26 Aug 2021 11:34:51
I would of loved to see james balagezi make a statement in preseason and express his quality, he has 1 thing harvey elliot, kaide Gordon haven't yet an that is physicality he is a beast an not even 18 yet .
We lost gini and a replacement was touted but balagezi can play attacking mid an central very much yaya toure like and could save us millions in the near future .
This lad has gone under the radar over preseason but i hope he gets a chance as if he can transfer what he does at youth level to first team we have a frightening talent.

1.) 26 Aug 2021
26 Aug 2021 11:42:04
I don't know the player but a lot of the time a beast at youth level looks good because they are physically more advanced than the others but as soon as they play adult football that advantage is wiped out and they look the limited player they were meant to be. Thinking Solanke as a good example. As said don't know the player and he could of course be an exception to the what I just said.

2.) 26 Aug 2021
26 Aug 2021 11:56:35
I was thinking the same balagizi is a very tidy footballer (nothing like yaya but he’s black and tall so you got lazy) my only concern is that maybe it’s his physicality that makes him look good for example playing first team football he wouldn’t be the big guy on the pitch he’d be another guy on the pitch. We will see how things go for him but I don’t subscribe to the fact that he’s gone under the radar, everyone can see what he can do but he wasn’t picked to go with the top talents to pre season. We’ve signed Bobby Clark today by the way 16 year old from Newcastle another one of the highest rated youngsters in the country in Clark, Gordon and Elliot alone the future should be bright add to that they will come into a team of experienced pros who all just signed new deals. A stable group of good guys for these kids to learn and flourish with the help of. There’s also musalovski. Notice how all these names are attack minded players? I think that’s due to the fact they always grab the headlines but beck did very well in pre season neco and Bradley keep getting international call ups, kellerher is the number 2 now. Jones is a squad player that could make it big and Trent is the scouser in the team.

3.) 26 Aug 2021
26 Aug 2021 12:12:29
I saw him a few times in the youth cup and he struck me as more of a Firmino type player than similar to Yaya. I agree he is really good though. He finds space between the lines and looks after the ball really well.

4.) 26 Aug 2021
26 Aug 2021 12:14:40
Hailstones, I agree with you, Balagizi looks an outstanding prospect like several in our U23's and particularly our U18's.

He was, of course, in plaster throughout our summer camp but fortunately his arm is now completely healed.

5.) 26 Aug 2021
26 Aug 2021 12:42:15
Hang on jezza ain't nothing too do with black and tall in relation to yaya . i have watched a lot of him as my cousin plays for u18s . Watch him play strong on ball, eye for a pass and likes a dribble . For your info the reference too yaya was first brought too my attention by lfc pundits and i agree .

6.) 26 Aug 2021
26 Aug 2021 12:48:23
Does anyone see Van den Berg developing in the same way as Fabinho. From versatile right sided defender into CDM.

7.) 26 Aug 2021
26 Aug 2021 13:17:39
Fair enough hailstones I apologise. I still don’t think he’s anything like yaya but atleast your reasons for thinking so aren’t what I suggested.

8.) 26 Aug 2021
26 Aug 2021 13:40:47
Redplanet, an interesting thing i read about Sepp van den Berg. He actually started out as a pacey right winger. It was Jaap Stam's idea to convert him to a centre back after he had a massive growth spurt and grew to 6ft4!

I personally think he'll end up at right back but he's a very interesting player who could probably play in midfield if he was coached to. He's shown he is adaptable and willing to learn new roles.