Bournemouth have got one genius thing spot on that other Premier League clubs aren't exploiting

For some reason, not enough clubs intensively scout the Championship. Of course, you get the cream of the crop from sides that suffered relegation from the Premier League, such as Xherdan Shaqiri, Andrew Robertson and Harry Maguire; anybody can sign them. But there is some serious talent if you scratch beneath the surface even just a little bit.

Take Leicester, for example. Aside from Southampton they seemingly had a free run at James Maddison’s signature last summer, which is baffling when you consider the fact that the 21-year-old recorded 15 goals and 11 assists in all competitions for Norwich last season. He has since received an England call-up for his form with the Foxes.

Another example, if you will, would be West Ham’s £7m capture of Michail Antonio from Nottingham Forest. Antonio managed to notch 17 goals in his first two seasons with the Hammers, proving to be a big hit in claret and blue whilst earning an England call-up.

Too many clubs prefer to scout overseas for foreign talent, where European clubs, safe in the knowledge that Premier League clubs are minted to say the least, overcharge and demand extortionately inflated fees. In actual fact, real talent is right underneath Premier League side’s noses.

So, credit to Bournemouth for doing a bit of actual scouting for a player who, statistically, didn’t put his name up in lights last season, but looked likely to fit the Cherries’ style.

David Brooks, a name who almost all of us hadn’t heard of until this season, is a prime example of the star potential loitering around in England’s second tier.

The Welshman scored just three times for Sheffield United last season, but delivered a number of consistent performances which made Eddie Howe sit up and take notice – Brooks has already matched that tally of goals this season, in a higher division.

The 20-year-old was signed for just £11.5m from the Blades, a fee which, in this market and with the way he is performing, could easily fetch quadruple that for Bournemouth in the near future.

Even now, there are some consistently excellent players plying their trade in the Championship. Bradley Dack of Blackburn. Ollie Watkins and Neal Maupay of Brentford, the latter of whom is the league’s top scorer with 11 goals at just 22 years of age.

There is some serious talent down in the Championship. Premier League clubs just need to have a bit more faith in them.

from FootballFanCast.com https://ift.tt/2CShM3p