REVEALED: Real Madrid sensation among 10 potential international debutants
Ahead of the final international break of 2019 we have picked out 10 players that are gunning to make their debuts for their respective countries over the next week.
Matteo Guendouzi (France)
Club: Arsenal / Age: 20
For the second international break in a row, Arsenal starlet Matteo Guendouzi is drafted into the France squad as an injury replacement. The 20-year-old has been one of very few positives for the Gunners this season and you imagine it will not be too long before the tenacious midfielder makes the France squad on merit rather than as an injury replacement.
Such Guendouzi's rise in 2019, there were even calls for Arsenal manager Unai Emery to make him captain after stripping Granit Xhaka of the captain's armband. Guendouzi has one assist to his name this season and has impressively completed 70.4% of his dribbles in the Premier League this season.
Dejan Kulusevski (Sweden)
Club: Parma / Age: 19
Sweden have rewarded 19-year-old Parma winger Dejan Kulusevski with his maiden international call-up following some eye-catching displays in Serie A this season. Kulusevski has represented Sweden at every age group and will now hope to fire Janne Andersson's side to Euro 2020 if called upon during the international break.
Of those to have featured in at least half of Parma's league minutes this season, Kulusevski is the club's top WhoScored rated player (7.17). Only Lazio ace Luis Alberto (8) has registered more assists than Kulusevski (5) in Serie A this season, while the Parma winger has also netted twice. Furthermore, a return of 2.6 key passes per game is the second best in Europe's top five leagues of players aged 21 and under this season.
James Maddison (England)
Club: Leicester / Age: 22
The last international break was one to forget for James Maddison, who was pictured in a casino after withdrawing from England's squad through illness. The 22-year-old has put that incident behind him, however, and really kicked on for Leicester, helping the Foxes move into second place in the Premier League.
Maddison is currently the most in-form player in the Premier League, according to our weighted ratings system, and is primed to earn his Three Lions debut during the break. The Manchester United target has scored four league goals this season and they have all come in his last six appearances, notably scoring against Arsenal, Tottenham and Liverpool in that time.
Ozan Kabak (Turkey)
Club: Schalke / Age: 19
After being linked with a Premier League move in the summer, Ozan Kabak opted instead to remain in Germany and sign for Schalke from VfB Stuttgart. This season has been a frustrating one for the highly rated centre-back, stuck behind Salif Sane and Benjamin Stambouli in the pecking order, though things look to be on the up for the 19-year-old.
Kabak only made his full league debut for Schalke at the start of the month and it only came about with both Sane and Stambouli out injured. The teenage defender ended up scoring and then followed up with another goal in the following match. Sane and Stambouli will now be challenged to regain their starting spot, while Kabak will hope to make his senior debut for Turkey having previously failed to get off the bench on three occasions.
Steven Alzate (Colombia)
Club: Brighton / Age: 21
Few would have known about Steven Alzate at the start of the season but the 21-year-old has impressively worked his way into Graham Potter's plans at Brighton and is now above the likes of Pascal Gross in the pecking order at Falmer Stadium. Signed from Leyton Orient two years ago, Alzate is now in line to make his international bow.
This is where it gets interesting. For those that know little about Alzate, which is likely to be a fair few, the Brighton midfielder was born in Camden, London. However, his rise to prominence in the last few months has caught the attention of not England, but Colombia, whom he is eligible to represent due to his Colombian parents. Alzate was playing against League One strugglers AFC Wimbledon in the EFL Trophy in September and is now training with the likes of James Rodriguez and Juan Cuadrado with Colombia.
Myron Boadu (Netherlands)
Club: AZ Alkmaar / Age: 18
Myron Boadu is one of three AZ Alkmaar players that could make their senior international debut for the Netherlands this week. The Eredivisie outfit have been in tremendous form in recent weeks and Boadu, along with Calvin Stengs and Marco Bizot are good value for their call-ups.
Boadu, meanwhile, has perhaps caught the eye more than his team-mates. The 18-year-old was sent off at the start of October in a 1-1 draw away to Willem II but has responded in tremendous fashion with a goal in all five of his subsequent appearances in all competitions. Boadu has netted seven goals in that time and provided one assist. The Alkmaar striker has played a direct hand in 17 goals in 16 league and European appearances in total this season.
Rodrygo (Brazil)
Club: Real Madrid / Age: 18
Fresh from celebrating becoming the second youngest player in Champions League history to score a hat-trick, a perfect one at that, Real Madrid teenager Rodrygo now has further reason to cheer with his maiden Brazil call-up for upcoming matches against Argentina and Korea Republic.
Real Madrid have the likes of Eden Hazard, Gareth Bale and James Rodriguez in attack but Rodrygo has stolen the headlines in recent weeks. Helped by three goals and an assist against Galatasaray in Europe, the 18-year-old has played a direct hand in six goals in as many appearances in all competitions this season.
Dani Olmo (Spain)
Club: Dinamo Zagreb / Age: 21
Dani Olmo was expected to earn a high profile move in the summer after playing a key part in Spain's U21 success at this past summer's European Championships. Nothing materalised but the 21-year-old has gone from strength-to-strength for Croatian outfit Dinamo Zagreb and has now earned recognition with the Spanish senior squad for the first time.
Olmo has impressed in this season's Champions League with a goal and an assist in four appearances in the competition. Only Lionel Messi (28) has completed more dribbles than Olmo (17) in the Champions League this term, while the Zagreb star is one of only eight players with a WhoScored rating of at least 8.00.
Fikayo Tomori (England)
Club: Chelsea / Age: 21
This season didn’t look particularly promising for Chelsea after they were thrashed 4-0 by Manchester United on the opening weekend, but Frank Lampard’s side are now well placed to secure a top four finish and there have been plenty of impressive performers for the west London outfit, with 21-year-old centre-back Fikayo Tomori chief among them.
Tomori, who spent last season on loan at Derby with Lampard, has oozed composure at the back for Chelsea and has now been rewarded with his first senior call-up. Tomori scored his first goal for Chelsea in their 5-2 win over Wolves in September, registered an assist in their 2-1 win away to Lille the following month before turning in a WhoScored Man of the Match display in their impressive 1-0 victory at Ajax. Up against an out-of-sorts John Stones and Aston Villa's Tyrone Mings, there is a good chance Tomori could feature for the Three Lions during the international break.
Ricardo Orsolini (Italy)
Club: Bologna / Age: 22
Bologna snapped up their option to purchase Ricardo Orsolini from Juventus on a permanent deal in the summer after the 22-year-old flourished for the Serie A outfit on loan, shelling out a club-record €15m fee to get a deal over the line. Bologna will feel they have already made that money back now Orsolini has recieved his first call-up for the Italy national team, with his valuation set to increase as a result.
Orsolini played a direct hand in 13 league goals last season and already has two goals and three assists to his name on this occasion. The Bologna No.7 is taking greater responsibility this season, illustrated by the fact he is taking more shots per game (2.9), creating more chances per game (1.8) and completing more dribbles pergame (1.6) than he managed last term (1.9, 0.6 and 0.9, respectively). His WhoScored rating has there unsurprisingly increased from 6.87 to 7.07 this season.