Wyscout: The app used by Premier League stars such as Lukaku and Willian to get ahead of their rivals
Clubs also use the video analysis to prepare for matches and sign players, with Leicester snapping up Riyad Mahrez after tracking him on the app
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THE Premier League's biggest stars are doing homework on their phones to get a step ahead of their rivals.
Players such as Willian and Romelu Lukaku are using video analysis app to beat their opposition.
The app was launched in 2004 to help clubs find new talent - and it has helped revolutionise the art of scouting.
Leicester City used it to check on Riyad Mahrez before buying him in 2014, while Genoa used Wyscout after being sent a profile of Krzysztof Piatek.
The former Cracovia striker was signed for around £4million last summer - and sold for £31m to AC Milan just six months later.
There are more than 550,000 player profiles, while around 1,800 full matches with video analysis are added to the app every week.
Clubs have also been using Wyscout for their own pre and post-match analysis.
CEO Matteo Campodonico told SunSport that players are now using it individually as well, to help give them the extra edge in a game.
They include Zlatan Ibrahimovic and a number of stars in Italy.
It’s part of a wider trend that has emerged over recent years where players are given video clips by their coaching staff to review in their own time.
But players are now taking it upon themselves to do extra homework.
Campodonico says that Willian is a typical example of a Premier League player using Wyscout.
He said: “At Chelsea the staff will show him thousands of video clips, but it is not enough for him.
“Wyscout allows him to check, when he's at home, details about the team that Chelsea are playing in their next match.
“He can think ‘Ok, let me check again. Once more. What are the typical movements of my direct opponent?’
“These kinds of detail are super important. Sometimes it makes the difference, anticipating the movements. Because you already know how the defender will move.”
He adds that players such as Willian also use the app to help improve their own game.
“They use it to review themselves a lot,” he says. “Of course the manager will review the games with them, but on their own it's different.”
Manchester United striker Romelu Lukaku is also a fan of the platform, and even follows the progress of his brother Jordan, who plays at left-back for Lazio, via the site.
“I watch all my brother’s matches on Wyscout: all of his duels, defensive and offensive actions,” the Red Devils forward said.
Italian players using the app include legendary Juventus defenders Giorgio Chiellini, 34, and Andrea Barzagli, 37.
“I recently spoke with both these players,” says Campodonico, whose company is based in Italy. “They are probably the best defenders in the world and they also are using Wyscout.
“So it shows it’s not a matter of experience or age. You might think that the older players wouldn’t need something like this.
“But for me it's impressive looking at Chiellini, for example. He does more on this than the younger players.
“It shows how high the level of professionalism in football is today. Not only for the coaches but the players as well.”
Mario Balotelli, not usually seen as a student of the game, is another Italian using the site.
The troublesome striker, who has played for Manchester City and Liverpool as well as both Milan clubs, now plays in France and recently moved from Nice to Marseille.
“He is using Wyscout a lot,” says Campodonico. “People think Balotelli is a guy that just plays. No. He's studying, also.”
Campodonico reveals that the level of detail requested from Wyscout by players and clubs is increasing all the time.
“They asked us to analyse all the free-kicks and corners, and recently we have been asked to look at throw-ins,” he says.
“We also analyse penalties. So for every penalty, we check everything. How many steps from the penalty taker. If he looks to the right or left hand side of the goalkeeper before he takes the kick. Everything.”
Wyscout is also used by many national teams to help them prepare against unfamiliar opponents.
“At the last World Cup, 70 per cent of the national teams there were customers of us,” reveals Campodonico.
“The Brazilian players at the World Cup prepared for all their games with Wyscout.”
He says that even referees have signed up to the platform. “If you are a referee in a match with Saudi Arabia, say, you can learn about all the features of the players.
“Referees can also study a team’s moves and their plans at free-kicks or throw-ins.”
The video analysis that Wyscout provides is carried out by its huge team of more than 200 analysts. In total, over 600 people work for the company.
With its application now expanded far beyond its original target of scouts and agents, Wyscout today has 20,000 users.
Campodonico told SunSport that it is aiming to triple that to 60,000 within the next three years.
And its influence on scouting and player recruitment continues to grow.
Clubs at all levels of the game, from the Premier League down to the National League in England, and across Europe and the rest of the world, subscribe to the platform.
As well as watching full games and video clips, they can drill down to specific data like how a player performs in a particular formation and how many times he crosses from certain positions.
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One of the most high-profile players to be signed after being discovered on the site is Riyad Mahrez. He was picked out by Leicester City on the platform before moving there in 2014.
Another example is Polish forward Krzysztof Piatek, who signed for AC Milan in a £31m deal from Genoa in January.
Piatek moved to Genoa from Polish side Cracovia last summer after an agent showed his Wyscout profile to Genoa chairman Enrico Preziosi.
Campodonico says that clubs find the site especially useful during transfer windows.
He believes that 30 per cent of all transfers in world football are completed without the player’s new club able to watch him in action.
“When the last day of the transfer window is arriving, of course there are no matches to watch, in particular during the summer window,” he explains.
“But Wyscout allows you to check a player before you buy him.”