Hunting hidden gems - is there anywhere in the world left to scout?

ByAlex Bysouth

BBC Sport senior journalist

The world's biggest clubs were all aware of the teenage sensation turning heads for Universidad de Chile, the one dubbed his generation's Alexis Sanchez.

"When we signed Dario Osorio, it was not because no-one knew about him," Kristian Kjaer, technical director at Midtjylland, tells BBC Sport.

Osorio was on the radar of AC Milan, RB Leipzig, Salzburg and a number of other English and German clubs before he left Santiago for Denmark at the age of 19.

It was a carefully considered pathway. After three seasons in Scandinavia, the winger joined Crystal Palace on loan this summer with a £24m option to buy which would make him the most expensive sale in Danish Superliga history.

Midtjylland, where Brentford owner Matthew Benham was a majority stakeholder between 2014 and 2023, are renowned as one of the most innovative clubs in Europe for their use of analytics - from set-pieces to smart recruitment.

"We work on both pathways," explains Kjaer. "We have subjective scouting, more classic video scouting, live scouting, a network, people we trust in the club and also our partners. And then we have the data scouting.

"And Dario Osorio, we were aware of him long before we signed him."

From feet-on-the-ground to the increasing availability of footage, data analytics and artificial intelligence, Premier League clubs - whether buying direct from source or tracking players like Osorio's progress - have a large proportion of the world's emerging talent covered.

"That hidden gem kind of thing almost does not exist any more in football," says Kjaer. "Sometimes it does, but it's rare."

"You would put this period as one of the most transformational in talent ID and recruitment," explains Sam Turner, head of operations at scouting and development platform Eyeball.

Clubs can now obtain an incredible level of detail on players across the globe before they have even made a senior appearance. Eyeball, for example, was founded five years ago to focus on those predominantly aged 13 to 21.

It is used by more than 60% of clubs in Europe's top five leagues, and a majority of Premier League sides, for access to more than 400,000 young players across 42 global markets from Europe to Africa and Latin America.

Winger Malick Yalcouye, a new 20-year-old star at Brighton, was tracked on the system since developing at Ivorian side ASEC Mimosas, likewise Bazoumana Toure, who is now at Newcastle.

The breadth of coverage is highlighted by other recent moves - Josue Caicedo left Ecuador's LDU Quito for Barcelona, Mustapha Nyassi swapped Gambia's Real de Banjul for Copenhagen and Nour Ashraf joined Leipzig from Egypt's ENPPI.

"The availability of data and footage has prompted a change in methodology," says Turner. "That has brought a load of benefits in terms of data-led recruitment, time saving, cost saving."

Eyeball takes north of 2,000 data points every match, typically from leading amateur clubs and elite academies who film and upload their fixtures.

The result is a huge database allowing analysts to watch all of a player's progressive passes, for example, discover who covered the most distance or simply ask 'find me a player like Ashley Cole'.

"There is always this human feel that can never be lost," adds Turner. "I like to think we have aided scouts and recruitment teams, supplemented them with the tools, data, information to be able to make more informed decisions on a more consistent basis."

Data, says Midtjylland's Kjaer, is "extremely important because it gives you an objective tool you can lean towards" when complemented by years of decision-making experience.

"We cannot just turn on the computer and it tell us who to sign and then we go sign them," he says. "We also need to know about the cultural background, the family background, to make sure they fit into our football club.

"Of course, data has given us opportunities. We sign young. So the sample size will simply be smaller for us because if we are waiting until it's big enough, Brighton and Liverpool and Brentford and other guys, they will sign the player in front of us."

"We can find interesting players all around the world," explains Kjaer.

"I like us to be open-minded. We are particular in the way we play and the way we sell. And therefore, we need to find these players who fit that style of play.

"When you have done your due diligence and you feel certain, pull the trigger. The pace in decision-making is also a hidden gem."

One country regularly mentioned is Uzbekistan, who played in their first World Cup this summer, while Turner says Azerbaijan is pioneering a national talent network and "very forward-thinking and motivated to progress the game domestically".

Then there is Japan, which Turner calls a "guiding star" in youth development for a system which takes players from grassroots, to school and college football and then the professional game. Think Kaoru Mitoma's thesis on dribbling techniques.

For European clubs, it makes identifying young Japanese prospects more complex.

Latin America, too, remains a hotbed of talent.

As former Midtjylland chairman Rasmus Ankersen, who has since worked for Brentford and Southampton, wrote in his book The Gold Mine Effect, a club such as Cruzeiro will reject 4,000 players under the age of 15 for every one they take in.

Brazilian clubs are naturally protective of their assets.

"They know eventually players will leave," says Turner. "But it is allowing them to leave at the right age where those clubs can benefit locally. And we are very invested in that."

Much of the region, however, remains "untapped" but recording games creates opportunities.

"It's just a visibility piece for a lot of these players that means they don't get picked up," says Turner.

"We have gone a long way in solving that for a lot of markets, but there are many more that can be picked up with brilliant players everywhere."

One of those markets continues to be Africa.

"There'll be thousands," says Thomas Randolph, founder of Delphlyx, when asked whether talented African players may have missed out on big moves in the past.

Delphlyx works with Premier League clubs and ownership groups, and others across Europe, the United States and Mexico, to provide information on the best - and most relevant - 14 to 21-year-olds in West Africa, often through data, live scouting and private tournaments.

