#3 Mathias Ginter (23, Germany and Borussia Dortmund)
A member of the title-winning 2014 German World Cup Squad, the Borussia Dortmund centre-back has emerged as one of Europe’s most sought-after young defenders, with Tottenham’s Mauricio Pochettino known to be a huge fan. He did not have the best of seasons this year but has been called up by Joachim Low to the Confederations Cup side with veterans like Jerome Boateng and Mats Hummels being rested.
Still to fulfil the early promise he showed, the 6 foot 3 inch 23-year-old must grab this tournament by the horns and lead the German backline to ensure a dream move to the EPL. Much like Toby Alderweireld of Tottenham, Ginter relies on great positional awareness rather than hard tackling and this must be the reason why Pochettino is so keen on adding him to his squad.
Because of his superior positional awareness, Ginter can also be deployed as a defensive midfielder, having averaged 1.5 interceptions per game this season in the Bundesliga. The £15m valued defender is also reportedly being wooed by 1899 Hoffenheim as they look to fill the gap left by Bayern-bound Nicolas Sule.
| Competition | Tackes Per game | Interceptions per game | Clearances per game | Blocks per game |
| Bundesliga | 1.3 | 1.5 | 2.4 | 0.3 |
| UEFA Champions League | 1.4 | 0.9 | 2.8 | 0.1 |
