that within two years he will be far more known and may have earned himself a bigger move if he continues to impress.

  

• Boubacar Kamara. 17. CB. Rtd 75.

At just 17, Kamara already stands at over 6'2" and has already shown very promising signs. He was acquired in the sale of Jota and is the only one of three players I received to remain. The defender has represented France at Under 17 and Under 18 levels and was the Marseille Under 19 captain. He has earned himself a senior contract at Marseille as well as a senior team spot next season. It is, however, being reported that he doesn't want to commit his long term future to the club having said he is "unsure about his next move". With clubs such as Arsenal, Man City, Chelsea, Dortmund and Bayern all rumoured to be interest him it is clear that if he chooses to leave he wont just disappear. Another one who is still very young but has already proven his ability. If he can keep his head together and avoid injury he will surely be a top defender.

• Jordi Vanlerberghe. 21. CB. Rtd 82.

Having picked him up in the sale of Alex Galvez I was unsure of his worth and considered selling him a few times due to injury and a lack of play time. Thankfully I held out and he got a +4 for his role at KV Mechelen in the 16/17 season. However, it wasn't only Soccer Manager who saw his improvements and on the 1st of July he joined Club Brugge for £1.62 million. There he will face tougher competition against the likes of Bjorn Engels and Stefano Denswil but will certainly have the opportunity to show his ability in a better team. A very promising and physically able young Belgian is always one to look out for and I believe this move will suit him well in his climb to becoming a world class player.

  

•  Milos Veljkovic. 21. CB. Rtd 83.

Another player who I acquired in the sale of an excess defender and another one who I am very excited about. Coming out of the Tottenham Academy, Milos Veljkovic had a lot of promise about him. Despite this he was unable to impress in England and joined Werder Bremen in February 2016 for just £255k. He is now valued at around 10x that amount and broke into the first team last season making a total of 26 appearances in the Bundesliga. With the 21-year-old hopefully playing regular football next season I would expect him to rise to a cup squad level of around 85/86 and if he impresses he could potential earn himself a move upwards.

•  Jose Luis Palomino. 27. CB. 84.

Costing us just £2.5 million from Ludogorets, Palomino is one who I really hope pushes on. Having spent just one season in Bulgaria the defender made 40 appearances in all competitions (including 8 in European competitions) and scored two goals helping his side win the league. He has now moved to Atalanta where he will have the opportunity to re-appear in the Europa league. With current first team defenders being rated 87/88 he will also have the ability to reach that. To do this he will need to establish himself as a first team player and prove that he has what it takes to play in one of the top leagues in the world.

•  Jordy Gaspar. 20. RB. Rtd 78.

When I was offered this youth defender along with Frederic Guilbert in exchange for Sergi Canos I was very quick to accept. Having come through the Lyon Academy and joining the first team last season he was always one to watch. He was mostly unused but did manage to make two league starts and one in the champions league for the senior team. He has now joined AS Monaco on a Free Transfer and has been loaned out to Belgian side Cercle Brugge. Here he should be given far more opportunities to play and develop in a more forgiving league. He is one I expect to have a very good future and who I hope can eventually be a 1st teamer for us.

•  Yuri Berchiche. 27. LB. Rtd 88.

This signing has already turned out to be one of my best cheap pick ups giving Pablo Armero and £2 million for him. At the time both players were rated 87 but within a week Armero dropped by two and around a month late Yuri picked up a +1. So having already been one of my best bargains he has now gone one step further and been signed by PSG. Whether he can displace Layvin Kurzawa remains to be seen but when you consider that the Frenchman had three separate injuries last season alone and missed over half the seasons games in total then I expect Yuri to have the opportunity to show his worth. If he takes his chances then his potential could be far higher than his current 88 rating but at the moment it is all very open.

•  Jean-Victor Makengo. 19. CM. Rtd 80.

Despite their amazing in-game youth squad, Benfica certainly let this one slip through their net after letting him join us at Espanyol for just £3.5 million. Makengo is another one of my French youngsters and another one I expect a lot from. Unlike the others he hasn't been developed by a top French side but instead has come through the ranks as SM Caen and has made 31 senior appearances for the club over the past two seasons. Despite being at a smaller club, he has still had a successful international career so far representing France at Under 16, 17, 18 and 19 levels. This summer he has joined OGC Nice, who last year had one of the most successful seasons in Europe and shocked many. The youngster will now play alongside fellow countrymen Wylan Cyprien and Vincent Koziello who will hopefully aid him in his development. If he can work his way into the team over the next few seasons then he will certainly be one of my best cash purchases.

•  Roque Mesa. 28. CM. Rtd 89.

Like Yuri Berchiche, Mesa is already one of my most successful signings. Joining us from Las Palmas for around £2.5 million in September he has already raised from 85 to 89 and become one of my most used assets. Now in real life he has secured a move to Swansea City. Not one of the most glamourous clubs but certainly a good stepping stone and a move that will suit the Spaniard well. As an accurate passer, Mesa will be able to link well with new loan signing Tammy Abraham and would also benefit massively if Gylfi Sigurdsson was to stay. With that said if Mesa is able to perform well then a larger PL team could pick him up within the next few seasons.

  

•  Ezequiel Barco. 18. AM. Rtd 82.

After signing him as a free agent for £1.7 million I made a mistake and let him go in exchange for Matt Phillips. Luckily I was able to get him back in a multi-deal and hope he is worth it. At 18, he is already in the Independiente senior team earning a total of 24 showings last season netting 3 times. He has also attracted interest from the big spending AC Milan but with the Argentine side asking for over £15 million he may have to stay one more season until he has just one season left on his contract which would make the club more inclined to sell. Either way, at such as young age and with his skill and potential Barco is one who I will be monitoring throughout the whole of next season and one I believe could become a first teamer for us eventually.

•  Pierre Lees-Melou. 24. AM. Rtd 83.

We picked up Melou for just under £4 million beating several other clubs to the signing. Over the course of last season the 24-year-old saw his value increase from $425k to over £2.1 million. He solidified his place in the Dijon side and scored 7 goals in 32 games, he also assisted 3 more. As a result of this good season he has now joined OGC Nice where he will have the opportunity to display his talent at a bigger club. His toughest obstacle will be to pick up game time but with Younnes Belhanda not making a return he may be able to fill the gap left by the Moroccan. If he is able to pick up consistent game time then he can be expected to make some good rises and could soon be a cup player or maybe even a 1st team player by next season.

  

•  Salgueiro Jason. 23. RW. Rtd 82.

Costing us the exchange of the disappointing Lukas Rupp, I consider this signing a pretty good pick up. Over the past few seasons Jason has been contending with the once highly rated Ruben Garcia for a staring spot at Levante. Last season Jason was able to become the more dominant option making 39 LaLiga2 appearances and netting 10 times to help his side win the league. Now that they are back in the top flight Levante will need to step up their game and so will Jason. With his record from last season its clear to see he has quality but whether he can produce the same against better opposition remains to be seen. If he does impress there is always the potential for a better move for the winger who is still young. 

•  Vitor Bueno. 22. RW. Rtd 85.

Brought in along with Nathaniel Chalobah from Arsenal I think I got two great young players with high potential. Playing at Santos for a young Brazilian is always good and with a strong 15/16 season in which he scored 7 goals in 28 games he has now played 11 games of this season. He has missed a few games but is still in and around the team and has displayed his worth by scoring 3 goals. I believe if he starts picking up more game time he will surely be a cup player very soon.

• Jorge Burgui. 23. LW. Rtd 84.

Jorge Burgui was a player I hadn't heard of when he joined as a Real Madrid player out on loan. He spent last season at Sporting Gijon where he made 34 appearances throughout the season. We were recently looking to offload Burgui after he left Real Madrid following his contract expiring, however, having now signed for Deportivo Alaves he may still have a lot to give. At just 23 he still has time to develop and has already shown he is capable in the league by scoring twice and providing four assists last season. At Alaves, Burgui will face competition from Ibai Gomez for a starting spot on the left wing and may look to the right if he has to. I expect he will be able to get into the 1st team and hopefully pick up a decent rise to around 86 making him a good depth player while still being young.

• Aldo Kalulu. 21. CF. Rtd 80.

With the Frenchman joining us or just £3.5 million he was worth taking a risk on. After making 6 first team appearances for Lyon last season he was sent out on loan to Stade Rennais. There he played a further 11 games. He has now joined FC Sochaux in Ligue 2 where he will gain far more game time. I expect he will be a key member of the squad and will hopefully be able to utilise his pace well throughout the season. There is also always the potential with him for move out wide and occupy a wingers role. If this is the case he will have more of a chance of getting into the Lyon side eventually who currently have only three wingers in the squad.

• Alexandre Mendy. 23. CF. 82.

When I saw Mendy was a free agent I was very excited. I was initially speculative about whether I should pick him but decided to go for it after looking into some recent rumours. Having just joined Bordeaux my concerns were that he wouldn't pick up game time and that he has a fairly poor goal scoring record of just 6 goals in 29 games last season. However, with Diego Rolan strongly linked with a move away from the French club it seems that he will be around the 1st team with Gaetan Laborde the only other forward in the squad. Mendy stands at around 6'0" offering good physical presence up front. I hope that he can gain playtime at a better team and potentially push for a starting spot against his teammates. If he can then I'm sure he will rise fairly quickly.

• Andy Delort. 25. CF. 86.

Andy Delort has re-joined us after we picked him up in Season 2 and sold him on in Season 3. Our original reason for selling him was his odd move to Tigres in Mexico. However, since then he has moved back to France and joined Toulouse which re-ignited our interest. In the 2nd half of the 16/17 season he scored 5 times in 15 games for the French team showing that he still has the ability to perform in the league. With Martin Braithwaite having left the club this summer, it looks as though Delort will be favourite to be the clubs starting forward. This should get him back on track to reach his potential and, if he continues in the goal scoring form he was in at the end of the season, then he could rise to around 87/88.