The latest feature under our Talent Radar banner compiles a Team of the Week, featuring the best young players (U-22) of the week in Europe’s top 6 leagues to help continue to track our progress of these youngsters.
Simone Scuffet | Udinese, Italy, 17: The young 17-year-old Italian keeper got his second consecutive start of the season, and he impressed once more, keeping a clean sheet on his home debut against Chievo in a 3-0 victory to follow up the clean sheet he made in his first game, a week back, against Bologna.
Doke Schmidt | Go Ahead Eagles, Netherlands, 21: Doke has been enjoying his loan spell at Go Ahead Eagles from his parent club, Heerenveen, and this weekend he put in an impressive shift at home to AZ Alkmaar. Besides scoring he proved to be a rock at right-back, with the most tackles (5) and interceptions (6).
Sead Kolasinac | Schalke, Bosnia, 20: Kolasinac has been making noises in the Bundesliga this season. The 2-0 win over Hannover was his 8th consecutive appearance and arguably his best performance. The Bosnian has been known for his defensive displays, but on Sunday he impressed with his attack, setting up Jefferson Farfan for the first goal with a bursting run down the left flank. Kolasinac featured in our list of 100 Best Young Players to Watch-out for in 2014; he was at #26 in our list of defenders. See the full list here.
Joel Veltman | Ajax, Netherlands, 22: Ajax have a comfortable 5 point lead at the top of the Eredivise but slipped to a surprise 1-1 draw against PEC Zwolle on the weekend. Veltman however was a stand-out performer, managing 4 interceptions as Ajax looked to avoid an embarrassing result.
Kurt Zouma | St.Etienne, France, 19: Zouma has a move to Chelsea to look forward to in the summer, but right now his focus remains with St.Etienne. He played his second game since his return from a 10 game suspension and kept a second consecutive clean sheet along with his defence. The Friday kick-off saw St.Etienne earn a valuable point against Toulouse as they continue their attempt at Champions League football. Zouma featured in our list of 100 Best Young Players to Watch-out for in 2014; he was at #1 in our list of defenders. See the full list here.
For a detailed Scout Report on Kurt Zouma, head over here.
Hakim Ziyech | Heerenveen, Netherlands, 20: The youngster of Moroccan origin has played in each and every league game of Heerenveen’s this season, 23 in total. He once again displayed a good command over the midfield position against Gronigen as Heerenveen won comfortably 3-1. Ziyech took the most shots (5) and also attempted the most passes (53) at an 89% completion rate. His duties were increased after Otigba was sent off and Ziyech slotted into a more defensive role, making 9 clearances.
Tolga Cigerci | Hertha Berlin, Germany, 21: Cigerci returned to action against Hamburg after recovering from injury and consequently making his first appearance of 2014. It was a performance to remember, as Hertha won 3-0 away from home, putting Hamburg in more danger. Cigerci was immense in midfield, proving to be solid defensively while creating regularly with long balls over the top. In total he created 4 scoring opportunities, including setting up Adrian Ramos for his second goal. 4 tackles and 2 interceptions added to his defensive display.
Jean-Paul Boetius | Feyernoord, Netherlands, 19: Boetius scored his first brace of the season as he helped Feyernoord to a 5-1 victory over NEC, with the side continuing on their efforts for Champions League football and an outside title shout. The dribbling Boetius took 4 shots, 3 of which were on target with 2 goals to his name. He even created 2 goal-scoring opportunities and offered his assistance in defence as well, making 2 successful tackles while retreating to a left-back position.
For a detailed Scout Report on Jean-Paul Boetius, head over here.
Raheem Sterling | Liverpool, England, 19: Sterling continued his growth as a player with an exceptional performance against Arsenal, he scored twice to help the Reds to a 5-0 victory, having taken the most shots (5), all of which were on target. His pace throughout was too hard for the Arsenal defence to handle. We’ve analysed Sterling’s performance in more detail in our Talent Radar piece, scroll down for the link.
Sterling and Boetius featured in our list of 100 Best Young Players to Watch-out for in 2014; Sterling was at #6 while Boetius was at #8 in our list of attackers. See the full list here.
Paco Alcacer | Valencia, Spain, 20: Paco Alcacer scored for the 3rd consecutive game as Valencia were 5-0 victors over Real Betis. The young Spaniard scored two poachers’ goals to establish himself as Valencia’s lone striker up front. He even set-up Feghouli for one goal with a neat first time ball onto his path.
Paco Alcacer and Raheem Sterling’s performances over the weekend have been discussed in this Talent Radar piece here.
Majeed Waris | Valenciennes, Ghana, 22: Majeed Waris is proving to be a fantastic addition to Valenciennes’ side since joining on loan from Spartak Moscow in the Winter transfer window. He scored on his debut and was once again on hand to assist the relegation strugglers in a 2-1 win over Nice. Waris set up Doumbia for the first goal before scoring the winner 2 minutes from time, earning the French side a valuable 3 points that creates acres of space between them and Sochaux in 19th spot.
