Yussuf Poulsen: Blessed with everything you want from a modern striker, Poulsen is a real threat. Despite being 6ft 3in, the Leipzig man is lightning quick and he can run in behind defenders or he can lead counter attacks quickly after transitions in play. He is a tireless worker, always pressing effectively from the front to pounce on mistakes. With 11 goals and 5 assists in an awkward season for the German second flight side, this is a more than healthy return, especially as he is frequently selected out on both wings as well as in the centre.
Leipzig spent €600k on Poulsen in 2013, a record signing for the club. Only 19 at the time, he rejected better offers from Bundesliga clubs, claiming that regular first team football was his motivation. Mind you, Leipzig’s ability to pay more than teams equal to or above them may just have made his decision that little bit easier.
Poulsen is an exciting prospect – both for club and country. Despite his age, he is already a key player for Alexander Zorniger’s team. He is an amazing athlete and understands his role and the game. Of course, with every young player his technical level and consistency can be improved upon.
The only question mark behind his future remains that so far, he has only played in lower leagues. While he has all the assets to make it at the very highest level, he can only be judged when he has arrived there. If he performs well over the next few weeks, perhaps we’ll see some Bundesliga clubs moving in for him.
Viktor Fischer: Viktor Fischer is another huge talent from the Ajax conveyor belt, but one who was injured for 13 months from February 2014, missing over a season. However, upon his return to the first team, he scored three goals in three appearances playing as a number nine rather than on the left wing where he was usually stationed. He also scored an 86th minute penalty for the Danish senior side recently against Montenegro to win the game.
Fischer is a forward who suits Ajax and their fluid 4-3-3 to a tee. He is able to float around, constantly linking and interchanging with his teammates which is perfect for his technically cute playing style. He is a fantastic and direct dribbler, always looking to take defenders on when he has the chance before blitzing past them with speed. He is also very composed in front of goal. His movement is very intelligent as he can not only make space for himself, but for late runners into the box who can pick up the scraps on the edge of the box.
After that lengthy lay-off, Fischer returned with a bang for Ajax and he’ll be looking to continue this trend for the U21 side. When you are out for a long time, people start to forget about you and the Dane will be eager to remind everybody of why he was so highly rated before his spell on the sidelines. For all the talent in the other sides, Denmark have a really exciting attack and Fischer could certainly be the man leading from the front.
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