Jaden Umeh: Cork City's Rising Star - Scout Report 2024
A closer look at Cork City's starlet.
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16-year-old Jaden Umeh is lighting up the LOI First Division. The Cork City starlet put in some impressive performances from the bench in the first five games of the season. This led to him being handed a place in the starting eleven against Wexford where Umeh announced himself on the LOI stage by netting his first goal for the club and making history by becoming Cork’s youngest ever goalscorer in the process.
So, with Jaden Umeh making a name for himself and being linked to clubs such as Benfica, now is a great time to write a scout report on him. In this piece, we will look at his individual skillset to understand what makes him such an exciting player in addition to analysing how he fits into Cork City’s tactics. Let’s go…
Biography
Name: Jaden Umeh
Age: 16 (18/03/2008)
Club: Cork City
Nationality: Republic of Ireland
Primary Position: Left/Right Winger
Secondary Position: Centre Forward
Preferred Foot: Right
Physical profile
Despite his young age, Umeh is already demonstrating that he is a physically imposing player for opponents to deal with. He is approximately 184 cm tall with some excellent strength to battle in 1v1 duels. As Umeh is just 16 years old he will likely continue to grow so he could reach 188 cm - 190 cm in the future.
Additionally, Umeh is incredibly quick meaning he can accelerate away from his opponent with relative ease, making him an ideal outlet for launching counterattacks in the offensive transition. Of course, the Cork City youngster can also utilise his speed when tracking back and providing defensive cover, as we will discuss.
Moreover, he is very agile which means he can change direction whilst carrying the ball without missing a beat. This often allows him to weave his way out of tackles and pressure in the attacking phase.
A direct attacking threat
It has to be said that Jaden Umeh plays his football with a level of confidence that makes you forget how young he really is. The 16-year-old offers Cork City the ability to transition from defence to attack, rapidly.
Firstly, this can relieve pressure on the Cork City team's defence by moving play into the opposition's territory. By driving forward with the ball at speed, Umeh can draw opponents out of position and force them to backtrack, thereby creating gaps and openings for himself or his teammates to exploit in the opposition's defensive third.
We can see here that Umeh not only regains possession in the defensive third, he then uses his speed and quite wonderful dribbling ability to carry the ball, and his team up the field. This also demonstrates how he uses the outside of his foot to carry the ball and facilitate a quick change of direction to run into the space in the central area.
Furthermore, he has the potential to serve as a focal point for the team's transitions. Whether through counter-attacks or quick breaks, his ability to advance the ball quickly can catch opponents on the back foot and create numerical overloads in the attacking third, allowing Cork to create goal-scoring opportunities with speed and efficiency.
Umeh’s speed also means that he is a constant threat without the ball. Cork City primarily line up in a 4-2-3-1 system which allows the wide players to either sit narrower or to make inverted runs from the flanks into the penalty area.
We can see in this example, that as Cork attack down the right, Umeh positions himself almost centrally as a second striker. He then makes a well-timed run into the opposition area and ensures that he gets in front of his marker.
As the cross is played in from the right flank, Umeh is on hand to turn it goalwards for his first professional goal.
Additionally, the 16-year-old is well-versed at making late runs to the back post which means he is an ideal target for crosses into the area.
Moreover, Umeh’s off-the-ball movement can stretch the opposition's defence and create gaps in their shape. He has the knowledge and ability to make penetrating runs behind the defensive line, he forces defenders to track their movement and adjust their positioning, which leads to space opening up. This means Cork can utilise quick and incisive attacks to create goal-scoring opportunities and increase their overall attacking threat.
Calmness personified
The ability to retain possession is something that Umeh has clearly worked on over recent months, don’t get me wrong, there are occasions where he overruns the ball or makes a poor decision, as we would expect from any 16-year-old.
However, his physical strength and knowledge of how to utilise his body in duels and when under pressure offer him the ability to shield the ball from the opposition, as we can see here.
In this instance, despite being under pressure, Umeh uses his powerful physical presence to prevent the opponent from getting a foot to the ball. He then spins his man and drives forward into the area.
With three opposition players surrounding him, Umeh uses his agility to change direction, creating enough space for himself to take a touch before playing a pass into a dangerous area for a teammate.
This allows Cork City to sustain attacks and maintain pressure on the opposition's defence. By using his strength and intelligence to effectively retain possession in advanced areas, Umeh can keep the ball in rotation and create opportunities for teammates to join the attack, as we saw above.
Furthermore, this means Jaden Umeh can be valuable in breaking down stubborn defensive structures and unlocking tight defences. By keeping the ball at his feet and moving intelligently in tight spaces, he can draw defenders towards him and therefore create space in other areas of the pitch.
It is also worth noting, he is very comfortable using his weaker left foot which makes it very difficult for defenders to know which way to show him when carrying the ball.
In another demonstration of his calmness under pressure, we can see Cork have recovered possession in the defensive third and are playing out of defence. It’s the 90th minute and the score is 1-1 so any mistake on the edge of the Cork City area could lead to a goalscoring opportunity for Athlone Town.
This does not faze Jaden Umeh one bit. As the opponent puts him under pressure, he lifts the ball over him, into the path of his teammate who plays a pass back to Umeh. Having evaded the pressure, the 16-year-old is free to charge up the pitch unopposed.
Making these decisions under pressure not only shows us how confident the young attacker is in his own abilities but also that he has an excellent ability to read the game and uses this to make these choices.
Defensive intelligence
Jaden Umeh is a player who works for the team and puts in the work defensively for his team. He has an excellent sense of positioning which pays dividends in the defensive phase of play.
Here, he recognises that his teammate is isolated in a 1v1 situation and that there is space which could be exploited should the Kerry attacking player beat the Cork City defender.
Umeh covers the space and ensures that the opposition cannot play through the Cork City defence.
By tracking back and supporting the fullback in defensive situations, Umeh helps to prevent opposition attacks from developing in the wide areas and half spaces - where many teams look to exploit space and create goal-scoring opportunities.
This shows some good defensive diligence and reduces the risk of the opposition exploiting gaps in the defensive structure.
Additionally, we have talked a little about Umeh’s strength previously but it is a key element of his defensive game so it’s worth another mention.
He is not a player who typically goes to ground, instead the Republic of Ireland U-17 international much prefers to stay on his feet and use his body positioning and orientation to out-duel his opponent.
In this example, he judges the flight of the ball to perfection and then uses his strength to hold off the opponent as he brings it under control. He then manoeuvres his opponent out of the way utilising his body orientation and consequently, is able to carry the ball into open space ahead.
Jaden Umeh demonstrates a strong defensive work ethic and team-oriented mentality, which goes a long way to contributing to a cohesive team dynamic. His willingness to work hard defensively shows his commitment to and desire when on the pitch.
Conclusion
Cork City have got a future star on their hands, without question. Umeh has the physical profile to be a commanding an imposing figure which could potentially see him utilised as a target man on some occasions.
He is a direct player who loves to run at his opponents and to be fair, when he gets going, it is a joy to watch as he slaloms in and out of opposition challenges.
What’s even more impressive is his work ethic and willingness to track back and do the hard graft that not every attacking player enjoys. Jaden Umeh really does play with a wisdom beyond his years.
Personally, I am very excited to see where his career goes. I believe he is a wonderful player already and has a very high ceiling potential-wise. One to watch, for sure.
If you’ve never seen Jaden Umeh play before, here is a playlist of clips from Wyscout to give you an idea of his style of play:
Thanks for reading!