'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The much-anticipated UEFA Champions League Round of 16 is just around the corner with some high-profile encounters awaiting us, including Manchester City’s trip to Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain’s clash with Borussia Dortmund and the 2012 Champions League finalists Chelsea and Bayern Munich locking horns again.
With some of Europe’s top teams on show, we will also witness some of the continent’s best young performers. Therefore, in this section, we will take a look at some of the young guns which could play defining roles in their respective Round of 16 ties.
Thilo Kehrer
The 23-year-old Paris Saint-Germain defender has made the centre-back position his own in recent weeks following the hamstring injury to principle defender Marquinhos. Thilo Kehrer has been rock solid in the heart of the French club’s back four, while also showing his ability to notch goals at the other end with the recent winner at Nantes.
Kehrer came through the Schalke academy and played a key role in their successful 2017/18 campaign when they secured a runners-up place in the Bundesliga behind Bayern Munich and subsequently qualified for the Champions League. He has won the U21 Euros with Germany and also captained the youth team on several occasions.
Thilo Kehrer is a versatile defender who can slot into the right-back and the defensive-midfield positions apart from his preferred role as a centre-half. He is incredibly athletic, pacy and strong in the air, making him a textbook modern-day centre-back.
Joachim Low promoted Kehrer to the senior set-up in 2018 and he has since then regularly featured in the national squad. Paris Saint-Germain swooped up for him in a €37m deal in that summer but club captain Thiago Silva and Presnel Kimpembe’s presence forced him down the pecking order.
This season, however, he is beginning to live up to his massive price-tag and manager Thomas Tuchel could once again slot him in at centre-back when Paris Saint-Germain travel to Borussia Dortmund.
Reece James
Among Frank Lampard’s group of some of the most talented youngsters, Chelsea fans will often highlight Reece James as someone who would go to the very top. The 20-year-old has been a revelation on the right side of the Blues’ defense, arguably possessing one of the best crossing techniques in the Premier League. His right-foot has been often compared to Kevin de Bruyne and Trent Alexander-Arnold’s, and is a constant menace for opposition left-backs.
James’ performances have impressed Lampard so much that he has deployed club captain and veteran right-back Cesar Azpilicueta on the left side of the Chelsea defense. The young Englishman has come through Chelsea’s academy ranks but it was his spell at Wigan Athletic which compelled Chelsea to integrate him with the first team.
He scored 3 goals and provided 3 assists in the 2018/19 Championship season from right-back, and was consequentially called up to England’s youth teams. Chelsea fans are already getting excited for James’ potential partnership with recently-announced summer signing Hakim Ziyech. The two could prove to be a lethal combination on the Blues’ right side.
Against Bayern, Frank Lampard will look towards in-form Tammy Abraham to do the damage, but Reece James could be also prove to be a defining factor in the tie.
Steven Bergwijn
Tottenham Hotspur’s first signing in the Jose Mourinho era has brimmed fans with excitement after his wonderfully-taken volley against Manchester City earlier this month. 22-year-old Steven Bergwijn, who was signed in a £27m deal from PSV Eindhoven, took apart the Eredivisie this campaign with 5 goals and 10 assists in 16 games before the move to the Premier League. In the previous season, he had 26 goal contributions in 33 appearances.
Spurs were inflicted with a major setback when their star-striker Harry Kane was ruled out for the majority of the season with a hamstring injury. Having no recognised back-up striker has forced Mourinho to crowd the midfield and put Heung-min Son at the top. Having Bergwijn on one of the wings will not only make the Spurs attack a significantly pacy one, but also complement the likes of Lucas Moura and Dele Alli. The North Londoners were deadly on the counter-attack against City, and will look to terrorise RB Leipzig in the same manner.
Bergwijn has everything: pace, prowess and trickery and he could be Mourinho’s secret weapon going into the highly-anticipated match with the Bundesliga heavyweights.
Dani Olmo
RB Leipzig’s newest signing Dani Olmo has the potential to become one of world football’s top midfielders in the next decade or so, such is his talent and ability. The Spaniard was scouted by the European elite in January but Leipzig managed to snap up the highly-rated midfielder on a bargain €20 million deal.
Olmo made headway during his five-year stint at Dinamo Zagreb, scoring 20 goals and providing another 18 assists in the Croatian top-flight. His performances in the Champions League group stages were also exemplary, with the pick of his 11 goals in the competition being the incredible volleyed-goal against English champions Manchester City.
His remarkable displays also led former Spanish boss Robert Moreno to call him up for the national team’s Euro 2020 qualifiers, where he scored a fantastic goal against Malta on his debut. He was also pivotal in the U21 side’s European Championship, and at just 21, is ready to make it big in the Bundesliga.
RB Leipzig are pushing Bayern Munich for the German title this season, and Olmo’s signing further showcases their intent to end the Bavarian monopoly. Olmo will look to create a formidable partnership with star-striker Timo Werner in attack. There is no doubt returning Spain manager Luis Enrique is keeping tabs on his performances, and he will surely have Dani Olmo in his plans for the summer.
RB Leipzig are heavy favourites to beat Tottenham Hotspur in their Round of 16 clash, and both Olmo and Werner will no doubt create chaos in the opposition third. Jose Mourinho’s side have been leaky in defence of late, and Leipzig’s free-flowing football could make things difficult for the North Londoners.
Erling Braut Haaland
One cannot have predicted that 19-year-old Erling Braut Haaland will have such an instantaneous impact following his arrival to German giants Borussia Dortmund from RB Salzburg. The Norwegian striker has been one of the most talked-about subjects this season due to his goalscoring exploits in the Austrian Bundesliga. The forward scored 16 goals in 14 matches in the league and another 8 goals in 6 matches in the Champions League group stages this term.
Haaland was strongly linked with a move to Premier League top-dogs Manchester United, but his move to the Signal Iduna Park was a clever step in order to boost his development. With world-class stars like Jadon Sancho and Marco Reus on either side of him, the striker would thrive in this Borussia Dortmund team and inevitably score a lot of goals on the way.
The Germans face a daunting task against Paris Saint-Germain in their Round of 16 tie and will have to keep the likes of Neymar, Mauro Icardi and Kylian Mbappe quiet to have any chance of progressing in the competition. However, Lucien Favre’s men will hope to inflict some damage of their own against the Ligue 1 champions, turning to Haaland to do the job at the other end.
Both encounters will have some excellent talent on-show, but whilst everyone will focus on the likes of Neymar and Mbappe, Haaland could be the star of this round.
