A regular feature on our website is the Talent Radar Team of the Week with the best young players compiled into an XI from across Europe’s top six leagues. You can read this for all details on Talent Radar, who is eligible under it and what else we publish within this feature.
[Eligibility: As of 1st June 2015 – 21 years old and below for outfield players // 22 years old and below for goalkeepers]
Paul Bernardoni // 18 // Troyes // Goalkeeper: Troyes and its fans had a weekend of temporary happiness as their earned their first win of the season against Lille on Saturday. Despite letting a goal in, Paul Bernardoni’s heroics contributed significantly to the outcome of the game. We’d like to take a moment to remind you that he is just 18-years-old.
Hans Haetboer // 22 // Groningen // Right-Back: Despite not having the most uplifting of seasons, Groningen have entrusted their main defensive duties in 22-year-old Hans Haetboer. The Dutch youngster has missed just two games in the league this season and put up an impressive display against NEC on Friday.
Kurt Zouma // 21 // Chelsea // Centre-Back: The Arsenal vs Chelsea fixture gathered its usual share of drama. Leaving such aspects behind, one of the stand out players that barely got a mention was Kurt Zouma who was immense at the back for the Blues. The youngster was dominant throughout the 90 minutes and was rarely challenged given Arsenal barely had height up front after Giroud was taken off.
Wallace Fortuna dos Santos // 21 // Monaco // Centre-Back: Brazilian youngster Wallace has featured consistently for Monaco in the past couple of months and has managed to turn heads during this time. The recent match day saw Monaco face Toulouse at home; the home side winning convincingly and putting forth a solid defensive display in which Wallace played a big part.
Nathan Ake // 20 // Watford // Left-Back: Watford added to Newcastle’s existing misery this weekend with a 2-1 win at home. While it’s easy to criticize Newcastle and their lack of effectiveness out wide, Nathan Ake had a solid game, working tirelessly throughout the 90 minutes earning him our plaudits.
To know more about football’s young stars, read our 100 Young Players to Watch in 2015 feature.
Bernardo Silva // 21 // AS Monaco // Right Winger: The promising youngster first appeared in Talent Radar circles over two years ago and can now be considered as a Talent Radar TOTW veteran. The Portuguese talent was instrumental in Monaco’s 4-0 win against Toulouse, contributing by scoring and assisting one.
Vincent Koziello // 20 // Nice // Central Midfielder: Nice’s first back to back wins since early November was supported heavily by Vincent Koziello’s performance against Lorient on Saturday. The Frenchman put in a good shift, scoring one and assisting another, earning all three points for his team.
Dele Alli // 19 // Tottenham Hotspur // Central Midfielder: Spurs were 1-0 down at half time but staged an impressive comeback against Crystal Palace on Saturday. The highlight of the game was without doubt Dele Alli’s breath taking goal that could very well be the goal of the season. To add to this, the 19-year-old turned provider, chipping in with an assist as well.
Jimmy Cabot // 21 // Troyes // Left Winger: Frenchman Jimmy Cabot has gathered fair amount of game time in the past couple of months. Although Troyes had struggled to find a win in the past several games, Cabot proved the deciding factor courtesy of his two goals and an assist in the win against Lille this past weekend.
Antonio Sanabria // 19 // Sporting Gijon // Striker: Paraguayan youngster Antonio Sanabria is on a mission to make up for lost time having missed effectively half the season so far due to a hamstring problem. The 19-year-old scored a hat-trick this past weekend against Real Sociedad. His tally is currently 9 goals in 14 games in the league.
Vincent Janssen // 21 // AZ Alkmaar // Striker: After a relatively slow start to the season, Vincent Janssen has got in touch with his scoring habits. The 21-year-old took his tally for this season (in all competitions) to 14 goals after Sunday’s game against Feyenoord where he scored a hat-trick. This is Janssen’s first Talent Radar Team of the Week appearance.
Written by Razim Refai
Read all our Talent Radar Team of the Week articles here.
- Talent Radar Young Players Team of the Week #24: Niklas Sule, Kingsley Coman, and more - March 15, 2016
- Talent Radar Young Players Team of the Week #21: Alireza Jahanbaksh, Jurgen Locadia and more - February 16, 2016
- Talent Radar Young Goalkeeper Rankings: Jack Butland reclaims top position - February 16, 2016
