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]
Jan Oblak // Atletico Madrid // 22 // Goalkeeper: Oblak continues to dominate this position in our ToTW, as he takes the spot for yet another week. He’s being just as stubborn with his clean sheets, as Ateltico have simply stopped conceding in recent times. 6 clean sheets in a row is a seriously strong record, and no better time for the Rojiblancos and Oblak to find this form than the run in for 2 important titles. All eyes will be on him tonight to see if Bayern can finally get past this keeper, because if they cant, Atletico will find themselves in the final.
Fabinho // Monaco // 21 // Right Back: The versatile Brazilian is back is our ToTW after a short absence, thanks to another solid performance in a solid win for Monaco. The young right back picked up an assist at a crucial juncture, and was generally solid throughout the game. He finished with 5 tackles, 2 interceptions, and 3 clearances as well, with the assist looking like a cherry on the cake.
Jamaal Lascelles // Newcastle United // 22 // Center Back: Lascelles has been the key element of the upward push we are seeing from Newcastle right now. The youngster publicly criticized some of his teammates earlier in the season for not making enough of an effort, and is now backing up the talk with his performances. He was immense once again in their precious win against Crystal Palace, making Newcastle temporarily forget about Colloccini. His performance drew strong praise from Benitez as well, and this looks like a serious long term prospect.
Dominique Heintz // FC Cologne // 22 // Center Back: The Cologne center back played a starring role as his team pulled out a point from a tough fixture against Augsburg. Heintz was an absolute rock at the back as he kept the opposition at bay almost single handedly at times. 5 tackles and 5 interceptions in 1 match alone is a great feat, and full credit to Heintz for achieving it, and winning his side an important result.
Dominique Heintz // PSV Eindhoven // 22 // Left Back: PSV managed to pull of a monstrous win this weekend against Cambuur. 6-2 is a big margin of victory, and PSV saw attacking contributions from across the pitch to their cause. The flying left back Willems aided the effort with a goal, and an assist as well. He used his pace and his attacking abilities, attempting 20 crosses (!) and completing 7 of them, two astounding numbers.
Saul Niguez // Atletico Madrid // 21 // Right Midfielder: The midfielder has come forward in leaps and bounds this campaign, with Simeone being able to rely on him for performances in the biggest games. This is a timely emergence for the talented player, as Atletico were missing the services of Arda Turan this season. He makes the team for his terrific solo goal against Bayern in midweek. Of course, he’ll be hoping to start the second leg as well, and contribute like he did in the first.
Leon Goretzka // Schalke 04 // 21 // Central Midfielder: Goretzka was billed as the next big thing when he first emerged, and with that in mind, he’s had a slightly disappointing season. But he put in a tremendous performance over the weekend as the engine room for Schalke, powering them to a win. He picked up an assist as well, but it was all about him defending in this game. 7 tackles and 8 interceptions is another incredible set of numbers, and the kind of set that powers teams to victories.
Joris van Overeem // AZ Alkmaar // 21 // Central Midfielder: Alkmaar picked up a fine win over Graafschap, with some good performances coming from across the park for them. Vincent Janssen has usually been the star on this feature for them, but this time it’s midfielder Overeem, who chipped in with a goal and an assist. Overeem did well to find himself in good positions and get his shots off, proving to be a huge threat from the deeper areas of the field.
Amin Younes // Ajax // 22 // Left Midfielder: Younes has long been recognized as a star talent. He was very highly rated even during his days in Germany, and Ajax seems like the perfect place for him to develop. Younes is doing that, and well, with a performance over the weekend to prove the same. Younes helped Ajax to a comfortable win in a tight title race with 2 assists and a goal to cap off a dominant performance.
Alireza Jahanbakhsh // AZ Alkmaar // 22 // Striker: As mentioned earlier, we normally see Vincent Janssen on this team, but his teammates have taken the spots this time around. His striker partner, Jahanbakhsh is normally playing off him, and doing a great job creating space for him. This time, it worked the other way around, as Jahanbakhsh found spaces to attack, and got a goal and an assists. He even managed a few dribbles, and was generally quite tough to handle for the Graafschap defenders.
Kelechi Iheanacho // Manchester City // 19 // Striker: Iheanacho has been a revelation this season for City, and is proving to be the perfect back up for Sergio Aguero. The Nigerian has proven his goal scoring ability on several occasions this season, chipping in with goals everywhere. This past weekend too, he was the only bright spark in a dull City performance, scoring a brace against the torrent of a Mane and Tadic inspired Southampton.
Read all our Talent Radar Team of the Week articles here
