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- Rocco Reitz Scout Report At Germany U21 2025 & Chelsea Recruitment Analysis 2025/2026
Rocco Reitz Scout Report At Germany U21 2025 & Chelsea Recruitment Analysis 2025/2026
Today, we have a scout report on in-demand Germany U21 midfielder Rocco Reitz and a tactical analysis piece looking at how Chelsea's new signings Liam Delap and Jamie Gittens will help the Blues break low blocks.
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The 2025 U21 European Championships have ended, with Lee Carsley’s England ultimately emerging victorious.
The Young Lions defeated Antonio Di Salvo-led Germany in the EURO U21 Final, thanks to goals from Liverpool’s Harvey Elliott, Ipswich Town’s Omari Hutchinson and Olympique de Marseille’s Jonathan Rowe.
On the German side, 1. FSV Mainz 05 duo Nelson Weiper and Paul Nebel got on the scoresheet, but it was the young English team’s day in the end.
Plenty of German players made their mark on this tournament.
In addition to Nebel (two) and Weiper (four), there was Bayern Munich target Nick Woltemade from a goalscoring standpoint.
Woltemade netted on six occasions during this tournament, finishing as the EURO U21 top scorer.
Rocco Reitz (176cm/5’9”, 72kg/159 lbs) of Borussia Mönchengladbach also produced some fine performances.
The 23-year-old midfielder has recently been heavily linked to Premier League side Fulham, with West Ham United said to be in the picture, too.
As a football fan, analyst and writer who’s always naturally gravitated towards deep-lying midfielders—be they conductors who dictate play comfortably and with a near-effortless feel or quarterbacks—6s disguised as 10s working from the shadows of their own half— Reitz was the main standout of the U21 Euros, for me—a pleasure to watch throughout the competition.
That’s why this article will be a Rocco Reitz scout report, outlining his crucial role in Germany’s journey to the EURO U21 Final.
This Rocco Reitz player analysis piece details the midfielder’s progressive nature and threat in possession, along with his reading of the game and technical quality without the ball.
It took until the final day of the Premier League season, but Chelsea secured UEFA Champions League football for 2025/2026.
They followed that up with a UEFA Conference League trophy, coming from behind against Real Betis to win in dominant fashion with a 4-1 scoreline.
The Blues‘ path to the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup trophy has opened up, and they now look like strong contenders.
Enzo Maresca has Chelsea in a better position than they had been under Mauricio Pochettino.
The Pep Guardiola disciple still has a long way to go to make Chelsea a genuine Premier League and Champions League contender, but the pieces are there.
One aspect of Chelsea that needs to improve if they are going to compete at the top of the Premier League or go deep in the Champions League is their ability to break down low blocks.
At one point last season, they put together eight straight wins and were competing with Liverpool at the top of the table.
What followed was a string of matches against primarily low-block defending teams like Everton, Fulham and Ipswich Town.
The goals, along with the results, started to dry up.
As the season progressed, Maresca did not have an answer to how Chelsea were going to effectively and consistently break down teams that would sit very deep and compact against them.
In large part, it was both a tactical and personnel issue.
In this tactical analysis article, we will explore Maresca’s philosophy of unlocking an opponent sitting in a low block and how some of Chelsea’s new signings, like Liam Delap and Jamie Gittens, can help fix these issues.
In Memoriam: Diogo Jota (1996-2025)
In place of our usual archive section, Total Football Analysis remembers Diogo Jota with a selection of our articles that examined his outstanding career.
Our coverage of Jota charts the evolution and intricacies of his game, reflecting a player defined by relentless work ethic, intelligence, and the ability to meet every challenge with resilience and style.
In 2019/2020, Diogo Jota helped Wolves to achieve a stellar seventh-place finish in the Premier League, fighting against bigger clubs with brilliant displays throughout the campaign.
One season later, Diogo Jota had joined reigning Premier League champions Liverpool under Jürgen Klopp.
Our analysis looked at how he proved to be a perfect fit for the Reds.
By 2021/2022, Diogo Jota had graduated from Liverpool newcomer to an integral cog in their high-performing team under Jürgen Klopp.
The Liverpool front three of Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mané had been one of the best units in football for years, and finding a way into it was always going to be difficult.
This scout report and tactical analysis unpicked the reasoning behind Jota’s ability to do so.
