This summer, we are running a series profiling 50 exciting players under the age of 25 — who they are, how they play, and why they could be attracting interest in the coming transfer windows.

So far, we have run the rule over a striker on Manchester United’s radar, Gen-Z’s answer to Sergio Busquets and the France forward who has gone from zero to €100million in the space of a year. You can find all our profiles until now here.

Next up is a very talented Dutchman playing in the French top flight…

Inside every club, there is youth talent buried somewhere.

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The eternal question for young footballers is: should we stay and wait for the opportunity or drop a level for more playing time?

In the summer of 2021, Thijs Dallinga chose the second option and the Dutchman couldn’t have been more vindicated by his decision.

After barely appearing for his hometown club, Groningen, the centre-forward, now 23, decided to drop a level and join Excelsior in the Dutch second tier. “I would like to show myself to the rest of the Netherlands every week,” said Dallinga upon his unveiling at his new club.

He scored 32 goals in 37 games in the league that season and helped Excelsior claim a play-off spot before four more goals secured promotion to the Eredivisie.

Dallinga had hoped to grab the eyes of clubs in the Netherlands, but it was French second-tier winners Toulouse who contacted him towards the end of the 2021-22 season. The approach from the French side surprised Dallinga, but the club’s promotion to Ligue 1 convinced the Dutchman to make the move.

One year later and it looks like Dallinga has made the right decision again. His 12 goals for Toulouse in the league last season helped the side avoid relegation from the top flight, but more important were his six goals in the Coupe de France — including two in the final — that helped Toulouse win the competition (the first trophy in their history).

Dallinga describes his game as versatile. “I have developed into an attacker who can be played in depth, but can also act as a point of contact,” said the centre-forward. He has the ability to attack the spaces in behind but also come short to play the passing game.

The first part is clear in Dallinga’s constant signalling for the ball to be played behind the defence, regardless of how far away he is.

The centre-forward doesn’t get tired from making off-ball runs behind the defence, even if the pass doesn’t arrive, as in this example away to Angers on March 12.

However, when the pass comes, he is ready. In the final of the Coupe de France against Nantes, Dallinga spots the ball reaching Toulouse’s left-back, Gabriel Suazo, and immediately starts his run in behind the defence…

… which is found by Suazo’s left-footed pass…

… and it takes Dallinga only one touch to put the ball over Nantes’ goalkeeper to make it 3-0.

The mix of runs Dallinga makes — in behind the defence and dropping short to link the play — makes him harder to track. In this example against Lorient on August 21, Dallinga initiates a run behind the defence in the hope his compatriot Branco van den Boomen plays the pass…

… but when it doesn’t materialise, Dallinga drops to provide a passing option. His initial movement has forced the nearest defender to move towards the goal, which allows Dallinga to combine easily with Van den Boomen.

Another example is Dallinga’s most recent goal in the friendly against Roma on August 6. Here, Dallinga sees that Mikkel Desler, Toulouse’s right-back, is moving the ball inside the pitch to Cristian Casseres Jr. Accordingly, the Dutchman drops…

… to offer a passing option. However, when Casseres doesn’t find the centre-forward…

… Dallinga readjusts his position to be ready for the next pass, which comes when Denis Genreau finds Suazo’s overlapping run…

… and the left-back’s low cross is attacked by Dallinga…

… who puts the ball into the back of the net.

In addition to mixing his runs, Dallinga’s smart positioning inside the penalty box helps him rack up the goals. His trademark move is to position himself in an offside situation when his side are combining down the wing…

… so that he is ahead of the defender when the cross comes in.

An example of how this works is Dallinga’s second goal away to Strasbourg on January 29. As Rafael Ratao finds Van den Boomen’s midfield run, Dallinga slowly moves in behind the defence to purposely play himself offside.

So that when Van den Boomen returns the pass to Ratao…

… Dallinga is ahead of the defender because of his earlier positioning. The idea behind this is that the wide combinations will often put the winger or the full-back ahead of Dallinga, thus eliminating the possibility of the centre-forward being offside when the ball is played across the goal.

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That’s exactly what happens here with Ratao’s cross finding Dallinga’s header for the Dutchman to score the winner.

Three days later, Dallinga scored exactly the same goal. Against Troyes, it was Van den Boomen at the end of the one-two combination. The midfielder finds Brecht Dejaegere in between the lines and makes a run into space…

… which is the signal for Dallinga to move into an offside position while Dejaegere plays the return pass into Van den Boomen.

As explained above, Dallinga’s initial offside position gives him a head start over the defenders and because the ball is closer to goal when Van den Boomen plays the pass, Dallinga can’t be offside…

… allowing the centre-forward to score the equaliser.

Another area where Dallinga’s smart positioning is visible is on the transitions. The Dutchman targets the space behind the advancing full-back or wing-back when Toulouse are on the counter. In this example, Lille’s left-back, Ismaily, loses possession with a stray pass while Dallinga is lingering near the centre circle.

Seconds later, the centre-forward is making a run towards the space vacated by Ismaily to offer Toulouse an outlet on the transition.

This came in handy in the quarter-finals of the Coupe de France against Rodez. In this example, Rodez’s left wing-back, Louis Torres, loses the ball higher up the pitch…

… and before Logan Costa searches for Dallinga to play the long pass, the centre-forward has already positioned himself in the space behind Rodez’s left wing-back and left centre-back. Attacking the space behind the opponent’s left side, Dallinga’s run is found by Costa…

… and the striker’s shot hits the back of the net.

Dallinga’s previous experience playing as a No 10 and very briefly as a right-winger in the youth systems might have provided him with different skills that make him versatile. At 23, he still has time to hone his skills in Ligue 1 this season.

Throughout his career, Dallinga’s decision-making on and off the field has worked out really well. And now he is very close to reaching the limelight.