Davy Klaassen

As many Football fans around the world would well know, Ajax are renowned for turning youngsters through there academy, year upon year. Placing another unknown commodity in to the First Team line up. In recent years players such as Cristian Eriksen who have now moved on to Spurs and Gregory Van Der Wiel who is currently at French giants Paris Saint Germain.

But the name that has been boosted about or been thrown around in the papers is that of young Dutch U21 midfielder Davy Klaassen. Klaassen began his early stages of development in football playing for his local amateur side HVV de Zebra’s, where he developed further and further before joining HSV Wasmeer in 2003 after spending 4 years his local side. After spending just one year with HSV Wasmeer clearly impressing the scout that went to watch Davy, where he was then recruited by Ajax after a successful trail with the Dutch giants. Klasseen was then placed in the Academy to further develop some of his outstanding attributes, such as. His technical ability with the ball at his feet and how he can dribbling the ball with such dominance and power, he also has a fantastic first touch which allows him to dictate some phases of play for Ajax.

After signing for Ajax Davy was left to develop under the watchful eye of at that current time, Arsenal legend Dennis Bergkamp funny that being the player who recently Klaassen has been compared to. With Bergkamp’s former club said to be keeping an eye on the progress in which Davy is making. And where recently seen at his performance NAC Breda where Klaassen scored a marvelous hat-trick. It will most certainly be interesting to see if Davy will be include as a surprise player for Holland’s World Cup squad.

Davy has broke in to the Ajax first team set up under Frank De Boer, with some outstanding performance somewhat keeping him in the squad. Klaassen has played only 15 times for Ajax but scoring in 10 of those occasions, with the experience head of Siem De Jong helping the progression of the player in the centre of the pitch.

Take a look at Klaassen’s hat-trick >>>>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDhq1er35qc

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Alen Halilovic

With Croatia recently qualifying for the World Cup in Brazil, earning there place in the playoffs after defeating Iceland. Many are starting to build on there excitement of what young player will be a stand out figure, that being the case if selected for Croatia teenage sensation Alen Halilovic will most definitely be a name on every bodies lips. Halilovic is still only 17 years old but has such a major vibe about his play when he is in possession of the ball, Alen currently plays for Croatian giants Dinamo Zagreb where he is the youngest ever player to scoring for the club and also in the Croatian League, furthermore he is the youngest play who has made an appearance for his nation.

Halilovic stand at 5ft 7in which makes him the same size as Lionel Messi, which is quite adequate seeing as he has been dubbed as the ‘Croatian Messi’. Halilovic has an amazing ability to drop his shoulder and accelerate past players with ease, being that he has a low centre of gravity considering his height he can keep the ball very close to his feet and is hard to push off of the ball or even tackle. Halilovic has played 35 times for Zagreb scoring 2 in those occassions, he has also represented his country at U14, 15, 16, 17 level.

With interest growing in Halilovic coming from a host of Premier League clubs including Arsenal and Spurs, with other european clubs such a Barcelona and Real Madrid also battling for the signature of Halilovic, one can only consider that this young man has a very bright future.

Take a look at Halilovic’s ability >>>>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuXE8VH_8q8

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Can Youngster Marco Reus Have An Impact For Germany in Brazil ?

With the draw being made many are getting excited at the prospect of entertaining games, with Germany and Portugal being placed in the same group along with Spain and Holland, England and Italy. What is also increasing exciting is who will be the stand out player for there country and what player or youngster will creep out for the woodwork for there country.

With Germany being tipped as one of the favourites to win in South America, as they have an extremely eye catching line up with talent in abundance in which to pick from, even there second string squad would indeed provide a challenge for most teams in the tournament. The main player that will be interesting to watch will be that of Marco Reus as he has developed an unbelievable amount since leaving Borussia Mönchengladbach to German giants Borussia Dortmund. Reus has become the spear head figure and the vocal point of many of Dortmund’s attacking moves this year, Klopp has turned the young German in to somewhat a leader of his side where they look to play most of there Football linking between him and Robert Lewandowski.

Reus has recently started to break in to Joachim Löw’s German side where he has provide a number of impressive performances, since making his debut for Deutschland on May 6th of 2010 he has played a played a total of 19 games scoring 7 times in those occasions. Therefore leading to his recent run of appearances for his country. At the tender age of 24 year old and a lot to still learn in terms of when to release the ball and play in to centre forwards some would say be lacks the majority, this not being the case. Reus is not what you would regard as the winger of this day and age like, the Ronaldo and Bale’s of his generation where they a powerful when dribbling and running at pace with the ball. Marco is a completely different player being that he has a great eye for a through ball, has great positional play in the sense that when playing for Dortmund he seems to be the player that always starts off there attacks. Reus is a skinny figure but has the Footballing brain that most Germans possess.

