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Analysis
- 23 minutes ago
I wrote Arsenal 56 scouting reports on World Cup winner - they rejected him
Tom Weber
- 10 Oct 2025 05:31 CDT
- 4 min read
News
Jonathan Vidalle, Arsenal's chief South America scout, has revealed that he wrote extensive reports on Atletico Madrid star Thiago Almada before he managed to make his big breakthrough.
At just 24, the Argentina international has already seen and achieved more in football than most do in an entire career. Regarded as one of the biggest prospects in South America while playing for Velez Sarsfield, Almada made the surprising decision to move to Major League Soccer in 2022.
Many had expected him to make the jump to Europe, but he ultimately opted to head stateside to become one of the faces of MLS's new, youth-focused approach. He joined Atlanta United for €14.5m (£12.63m), a league record at the time.
Current ETV
Thiago Almada
F (L), M (CL)
Atlético Madrid
Thiago Almada
F (L), M (CL)
Atlético Madrid
ETV Range
€22.7M - €27.7M
Having impressed in his first year in the US, he was called up to Argentina's 2022 World Cup squad to replace Joaquin Correa and made a brief cameo in their final group stage game. He became the first active MLS player to win a World Cup, doing so aged just 20.
He moved to Brazilian giants Botafogo in 2024, with divisive club owner John Textor admitting that he only became aware of Almada because someone on social media had recommended that he sign him. After a brief sojourn to sister club Lyon, who loaned him despite a transfer ban, he moved to Atletico Madrid in the summer.
Arsenal could have signed Almada
Had things panned out differently, the 24-year-old could be playing for Arsenal right now. At least that is according to the Gunners' chief South America scout Jonathan Vidalle, who has revealed that he has been following Almada extensively since the U15 level.
"Thiago Almada, I've always insisted on him, I've always liked him, but he has a physical weakness, especially for the Premier League," Vidalle said in an interview with ADN Deportes. "I've done 56 reports on him because I've known him since he played in the eighth division, that is, in the U15s.
"Sometimes it's a little frustrating when a player you scout ends up playing for another club and succeeding. Well, those are the rules of the game. Maybe it would have worked out. The Premier League is hard because it's very physical. And another thing that's crucial today is the mentality of the kids."
The former footballer also offered insights into just how detailed scouting reports are nowadays: "Two of my colleagues visited me at the U20 World Cup in Argentina [in 2023], and brought an eight- or nine-page dossier on Declan Rice, a central midfielder who was already playing in the Premier League, and who we bought that season.
"What that document said was impressive. You didn't even analyse your wife like that before you got married. It included everything: the age curve, injuries, mentality, when the blood pressure could drop, concentration in each match. It was like an intelligence report. Databases, as we know them, have ceased to exist.
"We are eight scouts for the first team. In general, we look all over the world, and then we have 14 people who do video analysis, that is, they watch any league on the planet, at least three games a day, each of them, and in turn, there are four or five people in the United Kingdom working to get players for Arsenal's youth teams."
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