Amlani Tatu is a 16-year-old winger who plays for Adelaide United and Australia U-17. Tatu has already made three A-League appearances and has played quite extensively for Adelaide’s reserves in the semi-pro NPL.
Tatu was deployed on the left by Australia in this tournament. Tatu is on the small side, listed at 5’7″ (1.75 m) with an average build. He is, however, much quicker than average. Tatu is a very accomplished ball carrier, effectively carrying the ball into open spaces at speed. Tatu is a little bit less consistent when he needs to actually take on a player 1v1. Tatu has a certain amount of shiftiness on the ball but he is not able to apply it consistently enough to be an elite 1v1 dribbler. However, his speed and strong close control mean that he beats his man often enough to be a danger. Tatu has good vision and frequently beats the last line of defence with through balls or by dinking the ball over the top. He also does a little bit of creation from wide areas and is a decent crosser of the ball. Tatu’s speed and decent dribbling mean he is able to achieve separation and get a high number of shots off. However, his shot selection could improve quite a bit as he takes a lot of wasteful shots from long-range. That said, he did make some decent runs to the back post at this tournament so perhaps his shot locations can improve if he leans into that more. Or, if his 1v1 dribbling improves he could become better at working his way into more dangerous positions.
Tatu is very effective on the defensive side of things. His speed coupled with a strong work rate allow him to make frequent defensive interventions. Tatu was regularly able to track back and make defensive interventions. Australia did not press very much at this tournament, but I am confident that the defensive skills he showed would make him effective in a higher pressing system.
In the long run, I think Tatu has an outside shot at making it to the top-5 leagues. His speed, vision, and technical ability make him a very attractive prospect. However, wasteful shot selection and 1v1 dribbling are two areas of his game that will probably need to improve.
Target Scouting 