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Formerly seen as the next Belgian wonderkid to come through at Anderlecht, Youri Tielemans find it hard to adapt when moving to France. His time with AS Monaco was a relative disappointment, but he has thrived since arriving in England at Leicester City. Now one of the most in-demand central midfielders in the world, Tielemans could be the perfect addition to any first-team in the world.

However, for now, he has become a crucial part in Leicester pushing for UEFA Champions League qualification across consecutive seasons.

What makes Youri Tielemans worth watching?

Capable of scoring in the box and from afar, as well as a keen range of passing, Tielemans is a modern midfielder. He can carry the ball through midfield, drop into spaces, and find teammates with ease. He has a strong passing vision and can easily move the ball with both feet. He is also durable, starting all but one of the 29 Premier League games he could have been involved in so far.

He also scores regularly, with 10 goals across all competitions marking a huge return for a central midfielder. Add in a desire to work back the way, too, and Tielemans is a pretty complete 23-year-old.

Things to improve for Youri Tielemans

While his physicality could definitely improve, he is not shy of getting involved in a tackle. He also has a habit of winning fouls – one way that Leicester could improve this, though, is to win fouls in more dangerous areas. Tielemans has the balance and the ability to draw fouls; improving where fouls are won could be a huge improvement for the youngster.

However, with so much to his game already, the real main missing part is genuine strength and physicality. Given development time, though, that could easily change in the seasons to come.

When 199cm Danish central defender Jannik Vestergaard arrived in England, he was seen as a player with rising potential. Despite ups and downs across his time in England, the 28-year-old has slowly but surely established himself as a key player for Southampton.

His impressive height and experience makes him a leader at the back, while he offers a level of leadership that Southampton miss without his presence. Although definitely on the slower end of the scale, his positioning and aggression makes up for any lack of natural pace.

What makes Jannik Vestergaard worth watching?

One thing that makes Vestergaard a player of interest is his ability in the air in both boxes. In 20+ starts this year, he has also contributed three goals whilst regularly winning in excess of three aerial duels per game. Not many strikers in England can get the better of him in a one-on-one duel aerially.

Add in his excellent ability to win the ball with head and feet, and he is a classic defender who can easily keep his team in games. When Southampton are facing a backs-to-the-walls performance, the rest of the team look the Dane.

Things to improve for Jannik Vestergaard

The one thing that hurts Vestergaard’s game above anything else is pace, and that cannot really be solved. His incredible size and power naturally makes him less likely to be quick. And while he could be better technically, too, these are quibbles to have for a destroyer central defender who has built his game on positioning and match understanding.

In fact, the primary thing that could improve was also listed as a strength; Verstergaard could score even more goals. Given the number of set pieces he dominates, Southampton could feel justified in expecting an even better goals return over the years.

Otherwise known as Rodri, Manchester City has likely found a long-term replacement for Fernandinho. The Spanish midfielder made his name in La Liga before returning to academy team Atletico Madrid. A single season under Diego Simeone, though, was enough to convince Pep Guardiola that he was the ideal midfield anchor to buy.

With some of the best passing and physical attributes for any midfielder in the country, he certainly is living up to his high reputation after what could be seen as a slow start to his time in England.

What makes Rodrigo Hernandez worth watching?

Rodri has already played close to 50 games this year for City, and has picked up just five bookings in all competitions. He is a clean tackler, a wonderful passer of the ball, and is capable of playing in central or defensive midfield without issue. He also tends to be strong in the air, capable of sweeping up passes over the top and also adding another bit of grit from set-pieces.

City were porous defensively in his first year, but Rodri has done a fine job of helping to return Guardiola’s City to being a defensive juggernaut.

Things to improve for Rodrigo Hernandez

Put simply – goals and fouls. While he is never in the City team to be a creator, he could use the massive amount of space he is often found with better. From improving his goalscoring either from set-pieces from distance to becoming a touch more ambitious with his movement, Rodri has very little to add to his game.

Most of the changes needed are minor refinements. For example, he tends to commit a lot of fouls that could have been avoided. If he can cut down on the foul count, Rodri could become the best holding midfield player in English football.

Derisively called ‘the new Marouane Fellaini’ when signed by West Ham United, Tomas Soucek is far more than a ball-winner. The 26-year-old Czech international has been a key signing since he arrived in England, becoming one of the most important players in David Moyes’ new look West Ham side.

Without him and his surprisingly high supply of goals, assists, passes, and tackles, it is unlikely that West Ham would be enjoying the same quality of season as they are today. Soucek is, without doubt, an essential part of the West Ham revival.

What makes Tomas Soucek worth watching?

A ridiculous return of 13 goals across all competitions is something nobody could have expected from a holding midfielder. However, having scored around the same amount of goals from defensive midfield as he does from further forward, Soucek is a naturally aggressive midfielder who finds it easy to score.

Add in over 5 aerial duels won per game on average and a passing accuracy above 75%, and it is easy to see why Soucek is such a well-respected player. His height, physicality, technical class, and ability to play on both ends of the ball makes him a hugely intriguing talent.

Things to improve for Tomas Soucek

The main thing that Soucek could improve upon, though, is that passing accuracy. While a strong rating, he does tend to be a touch too ambitious at times, slack at others. This, though, could stem from West Ham trying to always move the ball forward as opposed to trying to maintain possession for long periods of time.

His long range passing is great, but it can lead to a lot of concessions of the ball. Also, he can commit one too many fouls – especially when attacking. If those fouls were reduced, Soucek would hold claim to being among the best midfielders in England.

If you were to have a must-win game on the final day of the season, you would want a Tottenham side that looks like they have been fed up since the turn of the year. Leeds know they need to win and get some favours at other grounds, so expect them to come out flying here. Spurs have endured a few tonkings on the last day of the season in recent years, too, so it is hard to say how motivated they will be.

Leeds United News

Leeds will be coming into this without their most important attacking players in Patrick Bamford and Rodrigo. Both were injured in the loss at West Ham last weekend, and will find themselves short on attacking flair. Given the do-or-die nature of the game, that is certainly going to bring a few headaches.

Tottenham Hotspur News

Tottenham are without a few players, with expected departees Hugo Lloris, Ryan Sessegnon and Eric Dier all certainly out. Cristian Romero and Pierre-Emile Højbjerg might miss out, as well, further leaving Tottenham with some selection headaches as they go into the last game of the season.

Verdict

Leeds are in a do-or-die situation and know they must win, and hope things change for the better in some of the other games. Expect them to come out flying here, and despite lacking attacking quality they should have too much for a Tottenham team that look utterly fed up with life at the moment. Whether it will be enough or not, we do not know.

Score Prediction: 1-0