As he is able to play in the hole behind the centre forward an attacking midfielder or a false 9 or just off of the centre forward in wide areas either left or right . Marco can all produce some mesmerising strikes at time out of know where, this being a link to his great ability to take a free kick, with his great technique being able to whip the ball up and over the ball with such pace and swerve. Reus will without doubt be a player you should keep your eye on when the World Cup begins on the 12th of June and his country Germany beginning there campaign against Portugal on Monday the 16th.

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The Rise of Ross Barkley

Ross Barkley has been known for his talents for a while now, but he has really lived up to the hype in which some have given him, until now. Barkley was in and out of Everton’s first team squad whilst under Moyes tenure and was unable to cement his first team spot. Where he was sent out on loan to gain more first team experience at both Leeds and Sheffield Wednesday. Making only 4 appearances for Leeds and 13 for Sheffield Wednesday scoring in 4 occasions.

Since Martinez has taken over at Everton Barkley has not been out of the squad, starting in Everton’s first league game of this season against Norwich where he scored his 1st goal of the season faking to shot with his left as the ball came across the box taking 3 players out of the game and smashing the ball home from the edge of the box with his right foot. Barkley looks somewhat like Rooney did when he first came on the scene for Everton. Barkley is very unpredictable on the ball and has unbelievable close control with the ball, combined with his acceleration.

Ross has begun this season playing just behind the striker in Jelavic or Lukaku, where he is given a free role to roam the pitch and create opportunities for the Toffee’s. When viewing him playing, it sometimes seems as though he simply glides around the pitch. Martinez has begun making him the main point of attack for Everton in recent games he has been Everton’s highest player in terms of passes received and pass played by himself. As you can see from his stats yesterday for Everton against Newcastle in there 3-2 win.

 

(Data taken from Opta via bbc.co.uk/sport)

As you can see from his stats above, him and Lukaku had a bit of a game for Everton last night with some great link up play, causing Newcastle’s back four some problems throughout the entire game. With both Barkley and Baines creating so many chances for Everton you can only seeing Lukaku prospering with goals for Everton. Since Ross’s recent success he has also received a call up for England and Roy Hodgson looks to prepare a squad for the World Cup next year. Barkley has played for England at Under 16, 17, 19, 20 and 21 level. As you can see he will not be tournament shy when taken to the World Cup, something which England should look to continuing doing as rival nations in Germany, Spain and Italy like to have there young player tournament ready.

Keep an eye out for Barkley and his performances, I’m sure he will only go from strength to strength under Martinez’s style of play.

Take a look at Barkley >>>>>>>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5mRICkII-U and his impressive performance at Norwich >>>>>>>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Zu0rgLR11A

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Ryan Gauld

 

Dundee United have been known for producing good young Scottish players who have an abundance of ability to cope with different styles of Football in different league. But the latest player to come through the ranks at Dundee United is that of 17 year old Ryan Gauld, who has been catching the eye of some major european clubs. But none other than Real Madrid have been sniffing around the young attacking midfielder, Gauld has already represented his country at Under 19 level and has made 18 appearances scoring in 2 of those occasions for Dundee.

Gauld is able to use both feet in order to manipulate his opponents, standing at just 5 ft 5 inches, his low centre of gravity allows him to drop his shoulder and create opportunities out of nothing for Dundee, he also has a wide variety of skill which allows him to make his opposing players look silly, linked with his pace to beat the defender it makes him hard to mark and tackle.

Have a look at Gauld and see what you think >>>>>>>http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/video/ryan-gauld-dundee-uniteds-mini-153716629.html

Current Ability Depending on Position:

Skill: 7/10

Pace: 7/10

Strength: 5/10

Finishing: 8/10

Creativity: 8/10

Dribbling: 8/10

Awareness: 7/10

Current Ability: 75/100

Potential Ability: 85/100

Scotland most certainly can look forward to watching his player, but will Real Madrid fans get to see him play along side the likes of Bale and Ronaldo as they look most certain to place a bid for the 17 year old, lets wait and see.

