Do your U21s need a refresh? Are you currently under squad cap? Have some just turned or about to turn 22 and therefore ineligible for next seasons competition? Then fear not for Mario has done some work for you....

Mario Balotelli - the assistant manager of Sampdoria U21s (and Top 100 legend) has kindly produced a short scouting report of 10 U21s available at external - in most cases all will be eligible for Youth Cup Season 19. All of whom have first team minutes and some are current or former youth internationals.

Eliano Reijnders,
Harrison Burrows,
Cameron Duke,
Louis D'Arrigo,
Marco Bosisio,
Giuseppe Di Serio,
Aldo Florenzi,
Nicholas Bonfanti,
Fabio Ponsi,
Simone Rabbi,

BONUS 2

Florian Bianchini, Allan Tchaptchet,

SEASON 18 (Division 2)

It appears that the strength of division 2 will be similar to that of season 17, but at worst, no stronger.

Just before the end of season 17, I tried to make some changes to the team but found that I was being offered poor players in return for mine and can only assume that the players I was offering did not meet other managers expectations. I do not talk up my own players as I like to give other managers the credit of knowing their worth. I therefore start season 18 with pretty much the same team that finished season 17, so I expect the outcome and league position may be similar too.

We still have an average rating of 89.0 for the best starting 11,  and therefore my aim will be to avoid relegation and our Chairman states “this season he expects us to avoid relegation”. My contract requires me to finish 10th, but this is a bit unrealistic when you compare our squad against the others in this division, and the leagues stats suggest 14th.

 I am carrying out a long term build which does not meet the objectives of a contract where you have to improve every season. My aim is that once we gain promotion to division 1 we stay there. Due to having contracts and having to achieve short term gains, the teams promoted from division 2 are now struggling in division 1

Looking back over the last few seasons, 44 points should see us safe.

The new season did not start very well for us commencing with a 1-3 loss at home, followed by a 2-2 draw away and then followed by another 1-3 loss but this time away.

I Sold Justin(87)24yo (rose 1 to 88) to Atletico Madrid for Lokonga(87)22yo and Koita(83)22yo, and swapped Torres(89)27yo for BIA(88)25yo with Malaga. Time will tell how these changes pan out. 

We are now midway through the season and have completed 19 games of which we have achieved W4, D6, L9 and only 18 points. We are in 18th place and in the relegation zone and the reason for this is that my counter tactics have not worked so well. We do need to pick up our form and I need to see some improvement in the formation/tactics.

No need to panic yet as only 3 points from safety

Two set of deals done today.

LEICESTER CITY :

Oscar Rodriguez will move to them on 9th August when TB ends.

Ellyes Skhiri will swap with Lucas Torreira on 10 October when TB ends.

WOLFSBURG :

Alvaro Odriozola will move with immediate effect. With Layvin Kurzawa and Ryan Kent coming to us.

Luis Suarez will swap with Moussa Marega on 17th August when TB ends.

Leicester City have stared their season in relatively good form, with 2 wins and 2 draws in their season openers. Earle will hope to see this form continue, especially following an offseason of significant improvement, and some further developments within the squad itself.

Fans already expected the transfer window to be a positive one with the long awaited arrivals of Martin Odegaard, 23, and Tanguy Ndombele, 25, from Barcelona. The duo were always seen as players who would immediately come in and take up starting roles, with Odegaard being one that fans were especially excited for. Both have so far started well, and will hope to improve even further once settled. As mentioned, these transfers were both well known about for months, but wouldn't be the only major signings the squad would make.
Despite already having club top scorer Gabriel Barbosa, 25, Leicester splashed out to sign attacker Jonathan David, 22. The young Canadian was originally seen as competition for Barbosa, or as a replacement as interest in the Brazilian mounted, however, no move materialised and so both are being utilised together in a new formidable attack. David has slotted in just behind Barbosa, taking up a more creative role. Whilst fans still have hopes that David will eventually take up an attacking role in the future, they cannot complain at the moment as Barbosa has netted 5 goals in the opening 4 games.
The final new staring arrival came in the form of French midfielder Maxence Caqueret, 22, who joined from Rubin Kazan. His arrival came as a surprise to many as he had been a target for some time with no success. Caqueret has easily claimed the starting spot alongside Ndombele in midfield, and has the defensive capabilities to complement the rest of the midfield and attack.

