Not many fans will know about Zamani but it looks like Henny de Regt, Manchester United’s new scout, is doing his job with Manchester United reportedly recruiting Tahith Chong and us also being interested in some of the brightest talents in Holland.
The next name on the list comes from Red News’ long-serving editor Barney Chilton: 14-year-old winger Hossein Zamani.
Good contact (thanks!) says as well as Chong from Feyenoord, MUFC hope to tie up deal for well regarded Ajax youngster Hossein Zamani. #mufc
— Barney @Red News (@barneyrednews) April 11, 2016
A source close to Barney claims Man United are looking to tie up a deal for Zamani, so with that in mind here is a profile of the youngster to offer you some insight into him.
Who is Hossein Zamani?
Zamani is a 14-year-old left winger for Ajax U15s. His preferred foot is his right but he also has, especially for his age, a very well developed left foot. With the ball at his feet, Zamani likes to cut inside and get into the box and create a chance for himself but because of him being good with both feet, he can also beat his man on the by-line and cross it in from there if needed.
Zamani was scouted and recruited by Ajax entirely from playing on the streets in his hometown, De Bilt in the Netherlands. Zamani has already in the news from a very young age after he was named ‘Best player of the tournament’ at Torneo Alpi Apuane, a tournament in Italy with some of the biggest clubs from Italy as well as other European clubs like Sevilla and Chelsea.
Strengths
Zamani’s dribbling is fantastic. Without using a lot of pace or skill, he can beat his man very easily. His shooting is quite powerful for his age but he can also get a lot of curve on the ball. He showed that ability in the last minutes of one of the most important matches of the year, Ajax U15s vs PSV U15s.
Ajax U-15 whizzkid Hossein Zamani with a beautiful curler against PSV – take a bow, son! pic.twitter.com/m3Iqmq06X0
— FootballTalentScout (@FTalentScout) March 17, 2016
He is the free-kick taker for his team and without using too much power, he scores quite frequently as they are very difficult for the keeper due to the dip and swerve he can generate on the ball.
In terms of speed, Zamani isn’t very quick but does have excellent acceleration in the first few metres. As for ball control, his first touch is also very good but when it goes wrong, he makes up for it with his acceleration so he’s adept at recovering from mistakes. Off the ball, Zamani is also intelligent and knows exactly when and when not to make a run to get away from his marker. All in all, his technique is mature for a 14-year-old and he’s very composed in front goal.
Points to improve
Zamani doesn’t always know what is happening around him and sometimes misses opportunities to give through balls or crosses but he’s only 14, so that sort of awareness should develop in time with the right coaching. His passing is decent but he can definitely improve on that as well as his crossing. Despite being quite tall, Zamani isn’t the strongest, nor a very good header of the ball, but again this should naturally improve as he develops and gets older. One final point, he does usually track back when his marker is going forward but his defending is weak and is definitely a point to improve on.
How good can he be?
As I said in the article about Tahith Chong, you never know how someone is going to develop abroad but looking at his qualities right now, he has the abilities to become a great player for us in the future, if we were to actually recruit him.
Photo credit: Twitter/Hzamani_11
