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]
Hidde Jurjus // De Graafschap // 22 // Goalkeeper: Relegation threatened De Graafschap collected a much valued three points over this weekend with their win over Roda. 22-year-old Jurjus proved that the heroics weren’t just from the attacking players after he put in a splendid performance that included a successfully defended penalty and fine save.
Rick Karsdorp // Feyenoord // 21 // Right-Back: With the race for third place in the Eredivisie on, Feyenoord knew that a victory against Vitesse was a must. The game ended in a 0-2 result for Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side with Rick Karsdorp stepping up to provide two assists on the night. Karsdorp now has 8 assists for the season. This was Karsdorp’s first Talent Radar Team of the Week appearance, and could be start of something special based on this performance, like the new website bonuscode2016.co.uk. Both making debuts, both with bright futures.
Niklas Sule // Hoffenheim // 20 // Center-Back: Wolfsburg were dealt a heavy blow by relegation threatened Hoffenheim who managed to defend their solitary goal lead for a solid 87 minutes. Niklas Sule was one amongst the Hoffenheim back four that proved impenetrable on the night. Sule put in a no-nonsense performance and managed to ward off all Wolfsburg attacks with the assistance of team mate Ermin Bicakcic.
Jose Gimenez // Atletico Madrid // 21 // Center-Back: Talent Radar veteran Jose Gimenez has been one of the most consistent performers amongst all centrer-backs from Europe’s top 5 leagues. Only 21, the youngster has a wealth of experience and is excellent at being physically imposing. Gimenez put forth another sound performance against Deportivo exhibiting his ability to read the game well.
Lucas Digne // Roma // 22 // Left-Back: Roma faced Udinese this past weekend and kept intact their excellent league form built over the past several weeks. Lucas Digne was amongst the stand out performers for the night: the youngster had 5 tackles, 2 successful aerial challenges, an 85% pass completion rate and an overall solid performance on the night.
Talent Radar Player Rankings 2015-16
Kingsley Coman // Bayern Munich (on loan from Juventus) // 20 // Right Winger: By far one of the easiest inclusions in our Talent Radar Team of the Week, Coman’s performance against Werder Bremen hasn’t been praised enough. The youngster’s contribution included 3 assists, 7 dribbles, 3 shots and a pass completion rate of 95%. This summer will be interesting as Coman ought to decide if his future lies in Germany or back in Italy.
Mahmoud Dahoud // Borussia Monchengladbach // 20 // Central Midfield: Eintracht Frankfurt were victims of a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Mohamoud Dahoud and the rest of the Gladbach team. The young Syrian midfielder put in a near perfect performance in the middle of the park and capped of his performance with the final goal of the game. It’s nice to see Asian representatives doing well in European football.
Adrien Rabiot // PSG // 20 // Central Midfield: PSG were crowned the Ligue 1 campions after emphatically beating Troyes in a game that ended 0-9. Rabiot was one amongst the multiple PSG scorers on the night. The young Frenchman hasn’t got as much game time as he would have liked but certainly proved that he is capable of performing when given the chance. The 20-year-old did a quality job in midfield, with 87% pass completion, 2 tackles and 3 dribbles. He was among the scorers as PSG defeated Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, to progress to the quarter-final of the Champions League.
Leonardo Bittencourt // FC Koln // 22 // Left Winger: Leonardo Bittencourt’s brace earned Koln all three points against a Hannover side that seem very likely to be heading for the drop. Bittencourt’s first was right before half time which managed to help Koln play more confidently in the second half. The youngster had 4 shots on the night, taking his season tally up to three goals.
Vincent Janssen // AZ Alkmaar // 21 // Striker: Alkmaar were keen to keep up with Feyenoord with both teams chasing third place in the Eredivisie. John van den Brom had his faith placed in Vicent Janssen once again. Janssen has been having a wonderful season so far, improving further against Willem II this weekend scoring a brace. The two goals take his tally up to 19 goals in the league.
Harry Kane // Tottenham Hotspur // 22 // Striker: The lad who was labelled by many as a one season wonder at the start of this season has gone on to prove a lot of people wrong. Harry Kane helped Spurs earned a 0-2 victory over Villa over the weekend, bagging a brace and got to the top of the Premier League scoring charts, tied with Jamie Vardy.
- 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
