2026/27 Ins & Outs Discussion

[weeyin]

Eli gets bigged up in The Guardian's "Five Breakout World Cup Stars". Must be worth a few extra quid.

Eli Just (New Zealand, 26)

His World Cup performances have captured a wider audience than he had last season in Scotland, where he delighted supporters of an improving Motherwell side with consistently high-quality displays. An intelligent middle-to-front forward, Just is a late developer. He previously played in Denmark and Austria after leaving New Zealand and is now showing a belief in his ability. Bigger defenders have been caught off balance by a quick body swerve as he moves with intent from the middle third into dangerous areas and at this tournament he has benefited from complementing the strength and hold-up play of Chris Wood. Just’s advantage over similar attacking midfielders is how quick he is to assess situations – he sees pictures. Twice against Iran he saw the space in which to receive from his target man and score with perfectly placed right-foot shots. He can score with his left too but needs to score more. Just is consistently a highly skilled performer at club level and shows a commendable humbleness and intelligence. If he continues his improvement he will be on a bigger club’s radar.