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Jores Okore

 

Jores Okore Aston Villa’s new signing under the Paul Lambert era as Lambert looks to cement a young squad together to progress the clubs fortunes in the Premier League. Okore 20 years old has signed for Villa along with Danish team mate Nicklas Helenius and Dutch midfielder Leandro Bacuna. Okore is an Ivorian born Danish centre back, Okore’s family moving to Denmark when he was 3 years old. Okore signed for Danish team FC Nordsjaelland being a quite major side in Denmark, Okore spent time in the Youth sides developing his game as a Centre Back. Although Okore is only 6 ft he is known for his power and strength when defending, he has an abundance of pace to go along with his power and strength. Okore is also very comfortable in possession of the ball, something which Villa have been looking to work on this year as Lambert looks to change there style of play with passing at speed along with counter attacking football.

Okore signed for F.C. Nordsjaelland back in 2007 where he captained the youth team until his league debut in 2011 against AC Horsens. Okore scored his first goal for the Danish side against Brondby in a 2-0 win back in September 2011, he was made vice-captain of Nordsjaelland for the season of 2012-13. Okore was linked with moves to Chelsea and Ukrainian side Metalist Kharkiv. But held out for the right move signing for Aston Villa on the 14 of June. Jores has also made international appearances for Denmark at both U21 level and the national team, where he has made 7 appearances for Denmark his debut coming in a friendly against Thailand.

Have a look at Okore >>>>>>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7SUiyvhzK4

Current Ability Depending of Position:

Strength: 9/10

Power: 8/10

Pace: 8/10

Dribbling: 7/10

Positioning: 8/10

Tackling: 7/10

Heading: 6/10

Awareness; 8/10

Current Ability: 85/100

Potential Ability: 90/100

With Villa signing him for a fee around 4 million it’s an absolute steal, Villa making some good signings this season, lets see how they play this year.

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Jed Wallace

19 year old Jed Wallace was Pompey’s glimmer of light in a some what troubled season last year for the former FA Cup winner back in 2008. But with the fortunes of Pompey looking to be turned around by the new men at the helm in the PST (Portsmouth Supporters Trust) the services of this young man will be key to there progression as a club and maybe out of League 2 this coming season.

Wallace is fairly versatile being able to play right along the Midfield and also in a more forward role adding support to the centre forward. The young midfielder has a very good engine which allows him to play box to box for Pompey something which will come in very handy for the Blues if he is kept fit for League 2 this season. Wallace has some what come out of the blue for many scouts looking on as he was an unknown quality sitting in the youth side at Pompey.

Jed began his football playing for a local side in his home town of Reading, Darby Green FC. He then progressed further on to another strong local side in the Reading area in Carshalton Athletic, where he then caught the eye of former FA Cup travelers Farnborough. He then was snapped up by the major south coast side Portsmouth FC where he was loaned back making only 6 appearances. Wallace began progressing with Pompey in the reserve sides and the academy, where he made his debut for Pompey in a League Cup defeat to Plymouth Argyle. In the season of 2012-13 Wallace was loaned out by Pompey to conference chasing Whitehawk FC where he made 11 appearances scoring in 8 of those occasions.

Wallace was then called back by Pompey and placed in to there first team squad for the match against Yeovil Town, where he remained for the rest of the season. The young midfielder played 22 times for Pompey last season scoring in 6 occasions, a good record for a young player at League 1 level in such as short space of time. He has recently signed a new 1 year contract extension with Pompey, who have made it clear to on lookers that his services will not come cheaply with clubs such as Stoke City look to acquire the 19 year old’s talents.  In May 2013 Wallace was also called up to the England U19 squad where he made a substitute appearance against Belgium.

Keep an eye out for the progression of Jed Wallace, you may see him sign for a top club.

Have a look at the young midfielder >>>>>> (Skip to 2:30) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-tbNlxQ6vw Wallace at Whitehawk FC >>>>>>>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDdzR_-KCfo Not many video’s of the young player….yet !!!

Current Ability Depending on Position:

Speed: 7/10

Vision: 8/10

Creativity: 8/10

Positioning: 8/10

Shooting: 9/10

Attacking Positivism: 10/10 (Loves to drive forward with the ball at defenses)

Tackling: 6/10

Heading: 7/10

Crossing: 8/10

Current Ability: 80/100

Potential Ability: 88/100

Current Value: 3 million

Potential Value: 12 million

Nicklas Helenius

 

21 year old Centre Foward, Nicklas Helenius who currently plays for Aalborg BK is currently being tracked by some top teams in Europe as his 6ft 5in frame has seen him score 27 times in 80 appearances for the Danish club. Helenius has also represented Denmark at U 19, 20 and 21 level where he was also selected for the senior side twice his debut coming against Slovakia in August 2012. He made his debut for local side HB Koge in May of 2010 where he then caught the eye of Aalborg BK where he broke in to the side a scored 4 goals in his first 4 matches.

