Scout Report: Semih Kaya
The search for Manchester United’s star defender seems to have taken a new twist. The signing of Otamendi seems to be heading nowhere and the price of the Argentine seems to be rising as the mercury levels during summer, so United have decided to forget about costly defender and are willing to look at more economical solutions.
The latest player to get linked with a move to Old Trafford is Turkish defender Semih Kaya. The 24-year-old centre back from Galatasaray has had a rather interesting career so far and we provide a scout report on possibly the next defender to sign up for Manchester United.
Injuries have stagnated Kaya’s career
He joined the Galatasaray youth system from Altay’s youth team when he was just 16-years-old but things didn’t go as well as he would have expected after signing for one of the biggest clubs in the World. He suffered a bad injury when he was kicked in the head by Besiktas’ Karadeniz; he had to leave the game, have major surgery and didn’t play again in 2007.
It wasn’t until 2009 when he got his first league appearance and then was sent out on-loan for a couple of seasons to various Turkish clubs before getting a chance to claim his stake at Galatasaray. The 24-year-old has become one of the best players at the club and he was rewarded with his great ability and play with a contract extension till 2018.
Kaya has a great an all-round game, he doesn’t have one characteristic which sticks out and makes him a top defender but a collection of abilities makes him a decent all-around player. He isn’t known for any tough tackling or his great ability to leap in the air and win headers; instead he is known for his great reading of the game.
Kaya also has a great temperament and knows what to do and when, he doesn’t dive into tackles but positions himself really well to ensure attackers don’t run past him easily. He is extremely comfortable on the ball and is always looking for a pass to an attacking midfielder or attacker, which leads to attacks starting from the back and with a lot of pace.
There are a couple of issues with Kaya, the greatest issue is that he isn’t the most physical defender out there and it is a worry that he could be bullied by some of the tougher forwards in the Premier League. The other issue is his pace, he isn’t the most gifted defender in the Turkish league and that could be a major problem when he is up against some of the faster players in the Premier League.
Kaya would become a great squad player for Manchester United, he could step up and become much more than just a squad player but he will have to work hard to be able to start games for the Red Devils.