Scout report: Jeff Reine-Adelaide
It isn’t always that you are called ‘special’ by one of the best managers in the game, but that is exactly what Jeff Reine-Adelaide managed to do when he came on for Arsenal in the Emirates Cup. The young winger was one of the best players against Wolfsburg, a game which the Gunners won 6-0 he was even voted as the man-of-the-match for that particular game.
Jeff Reine-Adelaide only recently joined the Arsenal ranks, being just 17-years-old, he might have a long way to go, but he has started his career brightly at Arsenal. We provide a report on just who this next great Gunner could be.
Another brilliant French prospect at Arsenal
There seems to be a special connect between Arsenal and French speaking players, Reine-Adelaide is a U17 French international who started his started his career for RC Lens in their highly acclaimed youth setup. He was snapped up by Arsenal in 2015 after helping the U17 French team win the Euro Championship.
The 17-year-old plays in attack but his best position is down the right wing. He has great dribbling ability and also ball control. The youngster is blessed with an incredible amount of technique for someone so young. He is also extremely pacey, something that will please most fans and also aid his game style as a winger needs a tremendous amount of pace in this age of football.
He loves to get the ball at his feet and has a lot of tricks up his sleeve, blessed with quick feet, he likes to take on defenders and beat them with his pace. As in the case for most wingers now, he loves to cut in and deliver that killer pass or cross the ball for the striker to score a goal. He is also known to make fast surging runs into the opposition penalty box and play his teammates through.
His vision also makes him an exceptional talent as he can spot runs of other players, but there are a few issues with his game as with any youngster in this stage of their career. He does love the ball at his feet and often holds onto it for a little while too long, also he isn’t the most physical player out there and can be taken off the ball rather easily with a bit of force. His playing style earned some comparisons with Arsenal legend Robert Pires.
The physicality part will obviously change as he grows older and bulks up; we all know the transformation that Gareth Bale went through during his years at Real Madrid. Jeff Reine-Adelaide has all the skills to become one of the most feared wingers if his growth takes place in the right atmosphere and at Arsenal he certainly has a chance of doing that.
He might not feature for the Gunners in the starting XI this season all that often but he certainly will be there or thereabouts next season and that will be exciting news for the fans.