His ability to play off the shoulder of the defender and his massive frame allows him to bully most teams in keeping the ball. His eye for goal has also made him a target for most European teams. For a very to lad he has incredibly quick feet and isn’t the slowest of players as well which helps him get in to prime positions in which to score for Aalborg BK.

If I was to make a comparison to another player I would say that Helenius is a type of Robert Lewandowski kind of player or with his quick feet and his ability to pick out the goal from any range a legendary figure in Davor Suker.

Take a look at this video of Helenius: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVEKIvs7Pj4

Marks out of 10:

Shooting: 9 out of 10

Tackling: 6 out of 10

Vision: 8 out of 10

Speed: 7 out of 10

Heading: 7 out of 10

Positioning: 8 out of 10

Current ability: 7 out of 10

Potential ability: 9 out of 10

Overall Scouting mark out of 100: 70%

Current Value: 2 million

Potential Value: 10 million

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Neal Maupay

 

Currently the brightest young talent coming out of France is the Attacking Midfielder at Nice, Neal Maupay. Neal Maupay who currently tplay for French side Nice in Ligue 1 has been attracting some attention due to his brilliance on the ball and endeavor to run with the ball. Maupay first played for his local side US Valbonne where he was snapped up by Nice in 2007, he made his debut for Nice at the age of 16 years and 32 days as he was named in the side to face Brest on the 14th of September 2012, in this game he made a substitute appearance in Nice’s 3-2 win over Brest. Maupay scored his first professional goal later that year on the 15th of December where he struck against Evian.

This year Maupay has made a total of 15 appearances in all competitions for Nice scoring in 4 of those appearances. Neal has also represented France at both Under 16 and Under 17 level. Although Maupay has played for France at youth level he is both eligible to play for France or Argentina due to parentage. Maupay has been compared to the likes of Wayne Rooney with the way he runs with the ball with such aggression although he only stands at 5ft 7 inches.

Take a look at Maupay’s first goal against Evian becoming the second youngest goalscorer in Ligue 1 history http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o99CEOU3ito

Marks out of 10:

Shooting: 8 out of 10

Tackling: 6 out of 10

Vision: 8 out of 10

Speed: 8 out of 10

Heading: 6 out of 10

Positioning: 8 out of 10

Current Ability out of 100: 75/100

Potential: 90/100

Current Value: 4 million

Potential Value: 15 million

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Julian Draxler

 

The growing German talent within the Bundesliga is coming from the side of Schalke 04, where 19 year old Julian Draxler’s potential grows with each game. Draxler began his football career with BV Rentfort where he spent only a year in there youth team before then progressing on further and signing for SSV Buer where he only spent a season there again. He was then snapped up by Bundesliga side Schalke 04 at such a young age and with the wealth of knowledge in which German football coaches possess Draxler’s ability would only blossom under the guidance of those coaches.

Draxler made his Bundesliga debut on the 15th of January 2011 in a disappointing loss for Schalke against Hamburger SV at the time of his appearance Draxler was the 4th youngest player to step on to the pitch for a Bundesliga side. A week later Schalke took on Hannover 96 where Draxler was named in the starting line up, this made him the second youngest player to start a game in the Bundesliga, the youngest ever player going to Nuri Sahin.

On 25 January 2011, Julian Draxler came on as a substitute in the quarter finals of the DFB-Pokal against FC Nuremberg in the second half of extra time. He scored his first goal for Schalke 04 in the dying seconds of the game to win the match 3–2 for his club. He scored his first goal in the Bundesliga on 1 April 2011 against St. Pauli.

Draxler has made a name for himself playing in the wide areas for Schalke and also in positions more advanced just behind the striker for Schalke which is dutch centre forward Klaas Jan Huntelaar. Draxler has played for his native country, Germany at both Under 18 and 21 level. On the 7th of May 2012 he was named in Joachim Loew’s provisional

squad for the Euro 2012.

Draxler’s current form for Schalke 04 in the Bundesliga: P 21 G: 6 A: 2 Shots on Goal: 36

Overall Draxler has made 91 appearances scoring 16 times and assisting 15 of Schalke’s goals.

Take a look at Julian Draxler >>>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhhikRJCksI

Marks Out of 10:

Shooting: 8 out of 10

Tackling: 6 out of 10

Vision: 9 out of 10

Speed: 9 out of 10

Heading: 7  out of 10

Positioning: 9 out of 10

Current Ability out of 100: 80/100

Potential Ability: 90/100

Current Value: 10 million

Potential Value: 20 million

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