With the new season of exciting football not too far away now that the pre-season is underway, a number of managers and players must have set their sights on their targets as a group as well as individuals. While a number of superstars might be keen to leave their stamp on yet another season, a certain group will be hoping that they can live up to their billing in the upcoming season. In this segment, we bring to you a team of U-21 players we need to watch out for in the upcoming season.
Formation 4-4-2
#1 Goalkeeper - Gianluigi Donnarumma
Labelled as “The New Buffon”, Donnarumma is easily the best of the picks when it comes to goalkeepers under the age of 21 in Europe. The 17-year-old has already impressed critics across the globe with his abilities in between the sticks ever since he replaced former Real Madrid star Diego Lopez at the start of the last season.
The Italian has been hailed for his composure and leadership abilities despite his age, and will be critical to his side’s ascent to the top of Italian football again. With 10 clean sheets in his first season, the youngster has begun life as a senior footballer on a sound note and will need to continue with his impressive growth to become the successor to the legendary Buffon.
#2 Left Back - Ben Chilwell
Ben Chilwell, the Leicester man has been in the headlines since the last season came to an end with various news agencies linking him with a move to Anfield. Since then, he has signed a new deal and is one of the best young left-backs in English football.
Chilwell’s primary strengths are his pace and good close control which he relies upon on either ends of the pitch. While his positioning, as well as maturity in tense situations need working on when compared to top class left-backs, he is definitely one of the best in his age bracket. His industriousness and defensive attributes are well complemented by his creative instincts and the Leicester youngster should definitely be on your watch list for the upcoming season.
#3 Left Centre Back - Jairo Riedewald
The 19-year-old Ajax centre-back, Jairo Riedewald, is slowly but steadily building a reputation for himself in the Dutch league with his abilities at the back of the Ajax line-up. Already a full international with Netherlands at the age of 19, the centre-back’s stock is on a rise in Europe.
A versatile player, who can play as a centre-back, wing-back, left back as well as a defensive midfielder, Riedewald was critical to Ajax’s second place finish last season and will be keen to get them over the line in the coming season. Riedewald has showcased the right mix of footballing intelligence and strength, often unassociated with his age group, and can not only be the leader of the pack at Ajax but also for the Dutch national team.
#4 Right Centre Back - Andreas Christensen
While Chelsea have used the transfer markets effectively over the course of the last season by buying quality finished products to ensure success, the side’s academy boasts of a number of superstars in the making. Andreas Christensen, who signed for the London club from Danish club Brondby, impressed a lot of critics with his performances at Borussia Mönchengladbach, where he spent the first of his two season-long loan.
The hierarchy at the German club were so impressed with his performances, that they are believed to have approached Chelsea for a permanent move.
The Dane made critical tackles, interceptions and was a rock solid in the air, propelling his side to a top 4 finish and was also awarded Borussia Mönchengladbach’s player of the season.
#5 Right Back - Lukas Klostermann
The RB Leipzig man has been quietly building a reputation for himself with his performances in Bundesliga II. The former VfL Bochum man is a hard man to get past and complements his defensive attributes with his attacking instincts.
During the last season, the 20-year-old scored one goal and assisted 4 in 23 league appearances.
He has recently been linked with Mauricio Pocchetino’s Spurs, who believe he can be the right challenger to the club’s number one right back Kyle Walker. A tall, strong defender, with pace to burn, he could prove to be the right pick for the London club. Currently under contract until the end of the 2018 season, the player will be keen to add to his growing reputation at Leipzig.
#6 Centre Midfield - Renato Sanches
Renato Sanches, all of 18, played a crucial role in helping the Portugal national team win the recently concluded Euro 2016 and the Bayern Munich faithful will be hoping he can give them something to cheer about in the season to come. A midfielder who is full of confidence, pace and footballing intelligence, Sanches was snapped up by the Bavarians even before his heroics at the Euros.
