While not as glamorous as the Champions League, the Europa League presents the perfect opportunity for bigger teams to see some of Europe’s good teams and their players outside of their comfort zone.
Especially in the latter stages, it allows scouts to watch youngsters play against tougher opposition than what they would encounter in their domestic competitions.
A great example of this was RB Salzburg vs Dortmund, which Tottenham saw as a great opportunity to look at the talent on display by sending a scout to the fixture on Thursday night.
According to Estadio Deportivo, Spurs were just one of a number of clubs scouting at the game to watch the Austrian side knock out Marcos Reus and co. out of the competition by drawing 0-0 after their 2-1 away win in Germany.
While the name of the players Tottenham were looking at aren’t mentioned, there’s no doubt the scout will have kept an eye on some of the youngsters fielded by Salzburg, with just three of the starting XI over the age of 25.
The likes of Diadie Samassékou (22) at defensive midfield or Duje Caleta-Car (21) in the centre of defence have been regulars in Marco Rose’s side this season, and with Tottenham recently being linked with Benjamin Pavard amid the Toby Alderweireld saga, the latter of the two makes sense.
We’ll have to wait and see if this becomes a regular thing.
