Since he made his debut at 17 for Schalke 04, he has made 67 appearances already and has put away 10 goals in that time. Having been born in Gladback, it is odd that he was not snapped up by Monchengladbach, who had picked up Marco Reus from the area of western Germany that Draxler was born in. Schalke scouts clearly saw the talent that was Draxler, picking him up in 2001 when he was 8 years of age.
David Alaba: Alaba first came on the scene a few years ago when he made it into Bayern’s reserve team. The young austrian certainly made an impact and was promoted to first team action after a year, joining up with the likes of Franck Ribery and Miroslav Klose. He left his mark as one of the only Austrians in the Bayern team and was called up to the international squad after 4 caps for the U21’s. He was just too good. At 20, he has already racked up 17 caps, almost one for every year of his life.
Alaba is possibly the most versatile player in the Bundesliga, with a staggering ability to chop and change his positions. He is certainly fast and has played on the wings, servicing the likes of Gomez, but has more recently dropped into the left back role where he has not failed to get forward. His outstanding performances last year ensured him a permanent place in the team, with no one really challenging to replace him.
David was born in vienna where he grew up with football, joining local club SV Aspern before moving onto Wien. From there, he was recruited after an impressive youth career and made the switch to the Allianz in 2008, 6 years from when he had joined the ranks of Wien. Since joining Munich, he has flourished as a very creative player and has solidified his place for both club and country at 20 years of age. He enjoyed loan spells at Hoffenheim for a season, but apart from that looks to be set to stay at Bayern for the rest of his career. If not, the scouts will certainly be watching.
Heung Min Son: Without a doubt, one of the Bundesligas hottest properties at just 20 years of age. Currently playing in the colours of Hamburg FC, he was recruited when he was just 15 to Hamburg’s youth academy, a move that is apparently about to pay off, with a whole host of clubs interested in winning his signature this summer.
Son usually accompany’s Van der vaart on the opposite wing, utilising his agility and presence to full effect. Whether it be nipping around a set of defenders and playing the ball square for the forward to tuck away, or if he is the forward he can certainly do a job, having put away 17 for the blues since his arrival in 2010.
Born in South Korea in the area of Chuncheon, Son’s early footballing career was mute to say the least. He played for his School, Dongbok, until scouts picked him up and brought him into the German scene, where he hastily earned a place in South Korea’s U17 and then immediately into first team action after a year and 7 goals for the U17 team. He now has made a total of 12 appearances for his country, and there is constant competition to make it into South Korea’s much improved team. This one is certainly a talent to watch out for.
Marc-André ter Stegen: Here’s another keeper who has certainly made his mark on the footballing world. Marc has been utterly sensational for Monchengladbach this season, adding to their Europe dream. At the young age of 20, he has a real future ahead of him, already having played in the Germany national team, which we all know Manuel Neuer has wrapped up in his pocket as the undoubted number one in the team.
Unlike my previous picks, Marc is a true Monchengladbach boy, having played there all his life (he joined when he was just 4 years old, incredibly). So not much history here, young boy joins his local club and never moves. This one is definitely the next number 1 for Germany, if Neuer ever pulls up.
Sebastian Jung: Jung is one of the most capped Frankfurt players with 103 appearances for the club and 17 appearances for the Germany U21’s. Jung has been solid at the back and is certainly not shy of getting forward to offer another route via the wings. Frankfurt may go into the Champions League in their first season back in the Bundesliga which would be an outstanding feat.
Jung has been very solid at the back, providing support to both the centre backs and the wingers. He is a right back, so at the moment, there is no replacing Phil Lahm in the German first team but when Lahm moves on, this one is certainly a possible replacement for him. A real talent here.
Jung started his footballing career at FC Koenigstein (wow I hope I spelt that right) and made several appearances for them, until he was recruited into the ranks of Frankfurt where he started to play regularly for the Frankfurt second team, he then was promoted into the first team where he has played for a mammoth of games for his age, truly rather remarkable. A bright talent to watch for the future.
So, that’s the list. Which players do you think are going to have the most promising careers?
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