The Red Bull talent spotters might be the best in the world.
Dominik Szoboszlai, a Red Bull Salzburg alumni, recently moved to Liverpool in a deal worth £60million having caught the eye with RB Leipzig over the past two seasons. The Hungary captain is the latest in a long line of players to move for big money having honed their craft as part of the Red Bull machine.
More are expected to follow. One such player could well be Oscar Gloukh. The 19-year-old only moved to Austria from Maccabi Tel Aviv in January after the Israeli side accepted a bid in the region of £6million.
He’s already being courted by some of the biggest clubs in Europe. His performances at the Under-21 European Championships have done his reputation no harm. He racked up two assists as Israel made it all the way to the semi-finals before losing to England.
According to The Guardian, Arsenal, Manchester United, Manchester City and Spurs are just a few of the clubs to have an interest in the talented youngster.
In his 844 Austrian Bundesliga minutes for Red Bull Salzburg, he has chipped in with two goals and and assist, usually playing as an attacking midfielder in the 4-diamond-2 shape.
He favours the left side of the pitch as it allows him to cut inside onto his favoured right foot. Gloukh is relatively small – just 5ft7 – and this impacts his dribbling style. He takes a lot of small touches but it allows him to manipulate the ball quickly. The Israel Undeer-21 international is a high volume ball-carrier, attempting almost six dribbles on a per 90 basis. He likes to pick up possession and attack the space, forcing opponents to engage with him and thus creating opportunities for teammates.
Gloukh has a good eye for a pass and the execution, for someone of his age, is just as impressive. He may have only assisted two goals for Salzburg but he’s also racked up three second assists – the pass before the assist. It highlights just how involved he is in final phase actions. Add to that the fact he’s a skilled set piece taker and it is easy to understand exactly why so many of Europe’s elite are keeping tabs on him.
He is the sort of player who could be going for £60million in three years time. A gamble now might see someone bags themselves a bargain. There’s definitely a market for nimble playmakers who are comfortable in the middle third.