Twice already, in 2020 and 2021, we feature the world’s best young talents in individual article series. Before we start a new series in 2022, let’s take a look at what happened to the players we featured in our first two series in compact articles.
In the third article of the summary “What happened to” we analyze the players Hansen, Turrientes, Couto, Pirola and Günther, whom we presented for the first time in April 2020.
Original article:
– Sontje Hansen (NED)
– Beñat Turrientes (ESP)
– Yan Couto (BRA)
– Lorenzo Pirola (Italy)
– Lasse Gunther (GER)
remember hansen, the 20-year-old Ajax Amsterdam right winger, has not progressed significantly since we introduced him in 2020. Hansen was promoted to the second team at Ajax, where he is a regular and high-performing player, but he has only been enough for two so far. brief appearances for the Ajax team. Too little for a team in which youth is usually massively forced. His contract with Ajax expires next summer and the top international clubs want to try to get the Dutchman back on track. Eintracht Frankfurt and RSC Anderlecht are said to have expressed interest in a compromise.
Development Factor: 3 out of 10
Benat Turrientes is a central midfielder from the Basque Country who was playing for Real Sociedad’s under-19 team when we first introduced him. Turrientes is already an integral part of the Basque club’s squad and played 22 games with the San Sebastian team. The 20-year-old is also a fixture on the Spain Under-21 side and could well be on the verge of his next big developmental step.
Development factor: 6 out of 10
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Yan Couto He moved from Coritiba to Manchester City for six million euros in the summer of 2020, where he signed a contract that is still valid until 2025. However, it was clear that the Brazilian right-back would not be planned primarily for the “City”, for so the 20-year-old was loaned out three times without even playing a game for Manchester City. He first moved to Girona for a year, then to Braga in Portugal. Couto has returned to Girona since last summer, where he has participated in several games throughout the season. Couto has now made 80 appearances in Europe, but battling relegation on loan in LaLiga was certainly not what matched his original talent.
Development Factor: 4 out of 10
lorenzo pirola he is the current starter for the Italy under-21 team and has now been loaned out for the second time by his usual club, Inter Milan, who gave him a contract until 2027. He spent last season in second class at Monza, he is currently teammate of ÖFB legionnaire Flavius Daniliuc at US Salernitana. In recent weeks in particular, Pirola has been consolidating a permanent position at the club, which has already given some surprises this season. German Bundesliga clubs also lined up ahead of the season to loan the 20-year-old central defender. For Pirola, things could definitely go uphill in the coming months or years.
Development Factor: 5 out of 10
lasse gunther unfortunately it reached a dead end in its development. The 19-year-old left winger did not make the jump from the Bayern youth academy to professional football and left for Augsburg for free in the summer of 2021, where he was only a substitute player. Last August he was loaned out to Jahn Regensburg in the German 2nd Bundesliga, where he too has been used more as a prankster, but has already provided two assists. Günther will find it difficult to make the leap to the elite of German football and is currently no longer in the German youth team.
Development Factor: 3 out of 10