Jeanuël Belocian: Scouting Report by Mateusz Belza
Name: Jeanuël Belocian
Age: 18 years old (2005-02-17)
Height: 1,82 cm
Main Position: Centre-back
Other Position: Left-back
Club: Stade Rennais FC
Nationality: France and Guadeloupe
Preferred foot: Left
Market Value: £7.00m
Player comparison: Nathan Aké
Key Strengths:
Covering shots
Tackles
Strength
Making himself available in the build-up phase
Positioning
Reading the game defensively on long-balls and counter-attacks (vision)
Improvements:
Clearances
Pressing
Long-passes
Heading
Weak foot
Background:
Jeanuël Belocian was born and raised in Guadeloupe and started his youth football career at AJC at the age of 5 before joining Stade Lementinois at the age of 8. He later on moved to France where he joined the youth academy of Rennes in July 2020, and signed a professional contract only a year later with Stade Rennais on November 10 2021.
Career Summary:
Jeanuël played in the UEFA European Under-17 Championship in 2022 where the french u17 national team won the whole tournament, and Jeanuël was in the starting line-up for all games throughout the tournament. Mostly as a left-back but also as a centre-back.
Until this day Jeanuël Belocian has made a total of 15 appearances in the Ligue 1 and 4 appearances in the UEFA Europa League with the first team of Stade Rennais FC.
Play style:
Jeanuël Belocian is the typical modern center-back. This is evident as he is often involved in the build-up phase when Stade Rennais starts from the goalkeeper and Belocian often makes himself available with a lot of open spaces. He frequently tends to play smart and simple passes to his nearest center-back or full-back, which often happens to be the left full-back, but sometimes it can take a bit too long before he makes his pass, which may be because he’s trying to read the game and not put his teammates in difficult situations. Despite his young age, Belocian shows great potential for leading others where he clearly communicates with his teammates and uses hand gestures to help his teammates. Before he gets the ball he always tries to check his surroundings to know if an opponent is about to press him or try to intercept the ball.
Play style (Defensively):
Belocian has good physical presence on the pitch and doesn’t not tend to rush into challenges when not needed, instead he is dropping down onto the field to keep an eye on the opponent and ball and waits for an opportunity to intercept the ball, which shows excellent football IQ, running technique and composure.
Another great defensive quality of Belocian is his mentality when it comes to regaining possession, whether it’s him who has misplaced a pass or a teammate who has lost the ball, he quickly reads the game to win back possession for his team, which shows great work rate.
Belocian is also very clever and good in 1v1 situations, where he demonstrates patience and maintains a low body position to anticipate his opponent’s dribble. He delays the attack to allow his teammates to track back and guides his opponent away from the goal.
Play style (Offensively):
Belocian doesn’t engage extensively in the offensive phases as he’s often the first defender ready to track back in case of a counterattack. But when he does get involved in the attack, he attempts to play passes beyond the opposing team’s lines.
Despite Belocian not playing many long passes since he often opts for short passes that find his teammate (which may also be due to tactical instructions from the coach), he still demonstrates an excellent understanding of the game and vision. An example is here when he is seeing his teammate that signals that he’s making a run and wants a long ball on the other side of the pitch by attempting to break through all lines with a long diagonal pass.
Technical Abilities (0-10):
Defending Ability: [9]
Defending 1v1: [9]
Tackling: [9]
Clearances: [6]
Covering Shots: [9]
Attacking Ability: [5]
Left Footed Passing: [8]
Right Footed Passing:[5]
Short Passing: [8]
Long Passing: [5]
Running with the ball: [6]
Ball Control: [7]
Heading: [5]
Weak foot: [6]
First Touch: [7]
Physical Abilities (0-10):
Speed: [6]
Mobility: [6]
Strength: [8]
Work Rate: [7]
Agility: [8]
Endurance: [8]
Tactical Abilities (0-10):
Positioning: [9]
Reading the Game: [9]
Vision: [9]
Decision Making: [7]
Awareness: [8]
Covering Areas: [9]
Mentality & Character abilities (0-10):
Team Player: [9]
Effort to win the ball back: [9]
Leadership: [7]
Talkative: [7]
Competitiveness: [8]
Discipline: [7]
Concentration: [7]
Ambition: [8]
Showing initiative: [6]
Potential:
Jeanuël Belocian is undeniably one of the most exciting young talents in European football. His potential for growth and development is evident, and with already playing at the highest levels at the age of 18, including European competitions like Europa Leauge, we can expect to witness Belocian’s skills and abilities flourish as his confidence soars.
Belocian’s versatility and adaptability make him a valuable asset to a wide range of teams, regardless of their preferred style of play. He possesses the potential to not only excel but to reach the pinnacle of the sport. His future in football looks incredibly bright, and the anticipation for his continued success is palpable among fans and observers alike.