A versatile midfielder who can play as a deep-lying midfielder, an attacking midfielder as well as on the wings, the player is expected to break into the Munich line-up to add mobility, strength and balance to the side. His industriousness in the middle of the park and his ability with the ball on his feet has drawn comparisons to the legendary Dutch and midfielder Clarance Seedorf.
#7 Centre Midfield - Dele Alli
After a fabulous first year at Tottenham Hotspur, Dele Alli should definitely be on your list of U-21 players to watch out for in the upcoming season. With 10 goals and 9 assists to show for in 33 appearances, the youngster reaped a very healthy return for a player featuring in his first ever season in the top flight.
However, his abilities are not restricted to just his attacking attributes as he can be a great asset to have in defensive areas on the pitch. A box-to-box midfielder, Alli likes to break the opposition’s rhythm time and again and drive his team forward from deep into his own half. With Champions League football to play for in the current season, Alli has an even better platform to showcase his talent to the world and improve the slowly fading reputation of English football.
#8 Right Wing - Emre Mor
When Emre Mor signed for his previous club FC Nordsjælland in January 2015, it was largely believed that he would feature for the side’s U-19 side. However, his abilities did not go unnoticed with the management at the Danish club and he featured on 13 occasions for the side in the 2015-16 season. Impressed with his performances, Borussia Dortmund snapped up the 19-year-old at the end of the season.
The winger’s primary strengths are his pace and trickery, which he has used to great effect during his short tenure in top flight football to leave defenders flat-footed. Mor is expected to become a crucial part of the new generation Borussia Dortmund side and would add a lot of flair to the side’s attack.
#9 Left Wing - Kingsley Coman
Kinglsey Coman, the former PSG trainee has already been to numerous clubs despite being only 20 years of age. He featured only 4 times for the French club before Juventus snapped him up at the start of the 2014-15 season. A year later, he was shipped on a 2-year loan with an option to buy to Bayern Munich and the Frenchman has already established a stellar reputation for himself.
Believed to be one of the best youngsters in the world, Coman has pace, is technically gifted and has shown great dribbling ability as well as close control. His creative instincts were on display on numerous occasions in the season gone by and we believe the player will continue to play a crucial role in the side under the new manager Carlo Ancelotti.
#10 Striker - Anthony Martial
The 20-year-old Manchester United attacker was trained to be a striker, Martial is equally effective on the wing, beating defenders for pace. While his side might have missed the Champions League spot, the former Monaco man had a good season, scoring on 11 occasions and assisting another 4 in 31 appearances.
With a season of English football under his belt, better things are expected of the €50 Million signing in the upcoming season.
His playing style has often been compared to fellow Frenchman and legend Thierry Henry and Manchester United will be well served if the youngster can live up to the tag of being “The Next Henry”.
#11 Striker - Breel Embolo
After being extensively linked with the likes of Manchester United, Breel Embolo signed for German club Schalke 04 recently. A direct player with unbelievable strength for a player his age, the 19-year-old is expected to bring some much-needed attacking threat to his new club.
A composed finisher, Embolo scored 12 goals in all competitions last season and is expected to improve on the record in the presence of better quality players at the Veltins-Arena in 2016-17. Recent reports from various news agencies say that Jose Mourinho, the Manchester United manager was desperate to sign the Swiss. Given the Special One’s eye for special players, it can be considered as a great compliment to the abilities of Embolo.
Formation
The team lines up in a 4-4-2 formation and has Milan’s Gianluigi Donnarumma guarding the goal. The back four of the side comprises of Riedewald, Christensen, Chilwell and Klostermann, who add the muscle to the side’s defence apart from providing energy and attacking threat in the form of the enterprising Chilwell and the consistent Klostermann.
The phenomenal Portuguese midfielder Renato Sanches and the Tottenham wonderboy Dele Alli are expected to feature as the central midfielders of the side and are ably supported by Kingsley Coman featuring on the left-wing and Emre Mor on the right-wing. The two front men of the side, Embolo and Martial, bring goal scoring threat and would prove to be a handful for most teams across the globe.
