Under 23 XI : One's to watch

GK :

Wojiech Szczesny

What about De Gea? Neuer? De Gea has been shaky all season and only sprung to life in the second half. Neuer is 26. Wojciech has been one of Arsenal's most consistent players all season, his vital saves have secured Champions League for another year.


RB :


Kyle Walker

Finally, England have a marauding full back who can defend decently as well. His 33% Tackle to Foul ratio is a bit worrying, but hey, he's got plenty of time to adapt his game.


LB :


Jordi Alba

Set to make a move to Barcelona to replace the departed Eric Abidal, if you thought Walker was amazing, just wait until you get a load of Jordi. The Spanish Dani Alves.


CB :


Mats Hummels

Step aside Pique, it's Hummels' time to shine. This player may just be the best centre back Germany have ever produced. I'm very surprised at the fact that Barcelona haven't made a move for this man. 20% Tackles-Foul ratio and 80% pass success out of over 2000 passes, which is excellent for a centre back.


CB :


Phil Jones

"Phil Jones?!? Newcastle own goal? What are you on about?"


This is the English fan's biggest problem. Once they see a mistake they see the player as 'awful' or 'useless'. I get fans saying that Koscielny is worse than John Terry. Because of that one mistake against Birmingham, he is now billed as 'clueless'. Phil Jones WILL be an England star in the future.


CDM :


Jack Wilshere

If Wilshere hadn't been out for the whole season, securing 3rd place would be much more straight forward. I honestly haven't seen a player like him ever. A player who can fulfill the regista and trequartista roles with ease, can split defences as well as apply a strong tackle to break up an attack and can leave defences in dazes with his dribbling ability. If you mix Fabregas and Scott Parker with a pinch of Mesut Ozil, then there you have it, Jack Wilshere.


CDM :


Yann M'Vila

A player I have watched for a long time, I believe that Yann can and most likely will become France's new midfield General, eclipsing the feats of the old, Claude Makelele and Patrick Vieira. No really, he's that good. The statistic that really hit me was his Interception rate, 94 interceptions in the 2011/2012 season, compare that to Song's 66 and Arteta's 55, and you can envision the type of player we are dealing with.


RW :


Eden Hazard

There's a reason why the European giants are trying to outbid each other for this player : Because he's so damn good. Had Arsene Wenger stumped the £26 million bid needed for him to come to the Emirates last summer, Premier League right backs would have been scarred by his mind blowing agility and rapid footwork.


CAM :


Christian Eriksen

However, I would like to have Eriksen on my team rather than Eden. 21 assists for any player is outstanding, doing it at the age of 20 is phenomenal. England got a taste of what he can do as Eriksen delivered a MOTM performance for Denmark as an 18 year old. The New Michael Laudrup/Johan Cruyff.


LW :


Mario Gotze

Franz Beckenbauer said that 'Gotze plays the same way Messi does' and might be 'the best German talent in history'. He's right, very right. An injury hit season has limited Gotze to 14 games, where he scored 6 times and assisted 5. Playing 33 games, Thomas Muller managed 7 goals and 7 assists, and we all know how good he is. One can only imagine a fully fit Gotze playing his second full season to lead Dortmund to the Bundesliga title.


ST :


Neymar

We've all heard about players being 'The New..' or 'The Next...'. But Neymar might just fit his title of 'The New Ronaldo'. The German national team couldn't handle him when Brazil visited Stuttgart. He bagged a goal and constantly frustrated the German backline. With Real Madrid and Barcelona chasing his services, Neymar is going to go far.