Sam Curtis
Country: Ireland
Date of birth: 01/12/2005 (16 years old)
Place of birth: Navan (Ireland)
Height: —
Youth career: Shamrock Rovers, St Patrick’s Athletic (since 2021)
Current club: St Patrick’s Athletic
Squad number: 41
Current national team: Ireland U-19
Position: central defender, right-back, defensive midfielder
Preferred foot: right
Market value (by transfermarkt.de): —
Tournaments participated in: UEFA Youth League 2021/2022 (2/0)
Contract until: 30.06.2023
Player’s agent: unknown
Transfer rumours: —
Similar type of player: José María Giménez
Strengths:
– pace 
– tackling
– anticipation
– ambidexterity
– positioning
– versatility
– aerial duels 
Weaknesses:
No significant weaknesses.
Style of play:
– complete, elegant, and dominant centre-back
– versatile and well-rounded/able to play anywhere along the backline
– perfect to play as a right or left-sided centre-back in a three-man defence
– very comfortable on the ball with a willingness to play and receive passes along the ground
– likes to spread play with good long-range diagonals
– likes to maraud forward
– good at finding passes through both the first and second line of pressing from the opposition
– known for his positioning, good timing, confidence in possession, understanding of the game, and an above-average technical capacity
– prefers an active style of defending by getting into challenges and pressing opponents
– very good pace, agility, and coordination
– not the tallest or strongest but feels quite comfortable in contact situations and is good in the air
– energetic, tenacious, aggressive, and hard tackling player
– determined, and committed player with very good rate of individual and collective work
– mature with good leadership skills/possible captain
– operates very comfortably with his left weaker foot
Curtis stops a dangerous attack and wins the ball back thanks to his pace, anticipation, and ability to read the game.
Curtis stays calm under pressure and makes a superb line-breaking pass to his teammate.
Heatmap by Wyscout:
He is best suited to playing as:
Central defender in 4-3-3.
Video:
Achievements:
—
League summary (as for 11 February 2022):
League of Ireland First Division 2020: 2 games/0 goals (Shamrock Rovers II)
League of Ireland Premier Division 2021: 1 game/0 goals (St Patrick’s)
Description:
Sam Curtis joined St Patrick’s Athletic from Shamrock Rovers in the summer of 2021 along with his brother Ben who is also a talented footballer. Sam made his debut in the Irish top tier aged only 15 years, 8 months, and 13 days. He is one of the leaders of an extremely interesting generation of Irish players born in 2005 which includes, among others Kevin Zefi, Rocco Vata, James McManus, Justin Ferizaj, Cathal Heffernan, and Mark O’Mahony.
Quotes:
—
Football Talent Scout potential rating:
First team material in a top European club.
Links: