Destination Estonia: A look at the latest find from Union Saint-Gilloise’s obscure scouting network | OneFootball

Earlier this week, Union Saint-Gilloise bolstered their ranks with yet another intriguing signing. They delved back into their ever-eclectic scouting files and signed 22-year-old Brazilian winger Guilherme Smith from Nõmme Kalju in the Estonian Meistriliiga.

Nate Broughton from the Estonian Football Podcast provided some valuable insight into the player’s skillset after watching him register five goals and 12 assists as Kalju won the Estonian Cup and finished second in the league.

“His biggest asset is his dribbling. He can beat a defender one-on-one with ease, creating spaces for himself and teammates. He can also score from all positions, inside and outside the box.

“I would say his main weakness is that he’d sometimes like to showboat, especially against the ‘smaller sides’ in the league. Sometimes he’d look to show off some skills, instead of looking for a simpler option.”

That said, Guilherme’s overall quality and visible potential quickly turned heads in his first proper season in senior men’s football after his time with Zorhya Luhansk in Ukraine was disrupted by conflict. Broughton continues, “He adapted really quickly. You could see he had talent from day one.

Guilherme helped Kalju win the 2024-25 Estonian Cup.

“There have been instances of foreign players who have had the talent, but it’s been flashes. Guilherme has been largely consistent, and it was only a matter of time before he moved on.”

With this move, Guilherme has now embarked on the exact same journey as the now-notorious Promise David – although he arrives at €200,000 cheaper than the Canadian’s €600k price tag. Broughton addressed the step up from Estonia to Belgium, yet asserted that the Brazilian’s ceiling is solely down to him on yet another developmental platform.

“It’s a huge jump. We have seen it with Promise David, who adapted remarkably quickly. I always find it difficult to answer questions like this, as each player is different. He clearly has the talent, so it’s down to him.”

Another star in the making at Union Saint-Gilloise? Promise David also enjoyed a great stint in the Estonian Meistriliiga.

With the likes of Promise David and Guilherme now at USG, as well as Pierre Landry Kaboré at Hearts in Scotland, the Estonian league is steadily becoming a great stage for players to secure moves into bigger divisions. Broughton spoke about how these talents are brought in and nurtured.

“The scouting system in Estonia is small, and the finances aren’t great. It’s mainly built from relationships with other clubs. Scouting also involves signing undervalued players looking for their first steps into Europe. The league’s size allows for younger players to feature more regularly than they would in, say, a ‘larger league’.”

“European clubs are starting to take notice of players in Estonia. We even had Abdoulie Ceesay leave Paide in January to join St. Pauli in Germany, which was massive for Estonia. Promise David’s success has also shown clubs that there is talent hiding in Estonia, even if it’s raw. I can imagine many clubs will see it as a low-risk purchase, as they won’t have to pay such a large transfer fee.”

While the flow of talent is gradually gaining momentum, there are a couple of downsides. First, there’s the risk of staying a stepping-stone league, while native players don’t always benefit. Broughton explained more and ended our chat by naming some of talents he wants to see thrive next.

“These transfers help the reputation of the league massively. Young players will hopefully want to join a club and see it as a pathway to Europe’s elite. Of course, we don’t want to see all the league’s best players leaving; we want them joining and making it stronger.”

16-year-old Marten-Chris Paalberg’s career statistics so far (via Fotmob).

“I am actually hoping for some Estonians to make the move next. Marten-Chris Paalberg (16), who plays for Pärnu JK Vaprus, has so much talent, he’s scored five goals this season in 13 games, and I’m sure he’ll make the move to a European academy soon, similar to that of Patrik Kristal, who is now with FC Köln.

“To name some foreign players to keep an eye on, there’s the Togolese Josué Doke with Narva (who just recently sold Kaboréto Hearts), and the Latvian Ivans Patrikejevs for Kalju. You also have Ghanaian winger Enock Otoo for Levadia, who, unfortunately, is out injured for the season now. He looked really good before the injury. These players are really worth keeping an eye on.”

GBeNeFN | Max Bradfield