Semih Kaya: scout report

Style, Strengths and Weaknesses

If you want to be a top defender, you need to be a complete player. Intelligence, concentration, strength, number of duels won, and adept in possession. Semih is a combination of different styles, he is a bit of a solid defender, a bit of a technique player and compared to any defender he has decent technique, first touch and ball control. He is sufficient in the air, but he doesn’t have enough ability to deal with target-man strikers.

For example, last season against Be?ikta?, he had some trouble against the physically imposing Hugo Almeida. He is good with the ball at his feet. He doesn’t seem hurried when on the ball and is able to start attacks from the back, he has a good eye for a pass and follows the movement of midfielders and strikers on the pitch. He doesn’t step up and put pressure so often, but when he does, he does it efficiently and wins the ball more often than not, which means that he is a good reader of the game.

He is a deep lying central defender, but because of the tactical system of Terim, he has to stay close to the line. His attacking contribution is limited. As mentioned above, he is a huge fan of Chelsea captain John Terry, and they certainly have some similarities in terms of playing style. Both of them are balanced and more rigid defenders compare to their partners. At Chelsea, Terry has Luiz as a partner who is an attacking minded defender which means Terry has to stay deep and be aware of every movement in the game to cover Luiz’s absence and at Galatasaray, last season Semih played alongside Danny, a player similar to David Luiz in some aspects. Thus, Semih stayed deep and tried to cover his absence.

Semih’s main strength is his mentality. He is always in the game. Fully concentrated, he is ambitious player, doesn’t give up easily and works hard. He is a hard worker and is well aware that to reach the top level of football he needs to continue to work as hard, if not even harder.

In the physical department, Semih Kaya is decent. Not slow, commands sufficient power, his acceleration is decent, balanced player and excellent stamina. His physical attributes are good enough to play at top level but without a doubt, he has to improve physically to become a better defender.

His physical attributes were put to the test against Be?ikta?. A test which, in my opinion, he struggled in. He couldn’t win enough aerial duels, he had a problem with tackles and interceptions, and in general looked incompetent against Hugo Almeida. But since then, he has already improved and become better in terms of physique and will be able to handle “big” players more easily.

Another main weakness, is his injury problems. His track record of injuries aren’t heart warming. He has had several major injuries in his short career, I hope it won’t repeat in the future and he is going to be able to showcase his considerable skills.

Overall, Semih doesn’t have a main weakness but at the same time he doesn’t have one marked characteristic. He is a combination of different styles and it makes him irreplaceable for Galatasaray. He gives Terim different options, next season his partner will mostly be Aurelien Chedjou, who is a more experienced and solid player compared to Semih, who’ll have a chance to learn from Chedjou.

Semih Kaya tackling Cristiano Ronaldo in the Champions League next season

Quotes

“It is true to say that Sir Alex Ferguson had talked with our president about Semih. He asked for the price of a possible transfer, but that question is yet to be answered.”

- Ali Durust (Galatasaray Vice President) via metro.co.uk

“Semih along with Fatih Terim will be at Galatasaray for the foreseeable future, he is a very valuable player to us.”

- Ali Durust (Galatasaray Vice President) via turkish-football.com

Transfer Situation

Semih Kaya is the part of F-F sport agency alongside with his team mate Dany Nounkeu. Semih is the one of the best young defenders in Europe at the moment. Defenders have to be more mature, experienced than other players. He is still learning and he’ll be a target of the big clubs from Europe in a couple of seasons. He plays regularly at Galatasaray, he has Champions League experience and his experience will grow in coming seasons. According to reports, Inter have inquired about his price to Galatasaray board members had a quick conversation about him with Manchester United after the champions league game at Old Trafford.

He has signed a new deal with Galatasaray and Gala won’t let him go in the near future. He hasn’t had enough success at Galatasaray yet, his value hasn’t risen to the peak yet. I can definitely see him playing in England or Italy in 3 years.