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Bukayo Saka: How Good Can He Become?
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Keplaz
Well-Known Member
@MutableEarth Why do you think Emery rates him higher than Amaechi. I thought Xavier was the better player?
Country: Iceland
They are both extremely talented. And most on AM rate Xavier higher.
But there were some interview with Ornstein and he said among the coaches Saka is probably the most highest rated youth we have at the academy now.
His improvements have been through the roofs and he was one of the better players at u23 last season, and mind you this season he will still be eligible for u18. He has it all for to be a very talented wide forward but there also a questions if he can success at lb. But after the season he had with u23 I think there is no doubt he will be developed as wide attacker.
Xavier talents must not be underestimated though, if he didn't get injured last season at a crucial time when youngsters were getting chances he might have got look in!
Football Manager
Copy & Paste Merchant
I do think Saka is the better player.
Emery seems to rates him higher because Saka was being given more opportunities to play.
Amaechi is more direct and less skillful. So I think Saka will become the better player.
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Vinci
The Sultan of Unai
Country: Netherlands
Luckily Freddie is now with the first team, so he can whisper in Unai's ear to play them more often.
He's close. Seen defenders just bounce off him in full flight. Wouldn't say he's PL ready quite yet, but he can mow over a few Europa League minnows easy. Should be a season of easing him in slowly. He's not 18 till some time after the season starts.
His style of play is very encouraging though - a direct player with the capability to dribble in tight spaces. That's a real hard dribbler to deal with. I think of the 3 of him, Amaechi and Nelson he's not as subtle in terms of dribbling compared to the latter 2 but he has a superb combination of acceleration and power that just makes him a nuisance to deal with. Combine that with a real aptitude for final 3rd play and you've got a potential killer on your hands.
Luck more than anything - the 2 are probably at a similar level. Saka was performing and getting better while Amaechi was nursing a broken metatarsal for 4 months. The race between the two might have been more even had they both been fit for the duration of the season. Saka's fortune is that he didn't get significantly hurt the way Amaechi did. He got time to build a stack of extremely promising performances for the U23s while still being a 1st year compared to Amaechi the 2nd year.
Make no mistake about it, there's very little between Saka and Amaechi except for one small detail. Saka's consistent game time has led to him being more able to sustain his impact on a game and refine his play more. Amaechi came back from injury with fire in his belly but petered out as the season ended because once the momentum was gone, it was tough for him to sustain his influence on games - something that wasn't a big problem when he was starring for the England U17s during their Euro's campaign last year. Amaechi was just unlucky.
The events of which may even lead to Amaechi's departure - with Saka having put himself in the forefront; Martinelli has joined the club; Reiss Nelson is still the heir apparent for the wide forward role; and Emile Smith-Rowe is probably going to be shoehorned into a wide role despite being MILES better centrally. A player of Amaechi's quality may have to go somewhere and flourish.
StefanB
Active Member
Saka for me is quite untidy when it comes to his ball control. Might do something special, might just kick the ball over the line. But whenever I watch him he just seems to kinda struggle to control the ball, then score a cracker right after. Idk, just not convinced about him from a technical perspective, but again his unorthodox way of playing makes him quite unpredictable.
Amaechi for me looks quite a lot more special, but you never know how good a player really is before he plays for the first team against real opposition..
Amaechi for me looks quite a lot more special, but you never know how good a player really is before he plays for the first team against real opposition..
Country: Iceland
Yeah, it happens most of the time with modern fans in football. They always chose the fancier dribbler over the other one... Don't know why really.
They really are a different type of dribblers, wide forwards and they play on the opposite flank. But yet when watching u23 there is so much chemistry between them even if they are far away from each other on the pitch. Seems like a killer attacking combo. Hope they keep developing!
