The world is full of young football talents. They grow up in the streets of São Paulo, Buenos Aires, Abuja or Belgrade, and the world is literally to their feet, so to speak.
These lads are on a mission to become the stars we will watch tomorrow. The next Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi or João Felix.
At the same time, there are beautiful projects that focus on these players, from the Guardian’s top 60 young footballers yearly plan, the unique and high-quality Scouted Football, among others.
We are not going to compete with them. However, in our work and research in BabaGol, we discover many players that don’t get the focus or the chance to showcase what they can produce.
With that in mind, we have decided to share snippets of our source of knowledge. Our shadow scout, Juan Gafas, will pop-up weekly and will put the spotlight on one player that is worth your attention. This can be viewed as a tip for all BabaGolers to meet the next Jamie Vardy and Dado Pršo, or maybe the next Gary Medel or Jorge Valdivia, a moment (or a few years) before they become famous.
In this edition, Mr. Gafas sets his sights on a Swedish talent.
Pavle Vagic
Age: 19
Club: Malmo (Sweden)
Position: Central Midfielder
Nationality: Sweden / Serbia
Market Value: €100,000 (Transfermarkt)
Why follow him? Vagic is a strong 6′2 midfielder with a fine touch on the ball, who can dispossess opponents with impressive ease for a player his age.
Perhaps the most unproven player I've wrote about so far, but regardless, I really like Vagic and I can see him fulfill his potential if all things fall into place. His physical presence is obvious, but more important is the way he uses it to win possession and defend the ball while being pressured. In his loan spell with 2nd tier side Mjällby, he had one of the highest percentages in successful dribbles in the league. Opponents just couldn't move him from the ball, and he uses that skill to drive the ball forward and win fouls, sometimes around the opponent's box. His final pass and tempo aren’t good enough yet, but he can pass over a long range, knows when to get in the box and can score goals from distance as well.
I can only hope Vagic will play a bigger role in his team in the upcoming season - if not in Malmo than on another loan spell. However, there is still a lot of work to do in order to get to the levels that I believe he can achieve.