It wasn't only starters who were brought in, however, as five depth options were signed and 8 youth plyers too. The most notable squad signings were Noa Lang, 23, and Thiago Almada, 21. Lang arrived with Caqueret from Rubin Kazan and added great versatility to the attack. The Dutchman can play on the wings or up front and will likely play a key role in the Cup competitions, as well as in the league if the club face any injuries. A similar Cup role will go to Almada, who re-joined Leicester from Standard Liege after 2 season in Belgium. It is unlikely, though, that Almada will take up a league role with other players ahead of him in the pecking order. Instead he will be a key member of the youth team, likely operating on the wing for the upcoming tournament. Further depth additions came in the forms of midfield duo John Swift, 26, and Jens Stage, 25, as well as winger Romain Del Castillo, 26. Swift and Stage are likely to be given game time in the cup competitions and are hoped to have potential to improve, whilst Del Castillo adds emergency depth if needed.
The youth squad also saw a major overhaul. With many players moving as part of deals, the youth team was left relatively depleted and so there was a need for signings. Along with Almada the club also added George Bello, 20, Lucas Chevalier, 20, Billy Mitchell, 21, Gino Infantino, 19, Jonathan Rowe, 19, Mayckel Lahdo, 19, Thomas Kastanaras, 19, and Arnau Pradas, 16. Of them, only Lucas Chevalier is expected to be a starter in the youth team. The French keeper arrived from Feyenoord as a replacement for Barcelona bound Dogan Aledmar, 19. Whilst Bello is also a starting calibre player, he finds himself behind Manu Sanchez, 21, in the pecking order. Similarly, Mitchell was signed to be a starter, but the arrival of Lucien Agoume, 20, on loan means that the English midfielder will need to settle for a back up role.

Even after all of these signings the club wasn't done improving. Earle has seen remarkable improvements in several players which has changed the dynamic of the team. Despite already being starters, Martin Odegaard, Federico Dimarco and Aaron Ramsdale have all solidified their positions further with developments in their play. The biggest improvement has come from Ibrahima Konate though, who was comfortably back up to Andreas Christensen and Rafael Toloi at the start of the season, but now looks likely to take a starting role. That leaves Earle with the decision to either drop Toloi to the bench, or push him out wide to right back in place of Pedro Porro. There is also a third option however, and that is to look for a deal for the Italian defender. It is likely that this is the option Earle will choose as he looks to strengthen elsewhere in the squad. Further developments across the defence have come from Davi Vivian, Manu Sanchez and Tino Livramento who are all likely to step up into cup competition roles, whilst Gabriel Martinelli has taken a step towards the staring 11, although he is not quite there yet.

Whilst the club is currently in it's strongest position since Earle's arrival, if not in it's history, there is a desire to keep pushing and not let standards slip. There are still many targets on the market who will be sought after this season and it is likely that Rodrigo De Paul, Tanguy Ndombele, Rafael Toloi and Gabriel Barbosa could all be allowed to leave if the correct offers come in, although no deals are likely to happen before the end of the month.
The club is continuing on its upward direction, with the fastest period of growth happening between the start of last season and the start of the current season. Only time will tell what route Leicester take next, but it will likely follow the pattern of the previous season.

One of the biggest clubs in the world, with currently its own Top100 transfer list, but sat in division 2, what will it take for this famous old club to be back with the elite of Division 1?

Ken Keeley goes into his fourth season in charge at United with a points to game average of 1.80 from his 127 games in charge.

LIfe started well with promotion from division 3 via the play-offs in his first season, however two mid table finishes in division 2 is all that has followed, With the club avoiding relegation by three points in season 16 and by twelve points last season, although the club only added one additional point from season 16 to finish on 50 points.

The current team has no fewer than 21 players with live bids against their name, whilst half of the squad is on the transfer list, however the only notable business done is the sale of Justin to Athletico Madrid with Lokongo and Kiota.

Looking at Uniteds current squad there are plenty of players with rating improvement in them, its a relatively young squad and if anything is littered with far more assets than the majority of division 2. However Ken's plan appears to be to sit on the talent and wait for it to blossom in a slow build others have tried. Slow building is common in top100, however at a time contracts are critical, is Ken really giving one of the biggest clubs in the world a chance of promotion?

The reality is Man Utd have been closer to going down, than going up. It does not take much to get dragged into the relegation zone, and should the club suffer the embarrassment of relegation then the blame lies firmly with the manager. If relegation was to happen at Man Utd the chance of being reappointed would be zero, as a number of managers would be queuing to take the hotseat and make better use of the pool of players Ken is currently sat on.

Dvision 2 is competitive but has Ken done anything to improve on last seasons finish by the lack of trading or imagination to kick the team onto a promotion chasing team? The answer is simple, its a "No", and we cannot continue reading that other teams are stronger, when there is a complete reluctance to cash in on an asset or two to bring better players through the door.

The glory days at United are looking further in the past as each day passes, the fans are starved of optimism and season 18 is very much judgement time on Ken Keeley and if he is the right man to be overseeing the return to the promised land.

Its now up to Ken to prove his growing list of doubters wrong, and the only way he will do that is a promotion push this season, anything less and he is just making the number's up as part of the top100 community.