NTT20 Scouts: a proper number nine, a left-footed centre back and the National League's Ngolo Kante
Ryan Deeney picks out three non-league players who are ready to clamber up the ladder into the English Football League.
Editor’s note: We’ve tweaked the schedule slightly because we reckon the players flagged in today’s piece are more likely to move quicker than the strikers in our next piece, which will be hitting your inbox on Monday.
Now, if you need any convincing that the pathway from the National League to the EFL is strong, then go take a look at Ryan Deeney’s hit rate over the last three seasons. Predicting breakout stars from non-league isn’t for everyone; it is for Ryan. Here he is to predict some more.
Ryan Deeney
Every season, National League clubs lose players to the EFL. Last year was no different. From Kain Adom (Gateshead to Burton Albion) and Jack Taylor (Sutton United to Stevenage) to Tiernan Brooks (Gateshead to Charlton Athletic) and Beck-Ray Enoru (Tamworth to Notts County), there’s still a pipeline for non-league talent - just wait and see what happens with Lorent Tolaj this summer.
Today I’m going to scout out three more who might not only be ready for EFL football but are also readily available if the right suitor comes calling.
Edon Pruti (CB)
Sutton United
Someone honk the left-footed centre-back klaxon.
🚀 Ceiling — Competition for Cameron McJannet at Grimsby?
🧱 Floor — Sticking around in non-league for another year
🎯 Sweet Spot — Perhaps Swindon Town or Colchester United
Edon Pruti joined Sutton United in the summer of 2025 on a two-year deal and impressed enough to be a mainstay in the middle of an ever-changing backline. The London-born former Albanian youth international started 35 league matches, a rare presence of stability for a team that used a whopping 43 footballers last season.
However, the picture has changed.
Manager Chris Agutter has spoken openly about wanting to achieve more in 2026-27 and believes adding experience to the group is important. He has been true to his word, signing both Will Nightingale and Jordan Moore-Taylor to complement a group that also includes Pruti, Junior Eccleston, Alex Kirk, Toby Byron and Hayden Muller (should he sign the deal on offer to him).
Pruti’s position could be the one most threatened, and having already recieved the Pete O’Rourke treatment, a move might benefit all parties.
Age: 24
Height: 6”3
Preferred Foot: Left
Status: In contract until 2027.
Position: Centre-back
Last year, Louorns wrote about the return of the big, powerful number 9. How do you deal with a big one of those? You get yourself a big, powerful centre-half. Just look at the size of the starting centre-backs for promoted Coventry, Millwall, Hull, Lincoln, Bromley and MK Dons.
Edon Pruti has enjoyed a meandering career path, playing academy football at both Burnley and Brentford, spending time with the likes of Hanwell Town and Loughborough University, having a brief spell in the EFL with Hartlepool United and bouncing around the higher echelons of non-league with Slough Town, Farnborough and now Sutton United.
Now 24, he stands at around six feet three inches and has reached an age where his body has properly filled out. He’s an imposing figure and one who uses his size to good effect, defending on the front foot and outmuscling opponents to attack the ball in the air, whilst also being happy to give a bit back when opponents engage in some shithousery. Those qualities saw him occasionally wear the captain's armband last season. In short, Pruti seems to love defending.
As can be expected of a National League centre-back, there are rough edges to his game. Pruti can be heavy-footed at times, preferring to defend with the game in front of him. In possession, he gets by rather than thrives and is generally best served leaving the more technical elements to teammates. And in terms of conditioning, his manager has highlighted fitness issues across the squad, meaning Pruti could probably do with a strong summer of work to prepare him for another full season.
However, it’s important to emphasise that 25/26 was only his second full season of men’s football and his first as a professional. All things considered, Pruti is developing very nicely and as a left-footer, his chances of a rise up the ladder increase.
Should he leave, Edon Pruti’s destinations are likely to fall either in the National League or League Two. Given this is an EFL piece, it’s the latter we will explore.
When Pete O’Rourke sent his tweet in April, he mentioned two clubs with relatively opposing aspirations last season: Crawley Town and Grimsby Town.
Both clubs have a track record for taking on talent from the National League, with the former a nice fit from a location point of view - Pruti was born in West London - and the latter a strong fit for Pruti’s career ambitions given their upward trajectory.
Elsewhere, Accrington Stanley are amongst the clubs that are happy to give opportunities to non-league talent and don’t currently have a natural leftie amongst their centre-back options, while from a location and stylistic point of view, Swindon Town and Colchester United represent teams that wouldn’t turn their nose up at a dominant, left-sided centre-half.
Keenan Appiah-Forson (CM)
Southend United
A non-league Ngolo Kante? I’m not budging on that.