Calvin Stengs Scouting Thread:

Currently a player at AZ Alkmaar and contracted there till 2023, he’s also a player of the famous agent Mino Raiola.

The 21 year old is a youth player from AZ and played there in their U17, U19 and U23 teams. The left footer plays at RW, but is also capable of playing at AM.

The statistics show, how good he is this season:

Eredivisie:

7.37/10 average rating
25 games
5 goals
7 assist (#5)
14 big chances created (#4)
2.4 key passes p.g (#8)
2.4 dribblings p.g with a 62% success rate (#14)

Stengs Player Summary:

The right winger loves to cut in inside with his left foot and with his head up. He uses his speed and executes his vision very effectively.

Although the Dutchman isn’t the fastest, this isn’t a main point of his game. When the 1,82cm tall winger cuts inside, he always tries to get his teammates into dangerous positions - but he could still work on his pace.

If he really has to go 1vs1, Stengs tries to outplay the defender with an easy body-feint and gets his body between the ball and the defender. His skillset is relatively limited and without the pace he isn’t very dynamic.

AZ Alkmaar’s system works really well and fits the strengths of the players perfectly. Stengs is one the key players in this system and his partnership with Boadu makes up an extremely dangerous duo.

Proving this, Boadu already scored 6 goals that were assisted by Stengs. All of these goals are really similar to each other. Stengs cuts into halfspaces, catches all the attention and serves the ball perfectly through the lines for the fast striker.

This happens quite often. Stengs is outstanding at playing his passes with the right timing, necessary power, and accuracy. His technique is outstanding and he knows how to use his vision in a threatening way.

To show this quality, here’s another clip where Steng’s plays a ball through the lines with a perfect pace and weight:

Despite the lack of pace, his execution of actions is outstanding. This combined with his recently mentioned qualities allows AZ to play a rapid counter attacking game.

Another example for his fast execution and vision is his assist for Boadu in the game against PSV. Stengs shows in the center and plays the clean pass to the striker - who finishes the chance.

Stengs also has an eye for long through balls. Unsurprisingly, the ball finds his teammate perfectly. An outstanding switch of sides, which also helped open space through the lines in the open space.

He’s also decent with his right foot. He prefers his left foot without a doubt, but his weak foot is absolute class. In the clip below, Stengs stays calm and waits for the perfect opportunity to serve the ball for Boadu in the middle with a low cross.

The Dutchman can also be defined as press resistant. Here, he gets the ball in the center, holds it really well and uses his outstanding body positioning to play the ball out wide on the overlapping fullback.

In general, Stengs understands what is happening around him very well. The understanding of which runs his teammates are offering is one of these places. An example of this is Svensson, the right back of AZ, has resulted in 2 scored goals for him, both assisted by Stengs.

Due to all these attributes, Stengs drops deep for a RW and participates in the build-up. He shows himself to his teammates with his back to the goal. With one slight touch he releases his team out of the pressing-gap.

His shooting from distance also seems to be dangerous from time to time, but he has to work on his finishing. Too often his shots miss out on power, or accuracy. Because of his height, he has to work on his agility.

You should definitely keep Stengs in mind, if he continues to develop his skills, he will have a bright future. Personally, I see him at AM with a free role as a creator in the future.

Written by: @janp09