The latest sensation in the Bundesliga for whom a potential transfer fight has already been initiated in England with clubs like Everton, Arsenal, Tottenham and Liverpool being interested is Niklas Süle. The defender has played for four clubs in his youth career including Walldorf, Eintracht Frankfurt, SV Darmstadt 98 and 1899 Hoffenheim.
Having joined Frankfurt in 2010, at the age of 15 and Süle has till now spent six years there making a considerable impact graduating through the youth stages, playing for its reserve side for a year and then securing an entry into the senior squad. The defender was 18 when got his first taste of senior football and now at 21, he has already made 79 top flight appearances for his club.
Strengths
The defender is an absolute giant standing at 6 ft 5 inches and is very capable aerially. Despite his young age, the German is already a very capable tackler and good in the interceptions as well. A strong tackler who can read the game well, these qualities allow the teenager to provide stability at the back.
Another important aspect of his gameplay is, despite his big frame, he is agile enough to keep up with the centre-forwards or simply has decent pace to cover for the others. The most important is, however, the mental strength of the player which is really remarkable. It has allowed him to improve as a player despite a debut to forget against Hamburg and stand strong individually in his first full season where his team conceded 70 goals in what was the second worst defensive record in the Bundesliga.
Weaknesses
Being only 19 still, the player is prone to committing some silly fouls in dangerous positions and would need to improve his concentration. Playing with a much calmer approach will help and improving the concentration would certainly make him a far better player.
It is understandable that with a bit more age there would be an increase in maturity as well but he would need to acquire it fast keeping up with the rate of his development and growing reputation.
Opportunity
Having played at Frankfurt for 3 years in the top flight, the defender is in the perfect shape to move to a bigger club to take the next step of his career. Choosing a club like Everton would be the best option for there he would have more chances of playing regularly and under comparatively less pressure than what he would experience at other clubs interested in him.
Having to contain world-class attackers with plenty of skill, pace and physicality, the Premier League would be a great experience for the defender. Also learning his trade under a manager like Ronald Koeman, there’s a vast scope of improvement for the stopper as well.
Threat
Adapting to the Premier League is not easy and the pace of the English game with the kind of competitiveness would test the resolve of the player. Süle would have to prove himself really quick and stake a claim in the team in order to play regularly for with the increased competitiveness in the league would also mean decisions on his playing time would be taken a bit more quickly regarding his on-field performances as the time allotted to prove his worth would be considerable less.
Average performance in two consecutive matches can result in a long wait for another start in the Premier League.