Saka is surprisingly deft when he wants to be. His initially rugged, direct play betrays that - you see it more when he's surrounded or in a tight corner that he's somehow able to just accelerate away with the ball very cleverly. Conversely, Amaechi's close control is superb but he's arguably even more direct than Saka when cornered - he'd rather cut through you like a giant sword with almost no lateral movement and when on form, he can do it easily. As I said, there's not very much between the two - I think Amaechi could be the slightly more devastating player if he fulfills his potential fully, but Saka is a destructive force in his own right.
Saka is better technically than given credit though - have seen more than enough games of his where he's not only demonstrated superb technical ability but did so quite ingeniously at the time. I've seen this line of thought when projecting him as a future LB but he still manages to confound expectations.
I think the main thing that separates Saka and Amaechi is guile.
Saka is simply a more clever player than Amaechi.
When I watch Amaechi play, it is clear to see he has all the physical attributes to make it here, but something about his game reminds me of Oxlade Chamberlain.
Physical specimens with good technique, but not enough guile in their games.
Amaechi doesn't dominate games the way a player as talented as he is should.
Nelson was absolutely destroying U 23 football at 17, it was a joke.
Amaechi still not close to that dominant and he is about to be 19 in January.
I def think Amaechi has the best looking technique and gait when comparing him to Saka and Nelson.
He just looks like a guy who should be a star, but the other two are just more innovative and intelligent footballers.
That's the one thing that gives me pause about his game. His first touch is hit or miss.
He really needs to work on that if he is gonna make here as an attacking player.
Cause in the premier league, he won't have as much time or space, plus the game moves at a faster pace.
Amaechi def has better ball control and touch, but he is not a better talent.
Saka can explode and produce a moment of brilliance even when having a poor game.
He also always steps up in big games for the U18 and U23 team.
Saka is raw and needs some refinement, but to me he has as much potential as Nelson to be a star.
Nelson, Saka and Miguel Azeez are the three with star potential.
Smith Rowe is good, but I don't see enough dynamism in his game.
I like John Jules as the one under the radar that might end up having the biggest impact.
Football Manager
Copy & Paste Merchant
ESR has to cut down the over dynamism in his game. He should develop into an iniesta, modric, kaka,if he wants to be an attacking midfielder, or alonso, kroos, pirlo, xavi if he wants to be a central midfielder, rather than learn the ramsey, Lampard, gerrard (the ****/wrong) way.
I think if Smith Rowe became a Ramsey with better positioning and first touch, then that would be great for the club.
He doesn't have the technical quality and agility to approach Iniesta, Kaka or Modric level of player.
Yeah I have the same impression of him, need to see more though. Will be interesting to follow him during preseason, hopefully he has taken another step.
Tourbillion
Angry & Miserable
Wrong! ESR has excellent technique, first touch and awareness of his surroundings. I've seen him several times move the ball in an instant away from invading challengers. Superb instincts and awareness.
@MutableEarth might be able to chime in.
pigge
#Pigge #Equality
Player:Martinelli
I dont remember which game but it almost felt like wilshere vs barcelona at times.
#254
Well-Known Member
You are wasting your time if you think you can convince him Ramsey was good. Dude hates him with a passion.
He's a very good technician - his close control is not quite Iniesta-level but it honestly doesn't need to be when you consider the type of player he is and could be. What's more incredible to me is the way in which he uses his technique to great effect - Smith-Rowe is an immensely clever player who seems to make the right decision more often than not, and owing to his time as a winger/forward, his close-control is still of a high enough standard that he uses that along with his awareness to create space in all areas of the field he has the ball. He's an enduring talent, and one who keeps steadily improving all the time.
It's not just Ramsey he hates. He's dogmatic in his preference for technical football at the expense of any other element or attribute.
I think "excellent technique" is pushing it a bit.
If he was excellent on a technical level, then he'd be a first team squad player since he was 17.
Cause he already has the size and good enough athleticism to play here.
He is not Fabregas or Jack Wilshere level talent, but that's just my opinion.
He is a clever player and seems to be pretty mentally strong and mature, that should take him far.
Let's just hope he stops getting injured cause it can mess up his development.
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Wrighty4eva
Established Member
Saka is definitely an Elite name, will do big things.
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