#TalentRadar Top 10 Young Defenders // As part of our Talent Radar feature, we will regularly publish Player Rankings of Young Players divided across the four primary positions (goalkeepers, defenders, midfielders & forwards) and focusing on the 6 big leagues of Europe (Bundesliga, La Liga, Premier League, Serie A, Ligue 1 & Eredivisie).
Some FAQs worth reading just to clarify any doubts about this.
What is Talent Radar? Read this for complete details on the feature.
What is the eligibility criteria? Players that were aged 21 years and below on June 1st 2014, are eligible for Talent Radar.
How often will these be published? The rankings will be updated and published every week, along with our Talent Radar Team of the Week.
On what basis are these rankings made? These rankings are purely based on our opinion of the players and their performances. Our opinions are based on various factors; if you do have a question/criticism/feedback about the inclusion/exclusion of a player, then do leave a comment below.
What’s the point of all this? Good question. Well for one thing, it’s fun (isn’t it?). Secondly, we always track the progress and performances of youngsters under our Talent Radar feature. Those who are featured here and in our weekly, monthly pieces, will also be recognised in our end of season Talent Radar Young Player Awards and ofcourse will also influence our hugely popular 100 Best Young Players to Watch list (at the end of the calendar year).
There shouldn’t be any issues with this but just to be completely clear, defenders would ofcourse comprise of centre backs & full-backs. Interesting to note that the Premier League has the most representatives (4), followed by the Bundesliga & Ligue 1 which have 2 each. England also is the highest represented nationality in this list of young defenders with two players which ofcourse suggests that this list will look extremely different, come the end of the season (England and good young defenders? Not the best statement).
More Talent Radar Player Rankings → // Goalkeepers // Midfielders // Forwards
Eric Dier became the first ever defender in Premier League history to score in his first two games in the league. He started in the centre against West Ham, and at right-back against QPR, scoring two contrasting goals in both the games. Though his defensive game was tested playing with 10 men on the opening day at Upton Park, it was more than evident vs QPR at the Lane where he managed an astonishing 7 successful tackles. Still early days but Eric Dier has set the pace for the ranking and is well ahead of the second placed Brazilian.
Marquinhos now has a crucial role in PSG’s side after captain Thiago Silva’s injury; the youngster slots in next to the erratic David Luiz and will thus have added pressure on him in ensuring positive results; his latest game involved late pressure from Evian after Yohann Cabaye was sent off. Calum Chambers’ single Talent Radar Team of the Week appearance came after his Community Shield debut against Premier League champions Manchester City and has looked assured since then, consistently. These make up the opening spots.
Layvin Kurzawa had a average first two games as Monaco slumped to successive defeats but displayed his best traits in the third game, defensively sound, he also created the only goal against Nantes with a peach of cross; complete perfection and one that will be hard to match throughout the season. Another quality young left-back in Andrew Robertson is the 5th man on the list after an impressive debut and follow-up game under Steve Bruce at Hull City.
Lack of options has forced Mike van der Hoorn into this list, scored in the opener, looked okay since then, nothing spectacular or greatly praise worthy. Matthias Ginter made a mistake 9 seconds into his Borussia Dortmund debut, gifting Leverkusen a goal but he only got better from there and even had a chance or two to equalise.
Single appearance makers Ruben Vezo, Javier Manquillo & Tin Jedvaj complete the Top 10 Young Defenders for this week. As mentioned already, these lists can drastically change as the games keep flowing.
| # | PLAYER | AGE | CLUB | NATIONALITY | TOTW |
| 1 | Eric Dier | 20 | Tottenham Hotspur | England | 2 |
| 2 | Marquinhos | 20 | Paris Saint-Germain | Brazil | 1 |
| 3 | Calum Chambers | 19 | Arsenal | England | 1 |
| 4 | Layvin Kurzawa | 21 | AS Monaco | France | 1 |
| 5 | Andrew Robertson | 20 | Hull City | Scotland | 1 |
| 6 | Mike van der Hoorn | 21 | Ajax | Netherlands | 1 |
| 7 | Matthias Ginter | 20 | Borussia Dortmund | Germany | 1 |
| 8 | Ruben Vezo | 20 | Valencia | Portugla | 0 |
| 9 | Javier Manquillo | 20 | Liverpool | Spain | 1 |
| 10 | Tin Jedvaj | 18 | Bayer Leverkusen (on loan Roma) | Croatia | 0 |
Next Week →
Written by Sami Faizullah. Chief Editor of this website.
