Transfer stock watch for 2018 World Cup’s best performers [Saeid Ezatolahi]

Bleacher Report – NEW YORK, The FIFA World Cup is the ultimate football stage, a chance to strut your stuff in front of millions of people scattered across the globe. It’s a competition that puts the world in a trance; as a player, there is no better opportunity to introduce your talents to those who love the game.

But as impressive as some players were, undoubtedly winning new fans, newfound appreciation and levels of respect, some did the opposite. Several come out the other side of this tournament with their reputations damaged.

Here, B/R takes a post-World Cup stock check, singling out players who have greatly enhanced their chances of a big summer transfer thanks to their performances in Russia.

Stock Up: Saeid Ezatolahi, Rostov and Iran

The monstrous performance Saeid Ezatolahi put in during Iran’s narrow 1-0 loss to Spain will not have gone unnoticed. He was everywhere, tracking runs and closing out space expertly, using his physicality to move opponents off balance and clearing effectively.

For many, that will have been the first time watching Ezatolahi, a 21-year-old who spent last season on loan at Amkar Perm in Russia. His career so far has been a little nomadic, intriguingly spending a year with Atletico Madrid before heading east, so perhaps it’s no surprise he was so disciplined and solid having come into contact with Diego Simeone!

He’s the right age and just the right amount of “obscure” (in the grand scheme of things) to qualify as potentially low-risk, sneaky post-World Cup buy.