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Thorgan Hazard (Chelsea, 20)
Position Left wing, but comfortable across the attacking midfield positions.
Strengths The brother of Eden Hazard has shown he didn’t just move to Chelsea to help his brother acclimatise. On loan at Zulte Waregem last year he was the livewire threat in an unlikely title challenge. He’s quick, lithe and creative and gets himself in to very dangerous areas. Capable of explosive moments caused by his sheer pace and penetrative running angles and off the ball movement. A rapid improver last season so has plenty still to be explored and worked on.
Weaknesses Not as powerful as Eden and needs to add a few more goals to his repertoire and is a bit raw in his decision making.
The next: Eden Hazard It sounds a little obvious, but like a young Eden, Thorgan needs to put on some muscle to add power to his game to compliment the fluency and elegance on the move like his big brother.
Dennis Praet (Anderlecht, 19)
Position Central attacking midfield
Strengths Creativity, vision, decision making, passing range and precision. Praet is a little different to some of the other young Belgian starlets in that his game is based less on raw physicality although he is a decent presence so won’t be easily shoved off the ball. His technical quality and pass selection is incredibly good for a 19 year old. It is this that stands out above all else. He can pick the right pass, make the right decision, and this is incredibly hard to teach. It is an innate skill. He glides around the field elegantly passing and has beautiful ball striking and technique.
Weaknesses Needs to get involved in more goals, perhaps by being a little more aggresive in his pass selection.
The next: Andres Iniesta Iniesta has the best technique of any player in the world. He spins out of trouble, floats around in space and always seems to make the right decisions. Praet has what it takes to be just like that.
Laurens De Bock (Club Brugge, 20)
Position Left back or centre back if needed.
Strenghts Having been moved out to left back from centre back, De Bock is necessarily an excellent defender for his position. He has good height and physical presence and this is complimented by impressive tactical intelligence and positioning. Full back is an increasingly hard to position to learn in modern football with the requirement to cover so much of the field but he’s improving strongly all the time. Has accrued a lot of game time in the Jupiler League for such a young man which shows how much he is trusted.
Weaknesses Only a couple of assists in his years in the first team which needs to be improved upon but he can be taught attacking patterns.
The next: Pablo Zabaleta Solid, reliable, intelligent, with great stamina. He’s shown his professionalism and desire to improve having made his first team debut as a teenager and can become the epitomy of consistency.