"We have over 19,000 players in Africa on our platform that you could just sit right here in London and watch, then pick up the phone, call one of them and organise a trial or a transfer. That just wasn't happening before," adds Randolph.

With a projected average age of just over 18, Randolph says the region is a "young, growing, developing space" - a "sporting mecca". Football remains the main passion, though NFL and NBA are starting to invest in certain countries.

But Randolph disputes the idea African scouting is now saturated, citing a number of areas that remain relatively undiscovered, often because of conflict or logistics, with scouts drawn to the region's biggest cities.

"Zadok Yohanna is a good example," explains Randolph. "He moved to Brighton recently. He comes from Ikon Allah, which is a tiny and relatively unknown academy in northern Nigeria.

"The southern bit of Senegal is where Sadio Mane is from, where [Lamine] Camara is from, who Chelsea tried to sign, and there's only one team down there. So within all these big countries, there are certain regions that are less scouted."

Historically, it was agents who brought players out of Africa rather than scouts discovering them, whereas Delphlyx aims to help clubs identify and analyse certain talent first so scouts can visit specific tournaments or showcases to watch targets.

Randolph mentions eastern Mali, Togo, Guinea-Bissau and Burkina Faso but Benin, situated between Nigeria and Togo, is of particular interest for the way the country has invested federation grants in football infrastructure and pitches.

"One place they've used the Fifa money very well is Benin," says Randolph. "It's now produced probably a future female Ballon d'Or winner - Romaine Gandonou, who's 15, just played at the Under-20 World Cup, and got the likes of PSG, Barcelona, everyone after her.

"Benin is going to be a country that over the next few years will become very interesting."

Some Premier League clubs are buying directly from Africa. At 18, Senegalese defender Mor Talla Ndiaye has already been on the bench for Liverpool after arriving from Amitie, owned by ex-Newcastle and Chelsea striker Demba Ba.

Ndiaye was spotted at last year's Under-17 World Cup, where Burkina Faso midfielder Mohamed Zongo also impressed. He will join Chelsea and Strasbourg owners BlueCo's project when he turns 18 in two years' time.

"The Under-17 World Cup is a big one," says Randolph. "If your African nation plays there and you do well, you're going to get a good move."

Scouts have also been at the recent Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying and Delphlyx has helped organise trials for players from Senegal and Gambia at Premier League clubs.

The pool is narrowed, however, because players must obtain a Governing Body Endorsement to be granted a work permit or - most likely - take one of a club's four Elite Significant Contribution spots, which essentially comes down to how many youth or senior internationals they have played.

It's part of the reason young players initially move to European countries where regulations are less stringent and why Randolph believes Scottish clubs, where the same criteria does not apply, should be looking into the African market the way Scandinavians do.

Nordsjaelland are unique in that the Right to Dream academy - founded in Ghana in 1999 by former Manchester United scout Tom Vernon - bought the Danish club seven years ago to provide a pathway for its biggest prospects, which have included Mohammed Kudus, Simon Adingra and Kamaldeen Sulemana.

Brighton's Yalcouye and Newcastle's Toure made their first moves to Swedish clubs IFK Goteborg and Hammarby, while Midtjylland have a partner club in Nigeria, FC Ebedei. Coventry's Frank Onyeka played for both on his way to the Premier League, as did Paul Onuachu, now at Trabzonspor.

Like with Osorio, and others such as Guinea-Bissau forward Franculino, who left this summer for Trabzonspor, or Ivory Coast defender Ousmane Diomande, now at Nottingham Forest via Sporting, Midtjylland can highlight a track record of developing young players before selling them on.

"I see Midtjylland a bit like Silicon Valley for tech companies - we have produced so much talent over the years," explains Kjaer.

"We can focus only on the development. Of course, we need to win, but it's a bit more of a secure environment.

"What we say is, if you want to focus on your career as a football player, you have to come here because that is the only thing we do. That is what we are experts in."

There remains, however, undiscovered talent close to home. France, particularly Paris, boasts an incredibly rich talent pool.

A unique national youth league system, where amateur sides face professional academies - and regularly beat them - offers clubs the chance to witness unsigned prospects competing against the most gifted players in their age group.

"Scouts from all over the world come to Ile-de-France to look at players in our leagues," said Jamel Sandjak, president of the Ligue de Paris Ile-de-France, which boasts more than 1,000 clubs and 270,000 players.

"Most of the France national youth teams are full of our players. So our regional teams are playing at national level."

Last season, amateur side ES Nanterre, from the outskirts of Paris, won Championnat National Group B ahead of Champions League outfits Lens and Lille and second-tier clubs Reims, Bastia and Red Star.

Forward Exauce Luyindula was the division's top scorer for renowned amateurs AAS Sarcelles - where Riyad Mahrez played until he was 18 - and has since joined Ligue 2 Guingamp.

Other Eyeball, external partners enjoyed memorable victories, too. AFC Creil beat Lens at under-15 level, Olympique Rovenain's under-19s beat Nice and CS Bretigny's under-17s edged Paris St-Germain.

"Until recently, the vast majority of clubs were relying on the fact the best players are in the best academies or national talent systems, when actually a lot of those players were chosen by 12 or 13," explains Turner.

"A lot of the time that can be right, but also statistically the best players at 12 aren't always the best players at 18.

"There is such a high concentration of players in that region, there is not enough space. The best players aren't necessarily in the national systems."