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The Art Of Scanning In Elite Football & Zachary Athekame Scout Report At AC Milan 2025/2026

The Art Of Scanning In Elite Football & Zachary Athekame Scout Report At AC Milan 2025/2026

Today, we have a tactical theory article on scanning in elite football and a player analysis of AC Milan target Zachary Athekame!

August 10, 2025

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Today’s TFA Posts ⚽

The Art Of Scanning In Elite Football: Lessons From Liverpool’s Alexis Mac Allister – Tactical Theory

In elite football, the difference between an average touch and a game-changing action often lies in what happens before the ball arrives.

Modern midfielders are not just distributors.

They are interpreters of time and space, constantly scanning their environment and adjusting their body shape to play at the highest possible tempo.

These micro-actions (scanning and body-oriented receiving) might seem subtle, but they underpin almost every successful intervention in the heart of the pitch.

This tactical theory piece explores how Alexis Mac Allister exemplifies these traits for Liverpool and Argentina.

Combining data, theoretical insights, and video examples, this player analysis highlights how his awareness and body mechanics elevate his ability to control rhythm, link lines, and influence the game on both sides of the ball.

The Art Of Scanning In Elite Football: Lessons From Liverpool’s Alexis Mac Allister – Tactical Theory

Zachary Athekame Scout Report At Milan 2025/2026 - Analysis

Zachary Athekame is a 20-year-old right-back who is very much on the radar of Serie A’s AC Milan.

I Rossoneri need a promising right-back to reinforce their squad.

Massimiliano Allegri has been using the 3-5-2 formation during the friendly games he played so far in the pre-season camp and was relying mainly on Alexis Saelemaekers, Álex Jiménez, and Yunus Musah for the wing-back role.

As Musah is mainly a midfielder, Allegri is more likely to use Musah there if the Athekame deal goes through.

He would logically use Jiménez more as an alternative to Pervis Estupiñán on the left flank, rather than having three players competing for the same right flank role.

If Zachary Athekame’s transfer deal is not completed, however, Jiménez will remain Saelemaekers’ backup on the right.

Jiménez would be the best possible option as an alternative to Estupiñán following the departure of Theo Hernández, with Davide Bartesaghi becoming the plan C option for that role.

Getting a natural right-back who can rival Saelemaekers will benefit Allegri and the team.

That should create a healthy rivalry that will push both players to perform better.

Zachary Athekame’s market value reaches €5m; therefore, it will be less complicated to opt for him rather than for a more established player with a higher market value.

At the same time, Athekame’s potential and abilities are excellent for Milan’s standards.

He has what is needed to further develop at Milan and battle for a starting spot without much pressure.

AC Milan are pushing to get the services of a promising talent who can become a much more useful right-back in the coming seasons and who can already add squad depth and quality on the right flank this season.

This player analysis and scout report aims to further explore Zachary Athekame’s playmaking and defensive traits, identifying his strengths and shedding some light on his weaknesses and margin of progress.

The analysis will also compare Zachary Athekame and Alexis Saelemaekers using data analysis and statistics since the latter has been Allegri’s first choice on the right flank until now.